“You can’t get that with AI,” Taj Mahal told the audience after his opening instrumental number with the Phantom Blues Band in their recent appearance at The Birchmere. And he’s right: no machine can produce the kind of authentic, heartfelt music he’s been making since the ’60s. Nor can it replicate his charm and warmth.
It’s tempting to call an artist of Taj’s stature, critically acclaimed, respected and influential among his fellow artists, an American treasure. But it’s more accurate to say he’s a world treasure: While he’s never left behind his roots in the blues — the country blues, in particular — he’s combined it with many other styles of music, both American (jazz and big band) and from around the world. Before he played “Wild About My Lovin'” on July 12, he said, “we’re gonna put a little Caribbean hot sauce on it.”
Watch Taj Mahal and The Phantom Blues Band perform “Wild About My Lovin'” live on YouTube:
He also shared the historical context for the song, one of several times he did that over the course of evening. He explained it was recorded by Jim Jackson in 1919, and he first heard it in 1961 or ’62. A few years later, it was covered by the folk-rock band The Lovin’ Spoonful.
In a particularly touching moment, later in his set he declared there was “royalty in the house,” introducing the great-granddaughter of pioneering blues woman Elizabeth Cotten, who he’d opened for early in his career. He then played Cotten’s signature song, “Freight Train.”
“Chevrolet,” he said, is an old Mississippi hill country song that used to be played with two types of drum and a fife. After playing it, he mentioned how his mother, a schoolteacher, emphasized that he learn to speak proper English; he was also influenced by the Queen’s English spoken by their Caribbean neighbors. Taj is a born storyteller: before playing “Slow Drag,” he introduced the song’s many characters, including the judge, the judge’s wife, and others. After the song, someone called out, “I love you!” and he said, “I love you all, too.” I don’t doubt it. One of the t-shirts being sold at the merch table reminded us to “Love thy neighbor.” As he said a bit later, the audience is part of the performance, and he ended the the show with a sing-along of “Way Back Home.”
Watch The Taj Mahal Trio perform “Slow Drag” in 2009 via YouTube:
He’s also a funny guy. After the evening’s second number, “Strut,” an audience member called out, “You’re pretty good at this!” He responded, “Thank you! It took me several years to do that.” While that’s true, it downplays how talented he is, having made several classic albums very early in his career. (In addition to his early solo albums, he was in a band with Ry Cooder, The Rising Sons, who made a fantastic album that was shelved because of concerns about its commercial viability.)
Taj connected the past and the present when he introduced T-Bone Walker’s “The Hussle Is On,” saying “Everyone’s got money problems now.” He played another Walker song, “Here In The Dark,” along with covers of “CC Rider” and “Easy Rider.” He introduced his own “Queen Bee” by encouraging the audience to, in the words of the late Congressman and Civil Rights activist John Lewis, “make good trouble.” “Mailbox Blues,” he noted, was one of the first original songs he wrote. He also played “Leaving Trunk” and mentioned that “She Took the Katy and Left Me a Mule to Ride” was in The Blues Brothers.
Getting to see Taj Mahal, especially in an intimate setting like The Birchmere, is an absolute treat. The music was beautiful, and the atmosphere was impeccable. He’s a true master who’s still at the top of his game.
Here are photos of Taj Mahal performing live at The Birchmere on July 12, 2026. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Ari Strauss.
