Tribute concert celebrating James Taylor & Billy Joel comes to Winston-Salem

Tribute concert celebrating James Taylor & Billy Joel comes to Winston-Salem

Relive classic hits at Hanesbrands Theatre on April 26

The work of two of America’s most beloved songwriters, James Taylor and Billy Joel, comes to life onstage at Hanesbrands Theatre on April 26. In an intimate live concert, one virtuosic musician takes the audience on a tour of some of the greatest hits from the 1970s to today in James & Joel: A Tribute to Great American Songwriters.  

Arts Council of Winston-Salem & Forsyth County welcomes musician Clay Mottley as the star of this solo tribute show. An experienced singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, Mottley writes original music and has performed his individual tribute concerts to James Taylor (“Shower the People”) and Billy Joel (“New York State of Mind”) in sold-out venues across the Southeast. His new tribute show, “James & Joel”, combines the best of both hit-makers’ catalogues for an unforgettable and uplifting evening.  

“James Taylor and Billy Joel were mainstays on the radio as I grew up”, shares Mottley. “These two prolific songwriters kept getting better with age. Their later songs are just as amazing as their early work, making the stories behind these songs all the better.” 

The 2.5-hour concert features Mottley on vocals, guitar, and piano as he takes the audience on a journey through timeless classic songs, forgotten tracks, and stories behind the hits from the artists’ own words.  

James & Joel: A Tribute to Great American Songwriters takes place on Saturday, April 26 at 7:30pm in Hanesbrands Theatre (209 N Spruce Street). Tickets start at $26 (+tax/fees) and are available online at intothearts.org/james-joel, over the phone at 336-722-2585, or in person at the front desk of the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts (251 N Spruce Street).   

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Arts Council of Winston-Salem & Forsyth County is the leading advocate of arts in our region and seeks to enhance and support the local artistic and cultural landscape. Established in 1949 as the first arts council in the nation, the pioneering organization is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Arts Council owns and operates a campus which includes Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts and Hanesbrands Theatre. In 2024, it hosted 360 on-campus events with 66,000 attendees and distributed over $1.4 million in grants and programs, benefiting over 800,000 people. Additionally, Arts Council is the largest funder of Arts Education for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. 

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For additional information, please contact:  

Corinne Bass 

Director of Programming, Arts Council of Winston-Salem & Forsyth County 

cbass@intothearts.org   

336-747-1413 

www.intothearts.org