The night belonged to James Taylor and His All-Star Band on July 25th as Scarborough Open Air Theatre welcomed the legend to the stage for a two-act set.
James Taylor has been writing, recording and touring for nearly 60 years. At 78 years old, there is an understandable question hanging over any major international tour: how many more opportunities will audiences have to see him perform? Yet the title of his 1981 album, Dad Loves His Work, comes to mind. Taylor has long spoken of his life on the road, and there was little sign that his love for performing had faded.
With no support act, the evening belonged entirely to Taylor and his music. Over two hours, he moved through a career-spanning set that showcased not only the strength of his songwriting, but the remarkable musicianship of the band around him.
Walking on to the opening bars of “Whenever You’re Ready”, Taylor immediately settled into the relaxed, conversational stage presence that has long been one of his greatest strengths. He spoke about how many of his songs are travelling or wandering songs, a recurring theme throughout his life and music, as well as his experiences with addiction and recovery. Following the opening song with “Rainy Day Man” and “T-Bone” brought those intertwined themes into sharp focus, tracing the connection between a life spent wandering and the struggles that accompanied it. Even in a venue filled with thousands of people, Taylor’s openness and interactions with the audience made the evening feel remarkably intimate.
That intimacy was balanced by the scale and versatility of Taylor’s band. Familiar songs were rarely treated as museum pieces, with age-old music held in amber. Instead, decades of live performance had allowed them to evolve, bringing new arrangements, extended passages and unexpected musical flourishes without ever losing what made those songs resonate in the first place.
“Mexico” was one of the clearest examples. A short instrumental section in the original was transformed into an extended, exuberant jazz-inflected passage at the end of the song, giving the musicians room to stretch out, particularly percussionist Michito Sanchez, who gave the piece an infectious energy. “Steamroller” followed a similarly lively path, becoming a funky, energetic showcase for the band’s individual talents, while Taylor appeared to be having as much fun trading musical moments with his fellow performers as the audience was watching them.
The musicians around him were more than simply backing players. Sanchez’s rich percussion, Kevin Hays’ keyboards and accordion, Lou Marini’s saxophones, and Walt Fowler’s brass instruments all added to the richness and fullness of the night. Despite performing with a relatively small band, Taylor sounded as though he had a full ensemble behind him. Dorian Holley’s soaring vocal work during “Shower the People” was another highlight, while the band’s collective enthusiasm ensured that even well-worn favourites retained a sense of spontaneity.
Taylor’s storytelling remained equally important. Introducing “Carolina in My Mind”, he recalled recording in London in 1968, fitting in studio time around the Beatles’ work on The White Album. After finishing his recordings, he travelled to a Spanish island. Having spent a day in Ibiza, he missed the final boat back and had to wait until the following morning. Feeling homesick, he began writing the song that would become one of his most enduring reflections on distance, belonging and the pull of home.
Travel and memory seemed to run through the entire evening. “Line ’Em Up” prompted a few pointed jokes about Richard Nixon and Donald Trump, including Taylor’s wry admission: “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I miss Nixon.” For me, however, the song carried a different and more personal association. It brought back memories of family holidays, listening to my Dad’s folk mixtapes.
Around me, other audience members were having similar experiences. A couple sitting nearby spoke about the moments in their lives that Taylor’s music brought back to them, holding hands for much of the concert. It was one of the evening’s most moving details. These songs have spent decades travelling with people, attaching themselves to holidays, relationships, weddings and ordinary moments that later become treasured memories.
That shared history helped give performances such as “You’ve Got a Friend” their emotional weight. Written by Carole King, the song was delivered with the same warmth and sincerity that made it a classic, while years of live performance had added subtle changes and new musical textures. “Up on the Roof” continued the connection to King’s songwriting, while “Sweet Baby James” was introduced by an Irish jig led by Andrea Zonn on fiddle. Its accompanying storybook-style visuals, following a young cowboy through the song’s lyrics, were among the evening’s more successful uses of the large screens.
Admittedly, not every visual choice landed quite as well. Some of the imagery felt somewhat impersonal beside music so rooted in lived experience and human connection. Still, the music remained the focus. “Fire and Rain” carried the quiet emotional weight expected of one of Taylor’s defining songs, while the final song before the encore, “Your Smiling Face”, brought the energy back up as audience members danced and appeared on the big screens.
The encore offered some of the evening’s most intimate moments. Henry Taylor, James’ son, stepped into a more prominent role during “Shed a Little Light”, taking a solo verse while his father became part of the supporting vocal group around him. The reversal was subtle but meaningful. After spending much of the evening watching Taylor lead an exceptional ensemble, the audience briefly saw him step back and support his son.
Taylor’s famous cover of Marvin Gaye’s “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)” provided another reminder of how deeply these songs have become woven into people’s lives, while also capturing the warmth and celebration of the moment. In many ways, it felt like a thank you from Taylor to the audience for the decades of support they had given him. For me, it carried its own family connection, having been the song my brother and his wife walked down the aisle to as newlyweds.
That connection continued with the surprise final song of the night, “You Can Close Your Eyes”. From the audience, it appeared that this had not originally been planned as part of the show, with Taylor moving from musician to musician, quietly speaking with them before eventually taking his place beside his son Henry. Whether it was a last-minute addition or a special moment shaped by the significance of the final night of the European leg of the tour, it felt like a fittingly personal way to close the evening.
As Taylor approaches six decades on the road, it is difficult not to wonder how many more international tours might follow. Yet the evening never felt like a farewell or a retrospective. The songs still felt alive and full of possibility, and Taylor remained as effortlessly charming and unhurried as ever. Through all of Taylor’s years of wandering, his songs have travelled even further. The bond between Taylor, his music and his audience remains unmistakable, and it is clear that Dad still loves his work.
Find the rest of the TK Maxx presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre season on their website.
