John Mayer // Live @ Bridgestone Arena // 8.8.17

Article and Photos by: Sam Carbine

Nashville, TN — If you were to write a book about your life what would it say? Would you drowned in your past? Would you glorify your feats? John Mayer chose to face the demons and embrace the many journeys that his life has taken in a story like fashion last night in Nashville. The set read like a book. The beginning was high school flashbacks. Followed by the inter blues god that brought the John Mayer Trio back on stage to fill the soul of the well know music critics in every seat at a Nashville show.

You can say what you will about him, but a transcended musician at the highest rank of this generation is an understatement. What once was a self proclaimed self-centered egotistical maniac, has now turned to an extremely humble artist grounded by the understanding that it is a privilege to share his soul with fans every night. There is true valor in having the strength to notice your flaws and work to fix them. You could hear this in his voice when he covered John Campbell on the day of his passing. As the sets changed, monologues of the explanation of the next chapter played on the screens filling the arena.

You didn’t know what song you were going to hear, but you knew where you needed to be in your head. As the night came to an end, alone on the stage sat Mayer. White screen, white floor, white piano. A simple but beautiful ballad as to signal the next chapter of his life and career. It is truly hard to impress an entire crowd in Nashville. There was no question that he did just that, leaving everyone mesmerized as he exited the stage at the end of the night.