James Taylor opens fall tour with hits, humor and healing

VIENNA, VA. – James Taylor is nothing if not reliable.

Familiarity is the foundation of his show, not just with the music, but the man as well.

For nearly 60 years, Taylor’s music has provided the comfort of a well-worn quilt while simultaneously tapping into emotion – sadness, wistfulness, joy – and making us believe everything will be OK.

At Wolf Trap in northern Virginia on Aug. 30, the first of a three-night stand at one of several favorite spots he routinely plays, Taylor and his ace All-Star Band jumpstarted the fall leg of a 2026 tour that started in April and will wrap Sept. 26 in South Florida.

Alternating between standing with his acoustic guitar, his right leg pumping to the rhythm of show-opener “Whenever You’re Ready,” and folding his lanky frame onto a stool for the subsequent “Rainy Day Man,” Taylor, 78, quickly told the sold-out crowd that the theme of his first block of songs was “recovery."

"What could be more fun, really?” he asked with his typically droll sense of humor.

Taylor, who struggled with heroin dependence for nearly 20 years in the early part of his career, reminded that “recovery from addiction is a big…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/entertainment/