James Taylor at MGM Music Hall, Sept. 9, 2024

Concert Reviews

“I feel like I know half of you out there,” he told the MGM Music Hall crowd.

James Taylor performs at MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston Monday night. Kayla Bartkowski For The Boston Globe

James Taylor and his All Star Band at MGM Music Hall at Fenway, Sept. 9, 2024

“It’s great to be at home in Boston,” James Taylor told his 5,000-member audience. “It’s exhausting though, I got to tell you. I feel like I know half of you out there — owe you money.”

The legendary folk-rock singer-songwriter and guitarist graced the stage at MGM Music Hall at Fenway on Sept. 9 for the first of two nights on his summer tour with his All Star Band. The dream team of musicians and artists includes Kate Markowitz and Dorian Holley on vocals, Andrea Zonn on vocals and fiddle, Larry Goldings on piano, Lou Marini on horns, Walt Fowler on keyboards and horns, Michael Landau on guitar, Jimmy Johnson on bass, Luis Conte on percussion, and Steve Gadd on drums.

Before six Grammy wins and an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Taylor was born in Boston in 1948. He drew inspiration for his folk with blues, Motown, and country influences from spending summers on Martha’s Vineyard, immersing himself in the island’s folk scene and playing open mics.

Now, the 76-year-old artist splits his time between Washington, Massachusetts in Berkshire County and Brookline.

A musician as renowned as Taylor needs no introduction, so instead of an opener, he played two sets with a 20-minute intermission. The concert began with a young Taylor singing and skillfully finger picking “Something in the Way She Moves” on a large screen. It’s the song Taylor auditioned with when he landed his first record deal with Apple Records, performing for and impressing Paul McCartney and George Harrison.

His voice grew richer as the video clips progressed through the years, until he appeared on stage to sing live.

Donning a flat cap and blue blazer, Taylor offered a heartwarming smile to his adoring fans — majority baby boomers and Gen X — who rose for a standing ovation. He stood bashful and humbled that so many people came out to share their night with him.

On a cover of Buddy Holly’s “Everyday,” many lyrics were lost without clear enunciation, but Taylor still managed to capture the whirlwind feeling of yearning for love. Light fractured down on him like sunbeams, further emphasizing the magic of falling for someone.

Taylor’s voice carried a shaky tone, and his capacity for breath support was much lower than it used to be — changes that come with age. When he reached for high notes, you could almost feel the effort it took to contract his neck and face to land them. But most of the time, he did. And he finished each song beaming.

Even after a remarkable career spanning decades, it seemed like he still couldn’t believe he got to do what he loved every night.

Taylor has a masterful capacity to capture a feeling through music. Part of it was his move to New York City in 1966 and subsequent exposure to the storytelling strategies of Broadway, and another part was his difficult battles with addiction and loss.

“Copperline,” about North Carolina, conveyed a bittersweet nostalgia, painting a life in sweeping brush strokes like a song from a Motown musical. A deeply emotive fiddle solo by Zonn solidified the treasured, aching memories of a place that used to be home.

On his hit “Fire and Rain,” Taylor revisited dealing with drug addiction and the suicide of his childhood friend Suzanne Schnerr.

“I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend/ But I always thought that I’d see you again,” Taylor sang, leaning into the sorrowful loneliness of missing someone gone too soon.

While he kept it real, Taylor also laid out plenty of silly jokes that would make any dad chuckle and any tween roll their eyes.

“Ah the Charles,” he quipped with a cheeky smile after drinking from his water bottle, referring to the unsanitary history of the Charles River.

When he was greeted with whistles after taking off his blazer mid-set, he told the audience that what hid underneath wasn’t anything exciting. “A little bit later, I might take off my teeth,” Taylor joked.

He also held up a comically large setlist throughout the show to update the audience on where he was, reassuring them that their favorites were still on the docket — they might just have to wait for Set 2.

Taylor learned hymns on guitar when he was in boarding school to lay the groundwork for his style. He returned to gospel influences with “Shed a Little Light,” a bright track advocating for peace and love.

In a three-song encore, Taylor ended singing “That Lonesome Road” in four-part harmony acapella. Audience members held their hands to their chests, soaking in the last soulful moments of a bucket-list concert.

A 22-song lineup would be daunting for anyone, let alone a man whose first hit was released 54 years ago. Taylor left the stage as a beacon of hope, proving that even in the darkest times, things can get better.