John Mayer may not be able to perform his new material live, but that doesn’t mean he can’t pack up his stuff, drive across the Western frontier and lip-synch lyrics about being a “good man, with a good heart.” And with that, the scenic “Shadow Days” music video was unveiled on Friday (Apr. 27).
Wearing a slick hat and sporting long, unruly hair, Mayer takes his acoustic on a journey through Idaho, Arizona and other quasi-rugged locales as the gentle rock ballad plays behind him. “It sucks to be honest, and it hurts to be real,” Mayer quips, before strumming some more chords in front of what appears to be the Grand Canyon.
“Shadow Days” is the lead single from “Born and Raised,” Mayer’s fifth studio album which is still on track for a May 22 release despite the singer-songwriter’s recent battle with granuloma. The throat condition forced Mayer to cancel all upcoming tour dates, including a spring run with North America that was supposed to kick off on April 9.
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“I’m pretty emotionally burnt out at the moment, but please know how hard I tried to resolve this and how disappointed I am that I can’t perform this record yet,” Mayer told his fans in a March blog post. “I’m completely bummed, especially for all of you who started making plans to see a show. Nothing feels worse than having to break the stage down before the performance, and I mean nothing. I love this band you were going to hear, I love the guys and girls I work with, and the only thing that stops me from devolving into a puddle of tears is knowing that it’s a long life, and the greatest gift in the world is being able to create music no matter what the circumstances. So these are the new circumstances, and I’ll find a way to make it mean something. That’s all you can ever do.”