Veteran guitarist Dave Mason has been forced to cancel all of his scheduled 2025 tour dates amid ongoing health issues.
The English singer-songwriter is best known as one of the founding members of Traffic and as a session guitarist. He’s worked with everyone from Jimi Hendrix to George Harrison across a tireless career spanning seven decades, and today continues to battle a serious heart condition.
It was discovered during a routine check-up last year and led to his fall 2024 tour being postponed and subsequently rescheduled for this summer. Steps were taken to treat the condition, but he faced a further setback after contracting a severe infection while recovering in March.
Mason’s camp says he has been “courageously battling” the infection ever since, but nearly three months later, there is little sign of improvement.
“With deep regret, I must cancel all tour dates for 2025 due to ongoing health issues stemming from the infection I had in March,” Mason writes on Facebook. “I’m incredibly grateful to my team of doctors – this has been challenging territory, to say the least.
“A heartfelt thank you to all the fans, and to my family, band, agents, and the venues who’ve waited patiently and supported me throughout this journey. Your kind messages have lifted my spirits more than words can express.
“Recovery is a long road,” his statement concludes. “My love for you all runs deep.”
From playing 12-string acoustic guitar on Jimi Hendrix’s All Along the Watchtower – a song voted the greatest cover of all time last year – to featuring on George Harrison’s 1970 solo album All Things Must Passalongside credits with the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, and Eric Clapton, Mason’s career has been storied, to say the least.
“I got to know Hendrix a bit when he was becoming a sensation in London,” he told Guitar Player of his encounters with the late guitar great.
“I saw Hendrix at the Scotch of St. James when Chas Chandler was taking him around to sit in and jam with everybody, and I think McCartney was there that night. This guy gets up and starts playing and I’m like, ‘Holy shit! Who the fuck is this?’”
Of the Watchtower recording session, he adds: “Mitch Mitchell was playing drums and Jimi and I sat down facing each other, with Jimi on six-string acoustic and me on 12-string.
“It took me 10 or 11 takes to get the timing on the intro right. I stayed and watched the whole session, with him putting bass and electric guitar on the track and it was one of the most incredible, inspiring musical experiences I’ve ever had. Absolutely inspiring to watch him work.”
In 2023, the 79-year-old told Guitar World that he built up his commendable resume without “a lot of technique,” admitting, “I wish I knew more about what the hell I was doing when I’m playing.”
“I’ve treated guitar more as a melodic instrument than anything,” he added. “So if I’m noodling around it’s probably mostly going to be some blues stuff.”
Self-deprecating or not, Mason’s talents have kept him in high demand. He formed the psych-rock outfit Traffic in 1967, but his time in the band was tumultuous, ultimately paving the way for a more stable career as a session player. He’s also released 16 solo albums, the most recent being 2023’s A Shade of Blues.
