A Listener Bumped Into James Taylor At Pittsfield RMV

A listener named Amy Conner messaged us on Facebook the other day with one of those only-in-the-Berkshires stories.

She was at the Pittsfield RMV on East Street getting her name changed. She just got married, and it was her birthday week too, so a registry trip was unavoidable! She didn't even realize James Taylor was sitting there until Karen, a friend of hers who works at the registry, pointed him out.

Conner said they ended up talking, not a quick hello and a photo, an actual conversation. They talked about growing up in the Berkshires, and about what her favorite part of it is. He told her "he loves it here". She said he was so "very nice" and that the interaction was a great birthday gift!

Slater/Amy Conner Facebook

Taylor has lived in Washington for years, out on a big piece of land a few miles from Tanglewood, with a studio he calls The Barn. He and his wife Kim also spend time in Brookline, but the Berkshires are home. He told the Berkshire Eagle this summer that they will never leave.

Most people around here know him from the lawn. He first played Tanglewood in 1974. The July 3 and 4 shows have been the holiday tradition for a long time, blankets on the grass, fireworks over the Stockbridge Bowl, Sweet Baby James drifting across the lawn.

This year both nights sold out, about 18,000 people each, and he and Kim sent the proceeds back to Tanglewood.

Amy didn't meet him on the Shed stage. She met him in line at the Pittsfield registry, talking about home. She also mentioned that she listens to us every morning, driving the kids to school and heading into work, and she just wanted to share it!