Paul Simon at Wang Theatre, Boston, 6/10/25

Combining a full performance of his latest, “Seven Psalms,” and a collection of classics, Simon honored over a half-century of music with a quiet celebration.

Paul Simon performs at the Boch Center Wang Theatre. Ben Stas for The Boston Globe

June 11, 2025 | 2:41 PM

4 minutes to read

Paul Simon at Wang Theatre, Boston, June 10, 2025.

There’s a lot that goes into the title “A Quiet Celebration.” The name of Paul Simon’s current tour is most certainly a reference to the songwriter’s recent bout with hearing loss, which has kept him from touring since 2018. It could also be a nod to the modest-sized venues he has selected to play on the trek, including the Boch Center-Wang Theatre — each chosen for its optimal acoustics.

It could be that his 2018 tour was dubbed his Farewell Tour, yet here he is again to, well … “quietly” check back in. Or it could just be that, given the singer’s massively treasured catalog, this set of performances is meant to humbly tip his cap to career-spanning classics and brand new creations alike. Whatever the cause, there was plenty to celebrate as Simon and his band announced a stop in Boston.

The first of three slated local performances this week, Tuesday night’s show began with a set of Simon playing his latest album, 2023’s Grammy-nominated Seven Psalms. Delivered as an uninterrupted performance of the record in full, the cohesive body of work was composed almost like a classical piece, threading intricate acoustic melodies with intentional pauses, and stitching together movements within a singular musical patchwork. These songs also showcased Simon’s guitar playing — a skill that’s often overlooked with such a focus on his songwriting.

Conceptually, the work tells a sequenced story, flowing with spiritual allusion in tunes like lead track “The Lord,” which provided a motif that the band returned to throughout the set, and “Your Forgiveness,” stirring in moments of existential humor in “My Professional Opinion” and meditations of love and regret on “Wait.” The set coalesced most powerfully on “The Sacred Harp,” in which the band seemed to lend sound effects to help narrate the story as Simon harmonized with wife, fellow songwriter, and New Bohemians frontwoman Edie Brickell.

The second half of the show was marked by career-spanning classics and deep-cut favorites. “Graceland” showed immediately that Simon’s band would make their presence felt in set two. It’s difficult to single out specific performances within the band, which, among many others, featured legends like drummer Steve Gadd and original bassist and sole surviving member of the Graceland band Bakithi Kumalo.

Their collective performance was complex, precise, and uniquely arranged, but done so in a way that was anything but flashy and designed with the greatest emphasis on serving the song and its writer. Such was the case on the African-inspired grooves of “Spirit Voices” and “African Skies,” or the percussive strumming of 2011’s “Rewrite.”

Some fan favorites were reimagined to lend a new perspective, like the Simon and Garfunkel singalong “Homeward Bound,” which was mellowed by a skippy train-song shuffle. Always a laser focus on Simon’s lyricism, fun set choices like “Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War” off of 1983’s Hearts and Bones reflected Simon’s ability to read deeply into a seemingly monotonous subject and tell a tale driven by subtle humor and immense humanity. “St. Judy’s Comet” captured the musings of fatherhood and the reigniting of imagination through his son’s eyes, while “Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard” switched roles and encompassed the childlike perspective over a timeless and infectious shuffle.

The pocket-groove R&B of “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” was a welcome choice to kick off the encore. But the encore, and the concert as a whole, hit its apex with the anthemic resilience of “The Boxer.” Recounting the tale verse by verse, the singer called on the audience to join him in a chorus of “Lie la lies.” There was a palpable poignancy to being in community with both band and crowd as Simon sang, “I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains.”

This chilling note only resonated further next to the stripped-down second encore of “The Sound of Silence.” Taking the final number by himself, the rendition did its message justice and made the 60-year-old tune feel eerily apropos.

The encore, and the performance in full, lent a worthy reminder of Simon’s countless contributions to the American songbook. A reminder of just how woven into the cultural fabric the singer’s music is. A reminder that — at the risk of sounding too cheesy — the man’s words are right up there with apple pie and baseball. And a reminder that no matter in what setting or context, Simon’s work deserves to be celebrated — even if that celebration is a quiet one.