Not all music stands the test of time, but that of James Taylor has aged like a fine wine. This was proven by a video montage of the iconic singer-songwriter performing “Something in the Way She Moves” over the years that opened up his show at Red Rocks on June 2nd. It was the first of two sold-out shows at Red Rocks this week and the singer’s ability to still sell out such an iconic venue only adds to this obvious notion of timelessness. After his 10-piece band gracefully took their respective spots onstage, the quintessentially 1960s-into-1970s musician made his entrance onto the stage right on cue, taking over mid-montage to finish out the beloved song.
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Humble, charismatic and innocently charming from the show’s onset, Taylor is one of those legendary rock stars who seems to be perpetually becoming the best version of himself. Taylor sang generous and adoring praises to his band throughout the night and offered many thanks to his audience for “bringing us back here,” Taylor brought his fans through his vast repertoire of music that spans decades, relationships, and lifetimes. The band — vocalists Kate Markowitz and Dorian Holley, fiddle player Andrea Zonn, pianist Larry Goldings, saxophonist Lou Marini, trumpeter Walt Fowler, guitarist Michael Landau, bassist Jimmy Johnson, percussionist Luis Conte and legendary drummer Steve Gadd — were elemental in rounding out the music of James Taylor for one gorgeous and star-studded evening on the Rocks.
A cover of Buddy Holly’s “Everyday” was followed by a nod to Taylor’s late friend, John Belushi. The song that came next, “Never Die Young,” was inspired by the shock of his friend’s death, an event that Taylor defined as a “wake-up call” that moved him toward his own recovery from addiction. A balance between dark and light was reached with a joke calling the first verse “styrofoam peanuts” before Taylor and his band moved into the meaningful tune. Then came “October Road,” “Secret of Life,” and a song about Taylor’s native state of North Carolina, “Copperline.” From there, fans were treated to a “Country Road” that featured some scat-rapping from Taylor and incendiary supporting guitar from Landau. A gorgeous solo from Zonn opened “Sweet Baby James, with the first set wrapping up with “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight” and “Sun on the Moon.”
After a brief break, Taylor and his band returned for a second set full of highlights (and a sprinkling of one-liners), starting with “Carolina in My Mind” and “Mexico.” In preparation for a bluesy moment, Taylor turned his archetypical driving cap around and sported an ear-to-ear grin for “Steamroller.” Though the impressively civilized audience stayed seated for most of the show, they did offer multiple rounds of standing ovations at just the right moments, that raucous tune being one of them. A down-tempo moment was then offered with the hauntingly classic “Fire and Rain” that brought an inevitable hush over the crowd.
“We’re going to do a couple songs in a row…well…that is how it works,” cracked Taylor, pausing for laughs before continuing, “both written by Carole King” — a name-drop that was met with gleeful cheer. “I’ll tell her you said that,” he quipped to more laughter. “Up on the Roof” and “You’ve Got a Friend” were performed, the latter of which had been debuted by King not long before Taylor tried it on for size, not realizing then that he would be playing it “every night for the rest of my life.” The second set wrapped with “Shower the People” and a cover of Marvin Gayes’ “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You).” A triple-encore started with “Shed a Little Light” before Taylor welcomed his son and fellow guitarist Henry Taylor onstage to join him for “Your Smiling Face.” A bittersweet moment came with father and son playing show-stopper “You Can Close Your Eyes,” leaving the night on a peaceful note before Taylor and his band took their bows and their leave from the stage.