John Mayer sets new tour dates, release of first single ‘Shadow Days’

Fully recovered from vocal surgery John Mayer will hit the road for his first tour in two years on April 9.

The 18-city tour precedes the release of Mayer”s fifth album, “Born and Raised,” which will come out shortly thereafter. Mayer teased the first single from the album, “Shadow Days,” last week and it sounds like he”s taken a fairly stripped down turn under the guidance of producer Don Was.

[More after the jump…]

Guests on the album include David Crosby and Graham Nash and noted keyboardists Chuck Leavell, best known for his work with the Allman Brothers Band and the Rolling Stones.

“Shadow Days” seems to be about regret and turning over a new leaf: things Mayer has had a little time to think about over the past few months since his explosive Playboy interview that managed to insult practically every woman he”d ever dated.

The tour will benefit U.S. military veterans in two ways: a segment of higher-priced tickets will sell through Tickets-For-Charity with proceeds going to the Northern California Institute of Research and Education, a facility that helps integrate soldiers back into civilian life. Also, fans can bid on four front-row tickets and a meet and greet with Mayer with proceeds going to NCIRE.

Below are tour date and the snippet of the song. We”ll replace it with the full version when it goes up later today. Mayer will also play a one-off date at South By Southwest in Austin on March 17.

John Mayer Spring Tour 2012 Schedule:
 
Monday, April 9: Bloomington, IN; the IU Auditorium
Tuesday, April 10: East Lansing, MI; the Wharton Center for the Performing Arts
Thursday, April 12: Grand Rapids, MI; DeVos Performance Hall
Friday, April 13: West Lafayette, IN (Purdue University); Elliot Hall of Music
Saturday, April 14: Detroit, MI; Fox Theatre
Tuesday, April 17: Orono, ME (University of ME); Collins Center for the Arts
Wednesday, April 18: Providence, RI; PPAC Providence Performing Arts Center
Thursday, April 19: West Point, NY; Eisenhower Hall Theatre
Saturday, April 21: Buffalo, NY; Shea”s Performing Arts Center
Sunday, April 22: Wallingford, CT; The Oakdale Theatre
Tuesday, April 24: Richmond, VA; Landmark Theater
Thursday, April 26: Tuscaloosa, AL; Tuscaloosa Amphitheater
Sunday, April 29: New Orleans, LA; Jazz & Heritage Fest
Monday, April 30: Memphis, TN; The Orpheum Theatre
Wednesday, May 2: Kansas City, MO; Starlight Theatre
Friday, May 4: Albuquerque, NM; Sandia
Saturday, May 5: Las Vegas, NV; The Joint
Sunday, May 6: Phoenix, AZ; Comerica Theatre