James Taylor – Live Review – The Piece Hall, Halifax
By Steve Crabtree, June 2026
“Oh, record this – it’s one of my old favourites!” my mum told me, when I had my silver Sharp tape recorder by the speak of the stereo – making early ‘mix’ tapes as James Taylor’s ‘You Got A Friend’ came on the radio. I’ll have been about seven years old.
If my mum liked it, I liked it. That was how it happened, back then!
James Taylor is a worldwide name. He is a truly legendary singer-songwriter, and his music has been floating around my ears ever since. So, when he was announced for a summer show at The Piece Hall in Halifax, it was one I really wanted to go to.
And I’m so glad I went, because everything about the night was lovely. We had proper warm, t-shirt wearing weather, with the sun bathing the courtyard nicely throughout most of the show. It looked stunning, and that fed a brilliant atmosphere that perfectly matched the where we were.
“An A-grade storyteller”
There wasn’t a support act tonight. Just James Taylor, and his All-Star Band, and we were treated to a fantastic two-set show.
The first half kicked off at 7.40pm with a nice, jazz-beat filled version of ‘Whenever You’re Ready’. He entered the stage to a massive ovation and dapperly doffed his hat to 6,000 people. He called the venue “remarkable” and seemed genuinely in awe of the place. Quite a compliment from someone who has spent over 50 years performing in the world’s most impressive concert venues.
The beautiful tunes rolled out nicely. He eased into ‘Rainy Day Man’, followed up by ‘T-Bone’ and a soulful ‘Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight’. Between the songs, Taylor proved to be as much an A-grade storyteller and comic as he is a musician.
He earned roaring laughter from the crowd while introducing ‘Line ‘Em Up’. He smirked and said: “I never thought that I’d hear myself saying that I actually miss Richard Nixon.” Some of us laughed, some of us cheered. It was brilliant. There seemed to be a fascinating story behind every single song. You found yourself genuinely excited to know what he was going to tell us next.
Image: Steve Crabtree
“Quality for the ears”
His All-Star Band showed off how world-class they are too. They were anchored by the incomparable Chad Wackerman on drums and Jimmy Johnson on bass. They brought a fantastic groove to the place, especially during an infectious, hard-grooving delivery of ‘Steamroller Blues’ and a playful, crowd-pleasing ‘Handy Man’.
Nowadays, you can attend a concert where the stage setup is overly mass-produced. Sometimes the visual effects become more of a highlight than the actual music, but there are some musicians who just don’t need any of that. They have all the quality for the ears you could ever want right there in their songs and stories.
James Taylor and his band are firmly in that category. He’s 78 years old now, but there are reasons why some musicians don’t fade away. It comes down to quality in everything, and a genuine talent for the art they perform.
“Brilliant tunes”
A major highlight of the night was his lovely nod to Carole King. He treated us to a couple of brilliant tunes she wrote, including a moving performance of ‘You’ve Got a Friend’. He joked: “Little did I know that I’d have to play it in every single concert since!” It was a funny, self-deprecating moment that everyone loved.
As we swept towards the end of the second set, which had gone by so quickly, we all sang along to ‘How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You), and nobody was heading for the exits. Lots of happy people, who’d had a really nice night were just smiling.
‘You Can Close Your Eyes’ closed out the show, and I for one had really enjoyed this gig. Everything about it was just lovely…relaxed, warm, friendly, with incredibly good music and great humour.
The performance showed exactly why James Taylor remains a global treasure after so long. Top-tier songs, brilliant stories, and a wonderful presence. It was another unforgettable summer night at The Piece Hall.
Images: Cuffe & Taylor
Give Steve music, give him food, give him theatre, tech or travel… and he’s a happy man. He’s been writing professionally since 2003, turning to journalism in 2017 when it offered him the chance to enjoy a lot of his existing passions, and learn some new ones at the same time. Steve can be found spending many of his summer nights watching bands at The Piece Hall in his hometown of Halifax, or enjoying a bite to eat and a drink with his wife anywhere in Yorkshire at any time of year. Random fact: He does the best impression of Zippy and George from Rainbow that anyone has ever heard.
