Carole King and James Taylor team up for commemorative tour

Folk-rock icons Carole King and James Taylor will be stopping in Utah on their “Troubadour Reunion Tour” on July 15 at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City.

Carole King began her career as a songwriter, penning hits for Aretha Franklin, The Animals and Dusty Springfield before recording her critically acclaimed solo album “Tapestry” in 1971. James Taylor is the singer/songwriter behind such hits as “Fire and Rain” and “Carolina in my Mind”. The pair are reuniting in commemoration of their 1970 landmark performance at The Troubadour in Los Angeles.

King and Taylor, who wanted to be able to perform for large audiences without sacrificing the intimacy of the original Troubadour, have designed a theater-in-the-round stage set. Stage seats have been designed as tables, akin to those found in a nightclub, and surround a center stage upon which King and Taylor will perform.

“What we came up with was the idea that we would basically have a club in an arena, like a small club setting with an audience up close and personal that we could play to and then broadcast that to the rest of the arena,” said Taylor in an interview. “That was what we came up with as a way of staying intimate, of picking the thing up as a close conversation between Carole and me, which is what we’re most comfortable with.”

VIP Stage Seat Packages will be available for $750, and will include access to pre-show sound checks and a pre-performance reception with complimentary wine, beer and hors d’oeuvres. Proceeds from the VIP Stage Seat Packages will go to benefit the National Resources Defense Council and the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, as well as 90 other national and local charities. Standard arena seating will go from $35-$125 dollars. Tickets are currently on sale through Smith’s Tix and other ticket distributors.