Musician John Mayer plans to host concerts next month to benefit the Yellowstone area that was devastated by flooding earlier this summer, the Grammy winning singer-songwriter announced on Tuesday.
Mayer has scheduled three nights of shows on Aug. 8, Aug. 14 and Aug. 21.
One night, Grateful Dead co-founder Bob Weir plans to join Mayer. Another night, it’s comedian Dave Chappelle. Mayer also plans a solo performance one night.
The Pine Creek Lodge in Livingston, Montana will host the shows.
All of the tickets sold out just moments after Mayer made the announcement. However, a waitlist was still available for people who hope to see Mayer, Weir or Chappelle in an intimate, open-air setting.
“I’m blown away by the generosity of my friends Bob Weir and Dave Chappelle and can’t wait to celebrate this awesome community with those who share my love for it,” Mayer said on Tuesday.
Mayer has been vocal about the flood that destroyed much of the surrounding areas of Yellowstone National Park. He has been living in Park County, Montana for more than a decade.
He has encouraged fans to donate to flood relief efforts or even to visit the surrounding communities.
The main stage area at the Pine Creek Lodge can hold a maximum of 1,000 people. It was not clear how many seats would be available for the Mayer concerts.
Mayer has had a longtime friendship with Chappelle, even showing off his guitar skills in an episode of “Chappelle’s Show.”
Weir and Mayer are bandmates, performing together in the supergroup Dead and Company.
According to Billboard, general admission tickets were available for $150. It additionally reported that proceeds from the concerts would benefit the SW MT Flood Relief Fund in Park County, Montana, with funds earmarked for immediate needs including emergency shelter, drinking water, food, clothing, food replacement from lost freezers and refrigerators, as well as clean-up and rebuilding efforts.
The flooding in Yellowstone National Park closed the park for more than a week. This then led to many people postponing or outright canceling their trips to the area, which then meant less business for the entrance communities, particularly in Montana.
Ninety-three percent of the park is again open to visitors, but it will take years for the park to fully recover from the effects, Superintendent Cam Sholly said earlier this month.
Chris Conway, Silver Gate Lodging manager, said after the flood, their bookings dropped 95%.
“We’ve been booked up for six months in advance,” he said. “We would have probably, approximately, just in our cabins, not the whole community, about 100 people staying in Silver Gate tonight. Tonight we probably have five, because of the closure of the roads into Yellowstone National Park.”
Businesses like Silver Gate Lodging rely on those tourists in the summer to pay the bills year-round. So when the flood occurred on June 13, the damage was done to more than just buildings and roads.
The Pine Creek Lodge owners did not immediately return Cowboy State Daily’s request for comment on Tuesday.
