John Mayer at the Starlight Theatre

Having taken up guitar as a teenager, John Mayer briefly attended Boston's Berklee College of Music but never completed his studies. In 1999, he independently released his debut EP, Inside Wants Out. After a 2000 performance at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, he signed with the Aware record label, which released his full-length album Room for Squares (2001). Columbia Records repackaged the album with additional material for a much higher-profile national release later in 2001. The song “Your Body Is a Wonderland” became a major hit on adult alternative radio stations and earned Mayer a Grammy Award for best male pop vocal performance. Mayer's next studio release, Heavier Things (2003), topped the Billboard pop chart and featured the hit “Daughters,” which was honored with two Grammy Awards, including song of the year.

Having established himself as a major presence in the world of adult alternative rock, Mayer sought to broaden the scope of his sound. Incorporating his long-standing interest in the blues, he formed the John Mayer Trio and also collaborated with rappers Common and Kanye West. Continuum (2006), reflecting this new approach, earned Mayer a Grammy for best pop vocal album (to go with one for best male pop vocal performance for “Waiting on the World to Change”) and climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard pop chart.

He continued to be a Grammy favorite in 2009, picking up awards for best male pop vocal performance (for the single “Say” from Continuum) and for best solo rock performance (for “Gravity” from the 2008 live album Where the Light Is).

Don't miss John Mayer at Starlight Theatre on May 2, 2012.