James Taylor Stopping In Indy
Five-time Grammy® Award winner James Taylor has announced additional summer tour dates alongside his sold out shows at Tangelwood for his traditional Fourth of July concert and Fenway Park on Aug. 6, with special guest Bonnie Raitt.
The shows will include material from his recently announced new album Before This World, the legendary singer/songwriter’s first album of new songs since 2002’s platinum-selling “October Road.” Produced by Grammy Award®-winner Dave O’Donnell, “Before This World” features 10 songs, nine of which are new James Taylor compositions, and is due out June 16 from Concord Records.
Recorded at his home studio The Barn, in Washington, Ma., Taylor enlisted the longtime members of his band for the sessions including bassist Jimmy Johnson, drummer Steve Gadd, guitarist Michael Landau, keyboardist Larry
Goldings, percussionist Luis Conte, fiddler and vocalist Andrea Zonn and vocalists Arnold McCuller, David Lasley and Kate Markowitz. Taylor also called on close friends Yo-Yo Ma and Sting to add their remarkable talent to the new album, (Ma’s cello is heard on “You And I Again” and “Before This World;” Sting added vocals to “Before This World.”) Additionally, Taylor’s wife Kim and son Henry sing harmony on “Angels Of Fenway” and the classic folk tune “Wild Mountain Thyme.”
On “Before This World,” Taylor continues to explore many of the themes that have absorbed him throughout his career. “My sort of self-expression and the autobiographical aspect of my work is a thru-line that links all my albums together,” he explains. “I think I have grown musically, and I think people can hear it in what I played in ’68, and you can hear it in what I’m singing about now. It is ongoing, it’s still me, but it’s still evolving.”
The past ten years have been full of an extensive tour schedule and notable achievements for Taylor – including his acclaimed One Man Band tour and concert performance film, which aired on PBS and was nominated for an Emmy Award, his wildly successful Troubadour Reunion tour and “Live at the Troubadour” album with Carole King, two collections of cover songs, “Covers and Other Covers,” a heartwarming Christmas album, “James Taylor at Christmas,” and 2014’s sold out tour across the U.S., Europe and the UK. It will also be a particularly special summer for Taylor, as he will be performing a full-length concert with his All-Star Band for the first time ever at Fenway Park on Aug. 6, with guest Bonnie Raitt, which sold out 32,000 seats in one day.
One of the defining musical figures of our time, Taylor continues to express himself and touch our lives with the enduring songs he creates. “I really just feel as if I want to make music now,” he said as he completed work on the new album. “I’ve done a lot of thinking about why I continue to be compelled to do this kind of work, but I still feel a huge connection with it.”
Taylor will perform at the Klipsch Music Center in Noblesville on July 15 and at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. on July 14. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, April 24. Visit www.livenation.com for tickets and more information.
