By Camille Hunt, Photos: F. Scott Schafer

f you're not yet familiar with the sexy sounds of 26-year-old John Mayer, you may need to get out more. In the last thr ee years, the singer-songwri ter has gone from small-town guitar player to sensitive rocker is bringing his intimate acoustics and boyish good looks to Mandalay Bay this month.

Mayer's musical career began at an early age. By 15, he was showcasing his guitar skills at local blues clubs in his hometown of Bridgeport, Connecticut. In 1999, Mayer enrolled at Boston's prestigious Berklee College of Music, but within a few months the young crooner realized that he should be playing music and not studying it, and instead migrated to the grassroots scene of Atlanta, Georgia. Mayer quickly submerged himself in the coffeehouse and club circuit, playing for larger and larger audiences and releasing his first independent album, Inside Wants Out, to rave loc al reviews. His smoky swagger and folk-rock sound blended the influences of veterans Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton and Dave Matthews with Mayer's own likeable lyrics, fluid guitar playing and captivating stage presence, making him a favorite at Atlanta's hottest live venues.

In early 2000, after performing at the South by Southwest music confer ence in Austin, Texas, Mayer was spotted and later signed by Aware/Columbia Records, releasing his first album on a major label, Room for Squares, the following year. The record has since gone triple platinum, with his second single, "Your Body Is a Wonderland," earning Mayer a Best Pop Vocal Performance award at the 2003 Grammys. And with the rapid platinum suc cess of his third album, Heavier Things, Mayer seems to have established himself as a viable musical force.

On his sudden worldwide acclaim, Mayer says, "Everyone is really proud and it feels great to have that kind of attention, but also at times it's a little embarrassing. It all comes down to how you treat your success, and you invite others to treat it the same way. I have a really cool job. I get paid to do what I love and make my fans happy."

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