James Taylor Cements Legend Status at Red Rocks: Review

If you want to get a true understanding of why Red Rocks is consistently ranked one of the best concert venues in the world, both for its natural beauty and acoustics, then look no further than the newest Red Rocks Hall of Fame inductee, James Taylor.

In his first performance at the historic venue since becoming a Hall of Famer last year, James Taylor and his All Star Band kicked off his sold-out, two night jam at Red Rocks on Friday, June 13.

Prior to taking the stage, the folk-pop trio, Tiny Habits, opened for Taylor with a thirty-minute set of mostly original music and one cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide." The group of three friends, Cinya Khan, Maya Rae and Judah Mayowa, released its first EP in April 2023, and have since recorded songs with Lizzy McAlpine and Kacey Musgraves, and is opening for Taylor on his summer tour.
Tiny Habits, which has about 620,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, crossed off what it called a "bucket list" performance at Red Rocks. While the members stated multiple times how nervous they were — even at one point apologizing for potential mistakes in their performance because "it's Red Rocks"— it was clear that their voices and harmonies live up to those who return to the historic amphitheater year after year.

Taylor, donning his flat cap and polo, then took the stage to a rousing standing ovation and began the night with "Wandering," a staple from his 1975 Gorilla album. As much of the first half of his set was dedicated to what Taylor called road songs: "(I'm a) Roadrunner," "Walking Man" and "Stretch of the Highway" before making it down to the border with a top hit, "Mexico."
Throughout the evening, Taylor was not afraid to dish out praise to his band members and backup singers, each of whom live up to their "All Star" status. Before playing "Only a Dream in Rio," in a style only James Taylor can pull off, he flipped his flat cap backwards and spoke about writing the track. He was on a 1985 trip to Brazil, where he played at the Rock in Rio festival, and he claimed the tune just came out of his guitar. At that time, Brazil was also fresh out of a dictatorship. Taylor, who is no stranger to speaking his political beliefs, sarcastically quipped, "That would never happen [in America]."

As the sun set on a perfect Friday evening, the audience's phones rose to get a video of Taylor's other hits, starting out with "Carolina In My Mind" and his only Billboard No.1 hit "You've Got a Friend," written by a close friend, Carole King, whom Taylor thanked profusely for her friendship and professional partnership in every performance.

The rest of the night saw moving and exciting renditions of "Sweet Baby James," "Fire and Rain," "Shower the People," and "Your Smiling Face" before his three-song encore.

After coming back out to a raucous crowd, Taylor — equipped with an electric guitar over his typical acoustic — set out for a rocking rendition of "Steamroller." Lou Marini, Max Darché, Michael Landau and Larry Goldings each had stellar, lengthy solos. By now, the entire crowd was on its feet, as Taylor was emoting across the stage with his band.

Night one of his time at Red Rocks closed by continuing the jam with "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)," and finally — a staple of any James Taylor concert — "You Can Close Your Eyes," which he performed with his son Henry and Tiny Habits.

Taylor has played at Red Rocks at least a dozen times over the last six decades, first on July 27, 1975. Since then, the six-time Grammy Award winner has solidified his status as a legend at Red Rocks with five sold-out, two-night runs in 2003, 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2024. Friday marked the start of his sixth sold-out run.

Taylor's tour continues through the end of September with performances at venues large and small including the Xcel Center in Minneapolis and his perennial Independence Day shows at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass.

See more photos from the show below:
Find more concerts on our Denver concert calendar.