Sunday, June 29, was one of the prettiest nights at one of the prettiest venues in recent memory. CMAC in Canandaigua played host to James Taylor, who did what he’s been doing for more than half a century, he made thousands of people feel like they were the only ones in the room.
With warmth, wit and that honey-smooth voice that has somehow defied time, Taylor transformed a sold-out amphitheater into a fireside gathering. Casual, comforting and utterly captivating.
James Taylor’s career began in 1968, the same year Nixon was elected president as the country was clawing its way through unrest, war and transformation. While the world burned and twisted itself into knots, a soft-spoken North Carolinian with a guitar and a head full of melodies quietly emerged. He was armed with songs that soothed, healed and endured. Over five decades later, those same songs still do.
He’s a traveler. He always has been. Not just in the literal sense, but musically, emotionally, spiritually. His catalog is a roadmap of the American experience. “Country Road,” “Mexico,” “Sweet Baby James”, they’re more than songs They’re audible landmarks in life.
Last night’s setlist leaned into that journey. From the easy lilt of “Wandering” to the harmonica-fueled soul of “I’m a Road Runner”, Taylor moved through the evening like a man flipping through an old photo album.
Each song a snapshot, a season, a time capsule. “My Traveling Star” and “Stretch of the Highway” deepened the show’s open-road theme, while “Up on the Roof” and “Blossom” reminded us that the quietest moments often speak the loudest. And the anthems? They landed like gospel. “Carolina in My Mind,” “Sweet Baby James,” “Shower the People,” “You’ve Got a Friend,” “Fire and Rain”, these weren’t just crowd favorites. They were shared memories.
You could feel it ripple through the audience. The goosebumps, misty eyes, the instinct to grab the hand of the person beside you, even if you didn’t know them. With well over 3,000 concerts behind him and no sign of slowing down at 77, James Taylor is a living, breathing part of the American landscape. To say he’s as American as apple pie would be cliché and honestly, inaccurate.
He’s more American than apple pie. He’s deeper. He’s weathered. He’s the voice on the radio during a long highway drive, the record your parents played on Sunday mornings, the song that says what you’re feeling when you can’t find the words. James Taylor is timeless.
Watching him perform, it doesn’t matter how old you are, where you’re from, or what you believe. He connects across every divide with humility and grace. In a time when so much feels fractured, he brings people together with nothing but a guitar, a world-class band and a voice that still carries kindness in every note.
His show at CMAC was a guided meditation through song. An exercise in restraint, vulnerability and emotional precision. No pyrotechnics. No theatrics. Just a chair, some stories and a setlist filled with songs that feel at once rooted in the past and entirely of the moment.
He cracked jokes. He shared memories. He sang like someone who still means every word, because he does. “Steamroller” came with a wry grin and bluesy bite. “Shed a Little Light” quieted the crowd, then lifted it in harmony. And “Your Smiling Face”? Pure joy in motion. Couples danced. Strangers high-fived. Grandparents bounced toddlers on their knees.
By the time he closed with “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)” and the lullaby-like encore “Close Your Eyes,” there was no doubt: we’d just witnessed something rare. You could see it in the crowd. Their eyes closed, hands held, tears wiped away, laughter bubbling up when people caught themselves on the jumbotrons. That’s connection.
In the end, a James Taylor concert isn’t just about the music. It’s about presence. It’s about being still for a moment and feeling something real. It’s about spending an evening with someone who has quietly, consistently and gracefully soundtracked the emotional lives of generations.
James Taylor is more than a musician. He’s an American institution. A traveler. A truth-teller. A quiet hero. Last night at CMAC, he reminded us that sometimes, the softest voices echo the longest.
James Taylor – CMAC, Canandaigua, NY – Sunday, June 29
Setlist: Wandering, I’m a Road Runner, Walking Man, Stretch of the Highway, Mexico, My Traveling Star, Blossom, Carolina, Up On the Roof, The Frozen Man, You’ve Got a Friend, Sweet Baby James, Fire & Rain, Stop Thinkin’, Shed a Little Light, Shower The People, Your Smiling Face, Steamroller, How Sweet It Is, Close Your Eyes
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