John Mayer

John Mayer performed and took fan questions during a "Google+ Hangout" on Thursday night, during which he also announced an upcoming tour. Mayer was interviewed by producer Don Was during the hour-long Hangout, and he talked about the vocal cord problems that have kept him from performing over the past few years. Mayer also said he has been given a clean bill of health by doctors.

"You don't go crazy when you know you can't," he explained about being ill. "You just sort of go, alright... I wanted to get back here -- this is what I was dreaming about night after night after night, so I'm so happy to be out of that wormhole."

Playing acoustic guitar with a bassist and drummer, Mayer showed off a healthy voice in between interview questions, as he sang "Queen of California," "Speak For Me," "Who Says" and a new song called "Dear Marie." Mayer has been in the studio with engineer Chad Franscoviak, and he described the sound of his new music as "acid country."

"Lately I am inspired by writing music for the stage -- that can go 15 minutes if you want it to, or five minutes," he said. 

Mayer's summer tour will be his first time back on the road in three years, and he is looking forward to playing some new tunes. "I'm not on my first record, where I have to play the single twice," he said in a separate interview with Billboard. "I'd like to add three or four scalable, meaningful songs that I can't wait to play. I'm ready to look down at the set list and go, 'I love every one of these.'"

Mayer's 2013 tour begins at Milwaukee's Summerfest on July 6 and runs well into the fall, with dates announced up to October 5 in Los Angeles.