BERKSHIREEAGLE.COM — James Taylor July 4 Tanglewood tickets go on sale Feb. 3
By Clarence Fanto
LENOX — Continuing an annual tradition, James Taylor and his All-Star Band will celebrate the Independence Day holiday with one show on July 4 as part of the Tanglewood Popular Artists series. It will be his 29th summer season appearance here.
Tickets for the 8 p.m. show in the Koussevitzky Music Shed go on sale Feb. 3 at 10 a.m. at tanglewood.org or 888-266-1200. Prices range from $30 for the lawn to $120 for prime Shed seating.
Proceeds will be donated by Kim and James Taylor to Tanglewood Building and Grounds projects.
The July 4 concert, which is expected to attract the usual capacity crowd of 18,000 listeners, ends with a fireworks display over Stockbridge Bowl.
Taylor’s only other announced New England show is at Fenway Park in Boston on June 21, where he has performed three times in recent years. His summer season U.S. tour will be announced soon.
New memoir, album
Taylor’s Tanglewood debut was in 1974 with Linda Ronstadt. He returned in 1975, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2003 and annually from 2005 through 2019, except for 2013.
Over the next few weeks, his Audible.com Original spoken word memoir, “Break Shot” will be released. Taylor’s new studio album, “American Standard,” a complement to the audio memoir, is coming out on Fantasy Records next month.
The Audible release is a 90-minute autobiographical survey of his first 21 years, recorded at The Barn, Taylor’s state-of-the-art recording studio near his home in the town of Washington.
The first chapter of his life story cover his early years in the Boston area followed by his family’s move to Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Instead of heading to college, Taylor chose to launch his musical career, with a major assist from the Beatles when he visited London with a demo of his first self-titled album, released on the British band’s Apple label in December 1968. It included the hit “Carolina in My Mind.”
Audible’s spoken word memoir is described by the company as a “one-of-a-kind music and storytelling experience.”
Taylor collaborated with music journalist Bill Flanagan to describe how his upbringing inspired some of his most beloved and enduring songs.
“I’ve known Bill Flanagan and admired his writing forever,” Taylor said. “I was happy and relieved that he had agreed to help me gather my thoughts and edit this autobiography of my beginnings, the on-ramp to the road I’ve traveled ever since.
“A pitcher needs a catcher, and a funny and intelligent collaborator can make you seem likewise,” Taylor continued. The musician compared Flanagan’s role as that of a film director.