It's a great year for music. This summer, John Mayer is hitting the road for a headlining tour. The Born and Raised tour begins on July 6th in Milwaukee and wraps up in Los Angeles on October 5th. Mayer will make stops in all the major cities like Phoenix, Los Angeles, and St. Louis. Can you believe this is his first tour in three years?! That's INSANE but we gladly welcome his return. Last year's American Idol winner Phillip Phillips will open for Mayer. Mayer AND Phillips? Sign us up. To find out when the Born and Raised tour is coming to a city near you, check out the full list of tour dates below:
Source: USA Today
July 6 -- Milwaukee (Summerfest- Marcus Amphitheater)
July 7 -- St. Louis (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater)
July 9 -- Cincinnati (Riverbend Music Center)
July 10 -- Bonner Springs, Kan. (Cricket Wireless Amphitheater)
July 12 -- Woodlands, Texas (The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion)
July 13 -- Dallas (Gexa Energy Pavilion)
July 16 -- Morrison, Colo. (Red Rocks Amphitheatre)
July 19 -- Ridgefield, Wash. (Sleep Country Amphitheater)
July 20 -- George, Wash. (The Gorge)
July 22 -- Paso Robles, Calif. (California Mid State Fair)
July 24 -- Wheatland, Calif. (Sleep Train Amphitheatre at Sacramento)
July 26 -- Mountain View, Calif. (Shoreline Amphitheatre)
July 27 -- Irvine, Calif. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater Irvine)
Aug. 6 -- Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio (Blossom Music Center)
Aug. 7 -- Clarkston, Mich.(DTE Energy Music Theatre)
Aug. 9 -- Tinley Park, Ill. (First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre)
Aug. 10 -- Noblesville, Ind. (Klipsch Music Center)
Aug. 11 -- Springfield, Ill. (Illinois State Fair)
Aug. 13 -- Darien, N.Y. (Darien Lake Performing Arts Center)
Aug. 14 -- Toronto(Molson Canadian Amphitheatre)
Aug. 16 -- Hartford (Comcast Theatre)
Aug. 17 -- Mansfield, Mass. (Comcast Center)
Aug. 20 -- Bethel, N.Y. (Bethel Woods Center for the Arts)
Aug. 21 -- Holmdel, N.J. (PNC Bank Arts Center)
Aug. 23 -- Camden, N.J. (Susquehanna Bank Center)
Aug. 24 -- Virginia Beach (Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach)
Aug. 25 -- Burgettstown, Pa. (First Niagara Pavilion)
Aug. 27 -- Allentown, Pa. (The Great Allentown Fair)
Aug. 28 -- Wantagh, N.Y. (Nikon at Jones Beach Theater)
Aug. 30 -- Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Saratoga Performing Arts Center)
Aug. 31 -- Bristow, Va. (Jiffy Lube Live)
Sept. 1 -- Atlantic City (Borgata Resort Spa and Casino Event Center)
Sept. 4 -- Charlotte (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater Charlotte)
Sept. 5 -- Raleigh, N.C. (Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek)
Sept. 7 -- Tampa (Live Nation Amphitheater at the Florida State Fairgrounds)
Sept. 8 -- West Palm Beach, Fla. (Cruzan Amphitheatre)
Sept. 17 -- Buenos Aires (Luna Park)
Sept. 21 -- Rio De Janeiro (Rock in Rio)
Sept. 27 -- Atlanta(Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood)
Oct. 1 -- Albuquerque (Isleta Amphitheater)
Oct. 2 -- Phoenix (Desert Sky Pavilion)
Oct. 4 -- San Diego (Sleep Train Amphitheatre)
Oct. 5 -- Los Angeles (Hollywood Bowl)
The Born and Raised tour will run for four months. We can't even imagine being out on the road for that long. While it must be amazing to visit all these cities and experience the different cultures throughout the country, it also has to be hard packing up and leaving your life and loved ones behind for a few months. Touring is pretty much the equivalent of moving, except at the end of the day you don't have a pretty new house to show for it. The tour bus becomes your storage facility on wheels, as you carry your belongings from town to town. Your late nights, or should we say early mornings, are spent sleeping in a bunk bed or crawling into hotel rooms for a few hours of sleep. Of course, this all comes with the job description. Musicians know that they're going to end up living this kind of lifestyle. For a professional like Mayer, who has participated on many tours in the past, this four month tour will be nothing he can't handle.
Phillip Phillips on the other hand is relatively new to the touring and moving around experience. Sure, he's been on some tours. After being crowned the winner of American Idol, Phillip embarked on a tour across the country with his fellow idol finalists on the American Idols LIVE! tour. While working on his debut album and relishing in the super success of his first single "Home", he toured with Matchbox 20 and even traveled to Europe. It's pretty remarkable the things he's been able to accomplish out on the road while also suffering from various health issues. It doesn't look like he's letting the hassle of moving around, or his health, stop him from doing what he loves. He is now on his own solo college tour before hitting the road with John Mayer. With all these dates to choose from, fans of both the musicians should be thrilled at the chance to see their favorites on stage.