“Beyond special”: Watch John Mayer and Dead & Company nail Knockin’ on Heaven's Door, All Along the Watchtower and Not Fade Away with Dave Matthews

On Monday (July 3), John Mayer and the rest of the Dead & Company crew were joined by Dave Matthews for a four-song set closer that saw the group temporarily transform into a classic rock covers band.

The show – Dead & Co’s third and final evening at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado – was business as usual for most of the set, but the script was well and truly flipped when Matthews emerged to help with covers of All Along the Watchtower, Not Fade Away, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door and The Weight.

Footage of Matthews' acoustic guitar cameo from the night has made its way online, with one attendee capturing the band’s energetic rendition of All Along the Watchtower – the first song to kick off the classic rock covers set.

The presence of Matthews’ acoustic meant the performance was rooted in the spirit of Bob Dylan’s original cut, though Mayer brought a suitable amount of Jimi Hendrix flair via the fretboard of his prototype PRS Silver Sky.

Blistering pentatonic runs and a tweaked take on Jimi’s high-octane solo were the order of business for Mayer, whose tightly compressed tone helped carry the song to its grand finale.

A similarly show-stopping cover of Buddy Holly's Not Fade Away brought the first set to a close, though Mayer, Matthews, Bob Weir, and the rest of the band soon returned for another Dylan track: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.

With a soulful injection of six-string action and plenty of hair-raising harmonies, the lineup left any whiff of Guns N’ Roses out the picture, preferring instead to lean into a sultry slow dance vibe.

Again, Mayer’s Mayerisms were out in full force – a flurry of pentatonic flourishes here, a delicate ricochet of box-breaking runs there – with some fiddles on the volume control lending itself to some especially dynamic lead work.

The Band’s The Weight was last up on the agenda, throwing up a host of tasty fretboard interactions between Weir and Mayer – the latter of whom could be seen donning the over-the-ear headphones he said helped him become a more dynamic player.

Taking to Instagram after the show, Mayer wrote, “It doesn’t get better than three nights at Folsom Field in Boulder with @deadandcompany. Oh wait no yes it does… it gets way better when Dave Matthews shows up and for four songs makes everyone believe they’re dreaming. The afterglow is still shining bright.”

His sentiments were echoed by Dead & Company, who wrote on their own page, “Our time in Boulder was beyond special! We won’t forget it. Big thank you to Dave Matthews for joining in on Watchtower, NFA, Knockin’, and The Weight to help close out night three!”

Mayer has had his work cut out over the past few days. Despite currently being in the midst of Dead & Company’s last-ever tour, he found time to open for Ed Sheeran and join the singer-songwriter for a performance of his chart-smashing single, Thinking Out Loud.

Head over to Dead & Company's website to browse the band's remaining tour dates.