John Mayer will sit out the first weekend of the upcoming Playing in the Sand event in Mexico after testing positive to COVID-19. The event, which is traditionally headlined by Dead & Company, is set to take place January 7-10 and January 13-16 in Riviera Cancun. According to an announcement from Dead & Company, Mayer will sit out the January 7-10 festivities. Instead, Dead & Company’s Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Jeff Chimenti and Oteil Burbridge will perform as Dos Hermanos con Amigos during the event’s first weekend. Joe Russo’s Almost Dead guitarist/singer Tom Hamilton, Wolf Bros/RatDog drummer Jay Lane and special guests like Margo Price are slated to join the Dead & Company members.

A note form the band reads:

“Today, just prior to leaving for Mexico, per his physician,@JohnMayer tested positive for COVID-19 and will be unable to perform at the upcoming “Playing in the Sand” event in Riviera Cancun January 7-10. The weekend will now feature Dos Hermanos con Amigos: @MickeyHart and @BobWeir with Jeff Chimenti and @OteilBurbridge, joined by @LuvrzLane, @TommyHamilton and including special guests and sit ins including @MissMargoPrice and others…”

Weir also added in a statement, “We came down here to have fun. Unfortunately some of our brothers cannot make it but fun is what we’re going to have.”

Dead & Company drummer Bill Kreutzmann previously announced that he will sit out this year’s Playing in the Sand due to a medical issue not related to COVID. In 2017, Hamilton also played with Weir and other members of Dead & Company as Los Muertos during a Mexican destination event.