Paul Simon Brings ‘America’ Home To Forest Hills Stadium

Sixty years after first taking the stage in Queens with Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon returned home Wednesday night for a triumphant performance at Forest Hills Stadium. The neighborhood show featured an emotional surprise when the Forest Hills High School graduate dusted off Simon & Garfunkel’s “America” for the first time since 2021.

At 84, Paul Simon moves more deliberately across the stage, and his voice no longer reaches every note with the effortless precision that defined his younger years. But what time has taken in range, it has replaced with emotional depth, nuance and phrasing. Rather than chasing past versions of himself, Simon reworked the vocal arrangements to better fit his current voice. The result was a powerful performance that drew its strength not from vocal perfection, but from artistry, presence and decades of hard-earned experience.

Simon is reaching the end of his A Quiet Celebration Tour, which followed a seven-year hiatus from the road, with much of it spent dealing with a hearing problem. Each show on the two-year excursion features Simon performing his latest album, Seven Psalms, for the first set before focusing on fan-favorites during an extended second set and encores.

Seven Psalms isn’t exactly commercial fare, and no one is likely to confuse “Love Is Like A Braid” with the singalong appeal of “Love Me Like A Rock.” In the concert setting, however, the seven-song, 33-minute meditative suite underscored Simon’s enduring songwriting gifts and the subtle brilliance of his masterful backing band.

After a 20-minute intermission, Paul Simon came out strong with “Graceland,” the title track from his landmark 1986 album. He followed with a tender “Slip Slidin’ Away,” which was the first of many occasions that would turn into singalong sessions. The show lived up to its billing as A Quiet Celebration, with mostly acoustic arrangements and restrained volume allowing Simon’s songs — and stories — to take center stage.

Paul Simon didn’t limit the setlist to hits, mixing in a handful of deeper cuts that underscored the remarkable consistency of his songwriting. Every selection felt purposeful, with 21st century gems “Father and Daughter” and “Rewrite” standing among the evening’s many highlights.

Edie Brickell, Simon’s wife, shared the stage with her husband for a memorable “Under African Skies” duet. Simon dedicated the performance of the Graceland track to the late Joseph Shabalala of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. He also took a moment to introduce bassist Bakithi Kumalo, the lone surviving member of the Graceland band. Simon also slipped comfortably into storyteller mode earlier in the set, sharing the histories behind “The Late Great Johnny Ace” and “Rene And Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War.”

The set concluded in standout fashion with a euphoric “Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes.” Nearly everyone in the capacity crowd was on their feet, as they danced and sang along with the evening’s third and final song from Graceland. It’s hard to believe Simon only revived “Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes” after a seven-year gap.

Paul Simon kept fans on their feet by pairing “Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard” and “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” to kick off his encore. Edie Brickell returned to add whistling the former. Simon took it down a notch with “Something So Right” before he delivered a powerful “The Boxer.”

Simon was left on stage and revealed he’d be performing two more songs from the hometown crowd instead of the typical lone second encore. He delicately lit into a solo rendition of the Simon & Garfunkel classic “America,” his first full version of the song since 2021. After so many communal singalongs, the audience fell mostly silent as Simon closed with a stripped-down “The Sound of Silence.”

Only six shows remain on The Quiet Celebration Tour. If this is the way Paul Simon is going to end his career, Wednesday’s performance showed there’s still no one quite like him.

Listen to an audience recording of “America” and fan-captured footage of Paul Simon at Forest Hills Stadium below: