Anthony Toner Plays James Taylor

WHEN singer songwriter Anthony Toner thought he would pay tribute to one of his heroes (the mighty James Taylor) with a few afternoon shows this summer, he had no idea how strongly his audience would react – all of the shows have sold out.

Well, the good news is, Anthony has added ONE extra date – at the Belfast Barge, on Sunday afternoon, October 18.

The Barge appearance comes a few months after a stunning afternoon solo set of his own material at the floating venue (moored on the River Lagan just adjacent to the Waterfront Hall) in June as part of the Belfast City Blues Festival line-up.

If you haven’t heard Anthony play acoustic guitar in the James Taylor style, you’re in for a treat – his dedication to the great man’s writing and approach to the instrument is apparent in every note. ‘Hearing James Taylor for the first time was the catalyst that really made me take the acoustic guitar seriously,’ says Anthony.

‘My playing and singing were never quite the same - it could be said that my entire relationship to the instrument since then has been based heavily on James Taylor’s approach.’

For this concert, Anthony will perform solo, offering a personal selection of songs made famous by Taylor, including many of the greatest hits – ‘Fire and Rain’, ‘Sweet Baby James’, ‘Walking Man’, ‘You’ve Got a Friend’ and many more… but also selecting some deep dives into the extensive JT back catalogue to share some of his personal favourites.

Anthony has one more ‘AT plays JT’ show in Scotland at the start of November – but this appearance at the Barge will be the last one of these in Northern Ireland - for this year, at least.