James Taylor, long a fixture at Blossom Music Center since the mid 1970s, returned to the outdoor venue on a blisteringly hot evening. Bringing his All-Star Band with him, he was accompanied by two percussionists, a horn player, four backup singers, and even an electric violin to play a twenty-song set, capping the night with two encores.
Coming to prominence during the tumult of the early 1970s, he capitalized on a silky voice that easily hovered between a baritone and falsetto register. Taylor’s contribution to the post-Vietnam era’s music provided a soundtrack to the time. His friendship with singer/songwriter and two-time enshrinee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Carole King, gave him two of his best-known hits.
When introducing the first of those tunes last night, “Up On The Roof,” he said he is normally a huge supporter of “No Kings,” a reference to the recent national protests against our current president, but said he’d carve out an exception for Ms. King.
The tour was presented as a “Traveling” theme, and many of the tunes were eponymous with that idea. Early-set offerings such as “Wandering,” “Walking Man,” and “My Traveling Star” echoed that idea.
He didn’t skimp on the hits, either. “Mexico,” and “Carolina In My Mind” were offered mid-set, and he clocked in “You’ve Got a Friend” at about the halfway point of the show. Towards the end of the night “Fire and Rain,” “Sweet Baby James,” “Shower the People,” and “How Sweet It Is” all made an appearance.
Approaching eighty years old, the silkiness of his voice isn’t there anymore. He dug deep for some of the high notes, and his quartet of backup singers were amped up behind him on a few of the offerings, most notably “Carolina,” which was originally recorded as a solo vocal performance. The audience didn’t care; they were happy to hear the songs that have carried many of them through the last fifty-plus years.
Boston-based Tiny Habits opened the show, performing a brisk half-hour set. The pop group is relatively new to the scene; they’ve only been together since 2022. Some of their youth showed as their stage presence seemed a little awkward at times, as if they’re still a little shell-shocked that they’re sharing a stage with someone as notorious as James Taylor.
