James Taylor declined Taylor Swift’s wedding invite to honor a 52-year concert tradition, but still wished the couple ‘happiness and smooth sailing’

James Taylor skipped Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding at Madison Square Garden on July 3 to keep a tradition he has honored for over five decades. Although he was on the guest list, the singer-songwriter chose to perform at the Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox, Massachusetts, as he has done every year around the Fourth of July since 1974.

During his performance at the festival, the 78-year-old addressed his absence directly to the audience. He said, “You know, [my wife Kim] and I were invited to a wedding at Madison Square Garden tonight.” Despite not attending in person, he told the crowd he hoped the couple would find “happiness and smooth sailing” in their marriage, according to The Daily Mail. 

The two artists share a notable connection. Swift was named after James Taylor. In a 2024 interview with USA Today, cited by The Daily Mail, Taylor recalled meeting a teenage Swift at a benefit for the Candie’s Foundation, where she told him her parents had named her with him in mind. 

Ryan Seacrest also missed the wedding after a last-minute work conflict forced him to cancel his RSVP

Swift has spoken about this herself, including at a 2011 Madison Square Garden concert where she brought Taylor out as a surprise guest to perform a duet of Fire And Rain, telling the crowd she only realized the connection when she mentioned to her mother how much she loved singing that song in chorus class.

Ryan Seacrest was another notable absence from the wedding, though for different reasons. The 51-year-old radio host had already RSVP’d to the event before Disney hired him to host the “Let Freedom Sing! Music City July 4th” special in Nashville, which required him to be present on both July 3 and July 4.

Seacrest explained the situation on his radio show, telling his co-hosts he could not be in two places at once. He said he felt honored to have been invited and had even run into Swift and Kelce at a restaurant after sending in his RSVP, where the couple spoke about the wedding as “the event.”

Seacrest also recalled that Swift told him it was going to be a fun, late night, and that he had been looking forward to attending before his work obligation became unavoidable.

James Taylor’s reason for missing the wedding was rooted in a tradition stretching back to 1974, while Seacrest’s absence came down to a scheduling conflict that arose after he had already committed to attending. A similar controversy involved Swift facing backlash for allegedly inviting an ice contractor’s chairman.

The wedding took place in New York City on the eve of the Fourth of July holiday and drew a large number of guests from across the entertainment industry. In another case, the NYPD assigned over 70 detectives to secure the event at MSG.