BERKSHIREEAGLE.COM — James Taylor to hit road in July; Tanglewood info on horizon
By Clarence Fanto
Berkshire-based singer-songwriter James Taylor is going out on the road this summer, joining a growing list of rock and pop performers planning rescheduled concerts as many states ease or lift restrictions on large gatherings.
Taylor’s 26-stop tour with vocalist and songwriter Jackson Browne, postponed from last summer because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is scheduled to begin July 29 in Chicago and extends through Aug. 28 in Holmdel, N.J., a distant suburb of New York City. Taylor’s 12-city Canadian tour with roots and blues singer Bonnie Raitt is set to begin Sept. 12 in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
The U.S. tour with Browne resumes Oct. 16 in New Orleans and concludes Nov. 1 in San Diego.
An announcement is expected soon about Taylor’s Tanglewood concert, which might be rescheduled from the original July 4, 2021, date to late summer.
Tanglewood’s abbreviated six-week festival featuring the Boston Symphony Orchestra runs from July 9 to Aug. 16. Program details are expected to be announced next week.
Ticket sales for the Popular Artists series, normally held during the last two weeks of June, have been suspended for the time being. The BSO is trying to reschedule those shows to later in the summer or to the 2022 Tanglewood season, though some might need to be canceled, a recent BSO announcement pointed out.
The BSO stated that it will provide more details when those plans are confirmed and will honor all ticket purchases for events that are not canceled.
“Jackson and I want to thank all those who have graciously held onto their tickets; we appreciate your continued patience as we navigate these unchartered waters,” Taylor stated in a prepared announcement. “We didn’t want to have to cancel this tour that we’ve been waiting so long to perform together, so we’ve been working to get these dates rescheduled to a time period when the U.S. is reopened and safe to gather for a concert.”
Taylor and Browne added that “of course we will be keeping a close eye and abide with all health and safety protocols throughout each venue and state. We can’t wait to get back on stage and see you out there soon.”
The tour announcement from Taylor’s management company points out that previously purchased tickets will be honored for all rescheduled dates, and fans are encouraged to hold on to their tickets.
“Should you be unable to attend the rescheduled date, please reach out to your point of purchase for information on refunds,” the statement added. “The patience of all ticket holders has been appreciated through these uncertain and challenging times.
The first 12 dates for the rescheduled tour are in the Midwest and South, including Pittsburgh, Louisville, Ky., Memphis and Nashville, Tenn., and Atlanta.
A Northeastern leg of the itinerary in late August includes the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in the Catskills in New York, along with a date at an outdoor amphitheater at Jones Beach State Park in Wantagh, N.Y., on Long Island.
The tour is hitting at mixture of outdoor amphitheaters and indoor arenas; there hasn’t been a North America concert in venues of that size since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, Rolling Stone reported. As of now, it’s not entirely clear if all announced shows will be permitted in every venue when this tour is supposed to launch in July, the magazine said.
Browne contracted COVID-19 during the early days of the pandemic.
“My symptoms are really pretty mild, so I don’t require any kind of medication and certainly not hospitalization or anything like that,” he told Rolling Stone at the time. “It’s important for us all to be pretty forthcoming about what we’re going through. Our experiences will be helpful for others to know.”