Mayer, Crows Take Their Guitars On The Road

Despite their low profile, male singer/songwriter tours are shaping up as high priorities for summer music fans.

The upcoming John Mayer and Counting Crows tour lacks the skin-baring theatrics of the Christina Aguilera/Justin Timberlake outing. Unlike Lollapalooza or Ozzfest, Jack Johnson does not boast multiple headliners. In contrast to Mariah Carey, newcomer Jason Mraz is not returning to the stage for the first time in several years.

But all are selling tickets.

Promoters and booking agents believe the acts' laid-back, "just me and my guitar" approach is endearing to the fans.

The Mayer/Crows outing "will be one of the 10 biggest tours of the summer," promises Mitch Rose, senior music agent at Creative Artists Agency, which represents both acts.

Spanning 42 shows, the arena and shed road trip starts July 7 at Fiddlers Green Amphitheatre in Englewood, Colo., and wraps Sept. 2 at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Charlotte, N.C.

Rose says 19,000-capacity concerts Aug. 22 and 23 at the Tweeter Center in Boston should both sell out. Already cleared are two 19,000-capacity shows Aug. 26 and Aug. 28 at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, N.J.

Mayer had muscle early in his touring career as well. Of the 84 shows reported to Billboard in 2001 and 2002, 55 were sellouts; overall, the tour reached 94% of capacity at venues.

"I think it's a simple explanation. It's because it's real. There's not a lot of pyro or special effects," says Jeff Tisler, senior VP at House of Blues Concerts, regarding the expected Mayer/Crows sellout July 11 at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Wash. "But it's about things people can relate to."

Mayer says that the romantic nature of his songs speaks to the guys as well as the gals.

"That's the guitar-playing part of it," he says. "If I didn't play the guitar and just sang, well, think about it: The guitar is almost phallic and the vocals are vaginal. That's the first time I've thought about that!"

Several observers think the teens who flocked to Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync shows several years ago are now craving more grown-up, singer/songwriter fare.

Tom Chauncey, Johnson's booking agent at Partisan Arts, says the allure lies in songs that are "simple but direct, too," and adds, "there is something to be said about all those teeny boppers now maturing, now looking for more mature artists."

As for Johnson, the 30 shows reported to Billboard for his performances from 2001 through this spring filled 99% of venues' total capacities.

Likewise, the 39-date Johnson/Ben Harper trek, running June 6-Aug. 28, "will be 99% sold out," Chauncey says.

Meanwhile, some of this summer's higher-profile concerts are hardly racing out of the sales gates. Lollapalooza, resurrected after a six-year layoff, is off to a slow start in some markets (Billboard, May 24). Carey had to scale back her arena tour to theaters, most likely because of weaker-than-anticipated interest (Billboard, May 31).

Crows' frontman Adam Duritz says his band hooked up with Mayer "because you're looking for something that's going to sell a lot of tickets. It's hard to tour nowadays. It's expensive—people are hemorrhaging money on summer tours."

The Crows, while arguably more established than Mayer, agreed to have the singer/songwriter be the closing act for all their shows.

"Bios and egos did not get in the way of this happening. Everyone was incredibly intelligent," CAA's Rose says. "If this is a concession, it's a concession that won't hurt the Counting Crows. It helped make the package happen. Both camps will benefit from the other's fan base."

While Duritz says he likes the quiet style of Mayer and Johnson, he admits being skeptical of musical trends in general, because "any movement is a tired thing. All it means is that a bunch of people are copying somebody good."

Yet there are signs that singer/songwriters are here to stay.

Mraz, one of the up-and-comers, is on his first summer tour since the October 2002 release of his Elektra debut, "Waiting for My Rocket to Come."

The album may be a modest seller (100,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan), but "ticket sales are spectacular. Sellouts across the board," says Marty Diamond, president of Little Big Man and agent for Mraz. The singer will play about 20 club dates in July and August.

Inexpensive tickets help in the fan-building strategy. Mraz tickets are averaging $15-$20 apiece; Johnson/Harper, $35; and Mayer/Crows, $30-$45.

"They are very cognizant of their fan base," says Don Strasberg, a Clear Channel Entertainment promoter for sold-out Jackson/Harper shows Aug. 27 and 28 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver. "Jack played the Fox Theatre [in Boulder, Colo.] for $20. He could have easily charged $50, but he wouldn't dream of it."

WEB SITES BOOST SALES

The singer/songwriters also make good use of their Web sites.

"I owe most of my popularity to the Internet," says Mraz. "This became obvious to me when I would visit a city I'd [never been to] and find a room full of supporters. They would not only sing songs from the record, but I could tell they had ordered the old songs from my Web site."

Jim Mallonee, HOB VP of Concerts Southeast, credits Johnson and Harper's Web sites for recent sellouts of HOB club shows in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Orlando, Fla.