SAN DIEGO — James Taylor took to the stage Tuesday night at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park just minutes after the San Diego Padres began their homestand, barely half a mile away at Petco Park, against the Chicago Cubs.

But while the Padres went down swinging in an 8-3 loss, the ultimately triumphant Taylor expertly mixed his much-beloved hits with an unusually high number of musical curve balls. By doing so, he made his sold-out concert — the second on his 2026 North American and European tour — as surprising as it was enjoyable and rewarding.

The 78-year-old troubadour bravely refused to engage in the kind of safe, predictable, by-the-numbers show that — apart from Bob Dylan and Paul Simon — too many of his baby-boomer peers are content to dole out night after night to nostalgia-craving audiences.

That doesn’t mean Taylor didn’t happily include a good array of fan favorites. He did. And he delivered them with palpable passion and a warm, resonant, if sometimes shaky voice that grew more assured in his second set when he performed mostly without his four excellent backing singers.

The two-part concert featured winning renditions of “Carolina in My Mind,” “Country Road,” “Shower the People,” “Shed a Little Light,” and a majestic “Fire and Rain” that were all highlights. Just as memorable were his inviting versions of Marvin Gaye’s “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You),” the 1959 Otis Blackwell/Jimmy Jones chestnut “Handyman” and the Carole King and Gerry Goffin-penned Coasters’ hit, “Up on the Roof.” (“We’re kind of ‘No Kings’ up here,” Taylor said, “but we love Carole King.”)

But the best illustration of how eager this Boston-bred singer, songwriter and band leader is to defy expectations comes with a quick comparison of his Tuesday concert at The Shell with his two sold-out concerts at the same venue last May.

All three concerts featured 21 songs each, including encores. But 12 of the selections this time around were not included in the setlist here or for his entire 2025 tour. And three of the songs featured Tuesday — the superb “Millworker,” “Never Die Young” and the concert-closing “Secrets O’ Life” — were last played by Taylor and his aptly-named All-Star Band in 2022. “Line ‘Em Up” was performed for the first time since 2021.

Moreover, according to bassist and musical director Jimmy Johnson, two of the songs featured Tuesday — “T-Bone” and “Night Owl” — have not been in any of Taylor’s tours since Johnson came on board in 1990.

Their inclusion may have been a disappointment for fans eager to hear “Mexico,” “Only a Dream in Rio” and “Sweet Baby James,” which Taylor performed here last year but not this time around. With a songbook as rich as his, though, it simply isn’t feasible to include everything. His desire to keep the music (and himself) fresh by mixing things up was a treat, especially for those listeners who enjoy hearing a veteran artist who refuses to coast on his laurels by repeating all the same numbers, year after year and tour after tour.

Following his opening selection, “Whenever You’re Ready,” a lilting 2002 ode to overcoming adversity, Taylor addressed the enthusiastic audience of 7,297 by referencing the two shows he did at The Shell on his 2025 tour.

“The last time we were here, we did (an opening) set on a theme — traveling. This first set will have three or four songs that I call ‘recovery songs,” songs about addiction, which is a big part of my life,” said Taylor, who was a heroin and methadone addict for 18 years before getting clean in 1983. “This next song is sort of a love song to my dealer.”

With that, he broke into his pensive 1966 ballad “Rainy Day Man,” whose air of melancholy was reflected in the key lyric: “You can’t hide the truth with a happy song.”

It was followed by the son jarocho-infused “T-Bone,” which Taylor wrote in 1987 with Little Feat band co-founder Bill Payne, and “That’s Why I’m Here,” the enchanting title track of Taylor’s 1988 album.

Introducing the latter song, Taylor said: “The second verse is about the death of our close friend, John Belushi, which was a wake-up call for me — a turning point. The third verse is about all of you. And the first verse is all filler, sort of like Hamburger Helper.”

As usual, Taylor avoided making any overt political commentary. Except, that is, when he introduced his terrific 1997 song, “Line ‘Em Up,” which was inspired by disgraced President Richard Nixon’s last day in office.

“At the time we were kind of appalled,” Taylor said. “But you know, I now kind of miss Richard Nixon.” The audience cheered loudly.

It speaks to Taylor’s devotion to his craft that he poured himself into his slinky, rarely heard 1966 pop-soul gem, “Night Owl,” as he did into the much better-known songs that followed. His wonderfully versatile band was note-perfect throughout, anchored by bassist Johnson and former Frank Zappa drum ace Chad Wackerman. Taylor’s four vocal accompanists, who included his 25-year-old son, Henry, were luminous in each instance they were featured.

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