“Let it rip”: Watch John Mayer join Ed Sheeran to flex his supreme soloing chops on Thinking Out Loud

Despite being in the midst of a hectic farewell tour with Dead & Company, John Mayer recently took time out of his schedule to support Ed Sheeran, who was in need of an opening act at his show in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Sheeran’s planned support artist, Khalid, was forced to withdraw after he was involved in a car crash, paving the way for Mayer and his prototype PRS Silver Sky to jump in at the last minute to help keep the show alive.

However, not only did Mayer warm the audience up prior to Sheeran’s set with an eight-song act of his own, he also returned to the stage later in the evening to help the chart-smashing singer-songwriter perform his 2014 hit, Thinking Out Loud.

Though keenly associated with Lowden acoustic guitars, Sheeran opted for a custom PRS electric guitar for the rendition, which also saw fellow PRS player Mayer embellish proceedings by way of his blues pop pentatonic noodles.

The odd punctuative lick and vocal-mirroring motif were also thrown into the mix, before the first of two extended guitar solo sections – boosted with just a tad more gain – saw Mayer let loose on his famed neo-soul-esque chops.

It’s the second solo, however, that deserves the headlines. Upon Sheeran’s request to “let it rip”, Mayer does just that, and, with Sheeran laughing in borderline disbelief at what he’s witnessing, locks into the neck single coil for some chunky B.B.-style bends and Continuum-era turnarounds.

It’s not the first time the pair have played Thinking Out Loud together. Back in 2019, Mayer joined Sheeran at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo to perform the track – during that same gig the two also tackled Mayer's own song, Belief – and going back even further, the pair teamed up at the 2015 Grammy Awards ceremony for a rendition.

Aside from Thinking Out Loud, the two music heavyweights also joined forces while the Continuum mastermind was guest hosting The Late Late Show for a performance of  Sheeran’s Don’t.

After his cameo appearance with Sheeran, Mayer is back on the road with Dead & Company, whose next show is scheduled for today (July 3) at Folsom Field, Colorado. The Final Tour, as it’s officially called, has seen some standout performances from Mayer, who recently played both his prototype PRS and custom Charvel in one solo.

It’s been a busy year for Mayer, who spent the first half of 2023 on the road for his first solo arena tour. That tour – which debuted three new pedalboards for the Sob Rock star – saw some notable performances, too, including one from the fretboard of an ultra-rare double-neck Martin guitar.

Mayer also took the tour as an opportunity to tease a maple fingerboard-equipped version of his PRS SE Silver Sky signature guitar – a model that got an official release a few months later.