Livingston Taylor is performing at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center on Sunday, July 6th and Thursday, August 14th. A beloved musician with Island ties and multiple chart-hitting tracks, he’ll be performing two shows this summer to the local community where he’ll showcase familiar folk favorites and original songs — and he said he’s excited to be back performing for the people he has connected to deeply over the years.
In a recent interview outside of the Film Center, Taylor sat with a coffee from Catboat and excitedly discussed Island wins, woes, and everything in between. Although he was born in Boston and raised in North Carolina, Taylor and his family spent a lot of time on the Vineyard, establishing themselves as prominent figures in the community through music, activism, and social gatherings.
Taylor — brother to musicians Kate and James — said he spends about six months out of the year on the Vineyard with his wife, Gail Arnold, and usually performs in the summertime on the Island.
Taylor, now 74, discussed his casual Island fame, and said it seems to him that residents are comforted by his long-time track record of local performances. He joked that his familiarity is “not dissimilar to revisiting a Sunday morning Sarah Lee coffee cake, purchased in the frozen section of the Stop&Shop.”
Most know him for his passionate speeches about local issues like politics, housing and transportation, renowned showmanship and stage presence, and the musical impact of his entire family. His nephews Ben and Isaac, and sister Kate, live on the Island year-round, and perform throughout the year at public events.
A retired professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Taylor spends much of his time writing his next book, “Letters to Livingston,” and just finished a symphony album in London with the BBC concert orchestra: “Symphonic Steps.”
His poetic tone and community values shone through as he moseyed around the Vineyard Haven marketplace.
“My musical ride started on the twisting roads of Martha’s Vineyard,” Taylor said, looking up at the cloudy sky as he reminisced. “The canopy over middle road, the interesting dips and corners of Lambert’s Cove Road, the windswept loneliness of Moshup’s Trail, the flooding and ebbing tide of Menemsha, the raised-pinky sophistication of Edgartown, the midnight energy of Circuit Ave, all of this culminating in the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center, which is held in the responsible embrace of Vineyard Haven.”
Livingston Taylor will perform two shows at the MV Film Center: Sunday July 6th, and Thursday August 14th, both at 7:30pm. More information available here.
