John Mayer Draws Paul McCartney and a VIP Crowd to Stephen Talkhouse

Andy Cohen called the exclusive SiriusXM concert “the hardest tickets in the Hamptons in many years” — and the star-studded crowd proved his point.

Talk about a hot ticket.

John Mayer took over the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett Wednesday night for an exclusive SiriusXM concert — his only live performance of the summer — and the crowd was nearly as pressworthy as the man onstage.

Paul McCartney, Howard Stern, Michael J. Fox, Christie Brinkley, Brooke Shields and New York Knicks star Josh Hart were among the VIPs who turned out for the intimate show. Andy Cohen, Mayer’s longtime friend and fellow SiriusXM host, was there to introduce him.

Cohen summed up the frenzy surrounding the night before Mayer took the stage, calling it “the hardest tickets in the Hamptons in many years.”

For one of the East End’s most famously intimate music venues, it was quite a guest list.

The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter performed with his full band for more than 90 minutes, moving through songs spanning his career, from 2006’s Continuum to four tracks from his most recent album, 2021’s Sob Rock.

Mayer opened with “Last Train Home” and worked plenty of humor into the night, including a nod to just how many people had tried to get into the exclusive show.

He joked that the ticket-request texts he and his team received frequently began with the same two words: “any chance.”

“You ‘any chanced’ your way right into this show tonight,” Mayer told the crowd.

A Tribute to Dolly Parton

The evening took a poignant turn during Mayer’s encore, one day after the death of Dolly Parton at age 80.

Mayer and his band played the melody of Parton’s 1973 classic “I Will Always Love You” as an instrumental interlude before moving into his 2006 hit “Gravity.”

The encore also included Mayer’s rendition of Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’.”

Before wrapping the show, Mayer thanked fans for continuing to embrace his music even though he hasn’t released a studio album in five years.

“I want to sincerely thank you for having so much excitement and enthusiasm to see me play,” Mayer told the audience.

“In the time that I last put music out, you seem to have even become more involved [with the songs] in your life,” he continued. “I wasn’t aware that dream was even available. So thank you for keeping this music going when I wasn’t playing.”

From the Talkhouse to Moby’s

The VIP night continued after the last song.

SiriusXM hosted an afterparty at Moby’s in East Hampton, where many of the celebrities who attended the concert gathered for homemade pizza, tuna tartare and Caprese salads. The full bar included a dedicated martini station, while dessert came courtesy of an ice cream truck and frozen yogurt.

And there was another performance — this time without a guitar.

Mentalist Oz Pearlman performed for Mayer and a small group of guests at the afterparty, reportedly leaving the group astonished by his trick.

The Stephen Talkhouse performance was part of SiriusXM’s annual series of exclusive Hamptons concerts, which has previously brought artists including Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Dave Matthews, Metallica, The Killers, Brandi Carlile, Jelly Roll and Mumford & Sons to the Amagansett venue.

For everyone who couldn’t “any chance” their way into one of the summer’s most coveted shows, there’s still a way to hear it.

Mayer’s Stephen Talkhouse concert airs Saturday, Aug. 29, at 8 p.m. on SiriusXM’s Life with John Mayer, Channel 4, and will also be available on the SiriusXM app. Cohen’s pre-show conversation with Mayer airs Friday, Aug. 28, at 10 a.m. on Radio Andy, Channel 102.