Show 2.1, Full Review: James Taylor and His All-Star Band, “An Evening with James Taylor” Tour

I will forever know the lyrics to James Taylor’s “Something in the Way She Moves” because of the mid 80’s karaoke nights with my family and our Filipino neighbors as we all lived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I find it amazing how, decades before the rise of DSPs, American music diffused internationally. I can understand more for the Philippines, given its occupation by the United States. But Saudi Arabia is a different story.

1980’s Saudi Arabia is my initial entry point to James Taylor, but my true immersion to his music came in the early 2000s while in college. I bought the James Taylor “Live” CD for my father for his birthday. But secretly, it was also a gift for me. I wanted to listen to it in order to bring back some memories of Saudi Arabia. I used to place both disks of the set in my Aiwa boombox with the 3 CD changer.

Disk 2 was was always my favorite, as it contained “Copperline”, “Carolina on My Mind”, and “Something in the Way She Moves”.

On August 31, 2024, as we looked out towards the waters of Jones Beach on a humid night, a supercut of James Taylor live concert clips across the decades singing “Something in the Way She Moves” came on screen. And right before the last verse of the song, a 76 year old James Taylor emerged from behind the stage with a guitar, wearing a newsboy cap and a blazer, to finish singing the song.

We’re around him now, and we feel fine.

It’s followed by “Everyday”, and then later as he sits on a stool, the chills from the Long Island coast winds are replaced by the inner chills that always develop when I hear the first 20 seconds of “Copperline”. I have never been to the Chapel Hill area of North Carolina, but that song makes me want to visit there more than any Michael Jordan highlight ever will. His voice was strained with age, but there were still bursts of physical energy throughout the set. We even saw him hop around the stage towards the latter half of his set. What was constant was the timbre of a voice that has exuded soulfulness, craft, authenticity, and beautiful simplicity for over five decades.

The hits keep coming, “Sweet Baby James”, “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely”, his tribute to Martin Luther King and eternal call for unity, “Shed a Little Light”, and that other song about having [North] Carolina on your mind.

I’m already gone.

His voice was almost gone at certain points too. I could hear the vocal cords strain in the string of slow-tempo hits. He can hide it in a mid-tempo song supported by lively background singers, like “Shed a Little Light.” But on “Carolina on My Mind,” you can hear it. A 50+ year career, even with songs that hardly ever test upper registers or require vocal gymnastics, wears away at the voice. Father time is undefeated. During the show, I couldn’t help but think that we have 2 years maximum left to enjoy James Taylor touring. But given that he is nearing his 80s and still was singing entire songs, this was surely a winning performance.

This was a “bucket-list” concert, and not solely because of James Taylor’s age. The idea of “kicking the bucket” is centered on death, but to me, I’m more concerned about no longer remembering those karaoke nights in Saudi Arabia. Not remembering is a specific type of death. Because I don’t remember my childhood in the Philippines anymore, I don’t feel like I was alive those first four years. I want to experience legendary artists before I forget more and more about my own life because the music of these artists provide the triggers to revive recollections. Their music allows me to connect as many points between seemingly unrelated experiences as possible. I feel the same about spending time with the people I care about the most.

I’ve got a friend.

There’s only one person around my age I could take to the James Taylor concert: My best friend from college, Fran. The reasons are simple: He’s the only one I know with a more eclectic taste in music than me; He owns a James Taylor vintage t shirt; and Jones Beach Theater holds another special concert memory- namely, a 2004 Sade concert.

There’s also another reason. Fran is Black. We both love Black music and all of the genres Black music has inspired.

James Taylor’s music is often labeled as Folk, Contemporary Folk, or Soft Rock. But his music also occupies a sub-genre I love: White music by White Artists that Black people love.

If you don’t believe me, let’s go back to 2011 when one of my favorite R&B/Soul duos, The Foreign Exchange, released a cover of "Something in the Way She Moves" as a single on June 28, 2011. A live version was included in their album, “Dear Friends: An Evening with the Foreign Exchange” but you can find a beautiful version of it on a vinyl of “Maybe She’ll Dream Of Me (Remix)” as a B-side.

The lead singer of The Foreign Exchange is also one of my favorite rappers, Phonte Coleman of “Little Brother.”

There’s a universal quality of James Taylor’s music. There’s a timelessness. For me to remember his hits being sung by my Dad and his friends when I was five years old in Saudi Arabia is all the proof you need of universality and timelessness.

But timeless is not the same as ageless. You have 2 years left to enjoy a living legend on tour.

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About the author:

Cris Mercado is the award-winning Founder & CEO of GrantAnswers, an NYC-based data, strategy & consulting firm founded in 2013. His journey from undocumented immigrant to award-winning entrepreneur & immigrant rights advocate has been highlighted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, MTV, and Forbes. He has helped +1000s launch careers in tech & secure acceptances to top colleges & programs. His speaking engagements for the likes of Teach for America and the US Chamber of Commerce encompass immigration, career development, entrepreneurship, and tech diversity & inclusion. He is also an avid concertgoer for +25 years and counting, and likes to tell stories about it.