{"id":292393,"date":"2026-04-30T01:56:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T01:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/292393\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T01:56:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T01:56:09","slug":"james-taylor-shines-anew-at-san-diego-concert-filled-with-welcome-surprises-san-diego-union-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/292393\/","title":{"rendered":"James Taylor shines anew at San Diego concert filled with welcome surprises \u2013 San Diego Union-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

James Taylor took to the stage Tuesday night at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park just minutes after the San Diego Padres began their home stand, barely half a mile away at Petco Park, against the Chicago Cubs.<\/p>\n

But while the Padres went down swinging in an 8-3 loss, the ultimately triumphant Taylor expertly mixed his much-beloved hits with an unusually high number of musical curve balls. By doing so, he made his sold-out concert \u2014 the second on his 2026 North American and European tour \u2014 as surprising as it was enjoyable and rewarding.<\/p>\n

\"JamesJames Taylor delivered a winning performance Tuesday night at The Shell in San Diego.\u00a0(Nelvin C. Cepeda \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

The 78-year-old troubadour bravely refused to engage in the kind of safe, predictable, by-the-numbers show that \u2014 apart from Bob Dylan and Paul Simon \u2014 too many of his baby-boomer peers are content to dole out night after night to nostalgia-craving audiences.<\/p>\n

James Taylor on his new musical, songwriting, Ukraine and more: \u2018It helps to have a deadline\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean Taylor didn\u2019t happily include a good array of fan favorites. He did. And he delivered them with palpable passion and a warm, resonant, if sometimes shaky voice that grew more assured in his second set when he performed mostly without his four excellent backing singers.<\/p>\n

The two-part concert featured winning renditions of \u201cCarolina in My Mind,\u201d \u201cCountry Road,\u201d \u201cShower the People,\u201d \u201cShed a Little Light,\u201d and a majestic \u201cFire and Rain\u201d that were all highlights. Just as memorable were his inviting versions of Marvin Gaye\u2019s \u201cHow Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You),\u201d the 1959 Otis Blackwell\/Jimmy Jones chestnut \u201cHandyman\u201d and the Carole King and Gerry Goffin-penned Coasters\u2019 hit, \u201cUp on the Roof.\u201d (\u201cWe\u2019re kind of \u2018No Kings\u2019 up here,\u201d Taylor said, \u201cbut we love Carole King.\u201d)<\/p>\n

But the best illustration of how eager this Boston-bred singer, songwriter and band leader is to defy expectations comes with a quick comparison of his Tuesday concert at The Shell with his two sold-out concerts at the same venue last May.<\/p>\n

James Taylor\u2019s San Diego concert a triumph of skill, tenacity, charm and wit<\/a><\/p>\n

All three concerts featured 21 songs each, including encores. But 12 of the selections this time around were not included in the setlist here or for his entire 2025 tour. And three of the songs featured Tuesday \u2014 the superb \u201cMillworker,\u201d \u201cNever Die Young\u201d and the concert-closing \u201cSecrets O\u2019 Life\u201d \u2014 were last played by Taylor and his aptly-named All-Star Band in 2022. \u201cLine \u2018Em Up\u201d was performed for the first time since 2021.<\/p>\n

Moreover, according to bassist and musical director Jimmy Johnson, two of the songs featured Tuesday \u2014 \u201cT-Bone\u201d and \u201cNight Owl\u201d \u2014 have not been in any of Taylor\u2019s tours since Johnson came on board in 1990.<\/p>\n

Their inclusion may have been a disappointment for fans eager to hear \u201cMexico,\u201d \u201cOnly a Dream in Rio\u201d and \u201cSweet Baby James,\u201d which Taylor performed here last year but not this time around. With a songbook as rich as his, though, it simply isn\u2019t feasible to include everything. His desire to keep the music (and himself) fresh by mixing things up was a treat, especially for those listeners who enjoy hearing a veteran artist who refuses to coast on his laurels by repeating all the same numbers, year after year and tour after tour.<\/p>\n

\"JamesJames Taylor\u2019s aptly named All-Star Band features four vocal accompanists, including his son Henry, at left, and Dorian Holley at right. (Nelvin C. Cepeda \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

Following his opening selection, \u201cWhenever You\u2019re Ready,\u201d a lilting 2002 ode to overcoming adversity, Taylor addressed the enthusiastic audience of 7,297 by referencing the two shows he did at The Shell on his 2025 tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last time we were here, we did (an opening) set on a theme \u2014 traveling. This first set will have three or four songs that I call \u2018recovery songs,\u201d songs about addiction, which is a big part of my life,\u201d said Taylor, who was a heroin and methadone addict for 18 years before getting clean in 1983. \u201cThis next song is sort of a love song to my dealer.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that, he broke into his pensive 1966 ballad \u201cRainy Day Man,\u201d whose air of melancholy was reflected in the key lyric: \u201cYou can\u2019t hide the truth with a happy song.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was followed by the son jarocho-infused \u201cT-Bone,\u201d which Taylor wrote in 1987 with Little Feat band co-founder Bill Payne, and \u201cThat\u2019s Why I\u2019m Here,\u201d the enchanting title track of Taylor\u2019s 1988 album.<\/p>\n

Introducing the latter song, Taylor said: \u201cThe second verse is about the death of our close friend, John Belushi, which was a wake-up call for me \u2014 a turning point. The third verse is about all of you. And the first verse is all filler, sort of like Hamburger Helper.\u201d<\/p>\n

As usual, Taylor avoided making any overt political commentary. Except, that is, when he introduced his terrific 1997 song, \u201cLine \u2018Em Up,\u201d which was inspired by disgraced President Nixon\u2019s last day in office.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time we were kind of appalled,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cBut you know, I now kind of miss Richard Nixon.\u201d The audience cheered loudly.<\/p>\n

It speaks to Taylor\u2019s devotion to his craft that he poured himself into his slinky, rarely heard 1966 pop-soul gem, \u201cNight Owl,\u201d as he did into the much better-known songs that followed. His wonderfully versatile band was note-perfect throughout, anchored by bassist Johnson and former Frank Zappa drum ace Chad Wackerman. Taylor\u2019s four vocal accompanists, who included his 25-year-old son, Henry, were luminous in each instance they were featured.<\/p>\n

The elder Taylor exuded the easy-going charm of a music legend who is free of any airs or affectations. His exceptionally durable songs have become ingrained in the fabric of American life for many who grew up listening to them, and Tuesday\u2019s audience at The Shell listened attentively and happily swayed along to the music.<\/p>\n

When a female fan loudly professed her love for the affable Taylor, he smiled and slyly replied: \u201cI love you, too. It helps to not know each other!\u201d<\/p>\n

With a new album and Broadway show in the works, it is clear James Taylor is not the retiring type. And when he sang the words \u201cNever give up, never slow down \/ Never grow old \/ Never, ever die young\u201d during his 14th selection Tuesday \u2014 the still-engaging title track to his 1988 album, \u201cNever Die Young\u201d \u2014 they sounded like the summation of an ongoing mission accomplished.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"James Taylor took to the stage Tuesday night at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park just minutes after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292394,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[181,6682,74,76,75,420],"class_list":["post-292393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-latest-headlines","tag-music-and-concerts","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-things-to-do"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}