One of the accusations often leveled by music snobs aiming to discredit pop artists is the fact that most don’t write the music they perform. In the case of many pop singers who claim they actually do write their material, there tends to be a team of producers and writers really doing the heavy lifting behind the curtain. (I mean, do you really believe that Ashlee Simpson cowrites her songs as claimed, amidst a busy schedule of nose jobs, Entertainment Tonight interviews, bad reality shows and lip-syncing?) For all their pop success, you can’t lump Sheryl Crow and John Mayer, currently co-headlining a tour that stops at Darien Lake this Friday, with the rest of the pack, because here’s a pair of real singer/songwriters who happened to crash the pop charts. Sheryl Crow’s storied ascendance has her going from teaching music at a Missouri school, to being backup singer to the stars and finally to her place as a leading woman of rock with a shelf of Grammys. Crow’s string of perfectly crafted rootsy rock leads up to the most recent 2005’s Wildflower (A&M). Mayer’s ability to blend jazzy chords and tones with a warm voice and coming-of-age songs made him an almost instant sensation in 1999 with Room for Squares . Expanding his palette and artistic horizon in 2005, Mayer put together a trio with drummer Steve Jordan and bassist Pino Palladino that showcased a yen for jazz and blues. Mayer’s latest, Continuum (Sony), hits stores September 12.

Friday, September 1 at 7pm. Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, Route 77, Darien Center (box office: 585-599-4641; www.ticketmaster.com).