There are several reasons to hit up Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Music and Food Festival Oct. 20-21. For starters, the weather will no doubt be phenomenal. There’s nothing better than being outdoors in late October, at least here in the Lowcountry. The lineup is also looking pretty well rounded, and it’s just been announced that John Mayer will join the crew for the Charleston gig after successfully performing at the fest in Nashville a few weekends ago.
Mayer’s mouth has gotten him into a pickle or two over the past several years, most notably his irreverent comments about his white supremacist penis. After several throat-trouble tour cancellations and a two-year retreat to Montana, Mayer is back and debuting a more self-deprecating version of the brazen talker that ruined his own credibility in the past.
Hopefully, we can all cut the guy a break and start taking him for what he is, which happens to be a pretty decent guitarist (see his version of “Voodoo Chile” live at Red Rocks). Mayer’s latest album, Born and Raised, is soothing on a superficial level, but it also gives listeners insight into the personal struggles that he reflected on during period of solitude out West.
There is only one way to find out whether Mayer is merely trying to convince us that he’s changed or if he really has dropped that douche-y persona, and that is to see him live. Mayer will join The Zac Brown Band, The Avett Brothers, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Los Lonely Boys, and many more for the two day festival of food, music, and general good times. Two days passes are available ($109) and single day passes ($67.50) will go on sale on Sat. Sept. 29 at 10 a.m. EST. For more information visit southerngroundfestival.com.
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