James Taylor hangs out at Elwood's Wood Lab in Saint John

There was no entourage, no star treatment, and no stretch limousine when James Taylor literally rolled into Elwood's Wood Lab in uptown Saint John on Saturday evening, the day before taking the stage for a sold-out concert at Harbour Station.

"He just happened to ride his bike in, just before closing," around 5:40 p.m., said co-owner Tim Cressman.

Cressman showed the music star the shop, which makes unique furniture out of reclaimed wood, and all of its fabricating equipment.

Then, when Taylor learned Elwood's was running a contest to give away a pair of tickets to his Sunday evening concert, he agreed to make the draw himself.

That moment was captured in a photo.

Cressman says Taylor was game to draw more tickets, but the lab didn't have any.

"We kinda went, 'James, sorry we only have a pair, that's it.' And he was great. He said, 'Well that's not good, we'll keep going.' And he came up with 12 additional tickets for us, so we kept drawing."

Felt surreal

It wasn't the only opportunity for Saint Johners to get up close with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame artist.

"He sat on the stage and signed autograph after autograph, and took selfie after selfie," said Eleanor Austin, who got her own photo with Taylor.

"He just put his head right down on my head. And [I] got this most intimate picture with a star — somebody that the world knows. So he was really just himself, spending his entire intermission," with fans.

Austin, who had front-row seats, said the night felt surreal.

She said Taylor played much of his old music and sprinkled in some new material.

Taylor released his breakthrough album Sweet Baby James in 1970. His discography and hits span the decades since.

Cressman said it was Taylor's percussionist who found the wood lab on Princess Street and must have told Taylor about it.

"It's a hobby to [Taylor] obviously and [it] sounds like he has a pretty good shop set up," at his home in Massachusetts, said Cressman. "He definitely knows what he's talking about."

Elwood's Wood Lab will celebrate its first year in business on May 27. Cressman and co-owner Eric Anderson say their mid-century modern products have now been commissioned for nine Saint John restaurants thus far.

Taylor is scheduled to perform in Summerside, P.E.I., on Monday night and Halifax on Tuesday.