John Mayer Honors Dolly Parton With Instrumental Tribute At Intimate Hamptons Show

John Mayer took the stage with a full band on Wednesday for an intimate SiriusXM concert at Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, New York, one night after the death of Dolly Parton. Mayer honored the country music icon during the encore with an emotional instrumental rendition of her beloved classic, “I Will Always Love You.”

The performance marked Mayer’s first full-band show of 2026 and only concert of the summer. Mayer was backed by drummer Aaron Sterling, percussionist Lenny Castro, bassist Sean Hurley, guitarists Isaiah Sharkey and David Ryan Harris, keyboardist Greg Phillinganes and vocalists Tiffany Palmer and Carlos Ricketts. Most of the musicians accompanied Mayer on his Sob Rock Tour in 2022.

Andy Cohen introduced his friend at the start of the concert, which was staged at the storied Hamptons venue as part of SiriusXM’s ongoing series of exclusive Stephen Talkhouse shows. Cohen noted the concert was the “the hardest tickets in the Hamptons in many years.”

Mayer and his eight-piece backing band served up a 14-song career-spanning set that opened with “Last Train Home” and continued with “Queen Of California,” “Who Says,” “Love On The Weekend” and “Something Like Olivia.” The main set also featured “Belief,” “I Don’t Trust Myself (With Loving You),” “I Guess I Just Feel Like,” “Wild Blue,” “In The Blood,” “Slow Dancing In A Burning Room” and “New Light.”

Mayer returned for an encore of Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’” before launching into “Gravity.” The latter began with an instrumental interlude featuring Mayer’s interpretation of Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” a moving tribute to the legendary singer-songwriter who died on Tuesday, August 25 at age 80. Mayer had reflected on Parton’s death earlier in the evening during his SiriusXM interview with Andy Cohen, calling it a “huge loss.”

The guitarist tagged the end of “Gravity” with more of “I Will Always Love You.” Watch official footage of the tribute premiered by Rolling Stone Australia:

Parton wrote “I Will Always Love You” and originally took the song to the top of the country chart in 1974. Whitney Houston’s blockbuster 1992 recording for the soundtrack of The Bodyguard later transformed the composition into a worldwide pop phenomenon.

Mayer is among a long list of musicians who have honored Parton with on-stage tributes, joining Chris Stapleton, Jack White, Orville Peck, Geese and others.

A statement from Parton’s family revealed, “After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today [August 25] at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones.”

Fans who were unable to attend the invite-only performance will have the opportunity to hear it this weekend. The concert will air on Life with John Mayer (Ch. 4) on Saturday, August 29 at 8 p.m. ET and will also be available on the SiriusXM app. Before the broadcast, Cohen’s exclusive pre-show interview with Mayer will air on Radio Andy (Ch. 102) on Friday, August 28 at 10 a.m. ET and will also be available on the app.

Check out more clips from Mayer’s first full-band show of 2026 below: