Singer/songwriter/musician Ben Taylor takes the stage at the Opera House at Boothbay Harbor on August 7 accompanied by guitarist David Saw, an unnamed drummer, and a backup vocalist: British singer/songwriter Sophie Hiller.

In a phone interview July 30, Taylor talked openly about growing up, making music, songwriting and performing.

His audiences, he admitted, are a mixture of those who love his music and those who love his parents' music. Taylor is the son of James Taylor and Carly Simon.

Today, Taylor calculates about 30 percent of any audience represents those who attend one of his concerts because they are fans of his parents' music.

So, what's it like? To be a child of so-called “rock royalty” or a “celebrity brat?”

“It's a total curse,” Taylor said, laughing. “A total, total curse — and anyone who tells you different is crazy. But, it's also a total blessing — and anyone who tells you different is crazy.

“I want to be recognized and respected for being my own person. I want them to not just see the offspring, I want them to see the man the offspring turned into.”

What can concert-goers expect? Taylor will perform tunes from his recent release, “Listening,” newly-written tunes not yet recorded (he does this at every concert), an acoustic version of “Close Your Eyes,” some storytelling between numbers, and, well, we'll just have to see. This interviewer is hoping for “Lady Magic,” “Tonight,” “Surround Me,” and Taylor's version of the Zombies' hit “Time of the Season.”

When it comes to songwriting, Taylor said the words come first, and that there are songs in absolutely everything.

“If I catch a song trying to make something of itself, then it’s just my job to help it,” Taylor said. “Sometimes I'll recognize that song as a melody or I'll recognize something I said, or someone else said, that sounds song-y to me.

“I hold it with a loose grip while it writes itself so I don't constrain any of its circulation or ventilation while it tries to birth itself. And then, I let it go. That's the hard part.”

Taylor's thoughts on songwriting are philosophical and poetic. He's not certain his songs are supposed to be sending out a message or if songwriting is a means of healing people.

“You never really know what it is that you’re trying to say when you are trying to express yourself artistically. You know there's a song trying to weave its way out of a tree in your field or a storm or a heartbreak, or whatever it is, and you use all of your creative tools at your disposal to help that song write itself,” said Taylor.

“I'm not sure what I'm dealing with. I'm not sure what the message is, and I'm not exactly sure its supposed to be medicine for anybody. But hopefully, the powers beyond what I understand myself in the cosmos, the universe, or whatever you want to call it, angels are using me as a megaphone to sing medicine into the hearts of the people who need it, and I, the artist, am not supposed to understand.”

Ben Taylor's first release into the hearts of his ever-growing audience was “Famous Among the Barns” in 2003. He said he has recorded seven albums, but only four have seen the light of day. The other three are “Another Run Around the Sun” in 2005, “The Legend of Kung Folk” in 2008 and, in 2012, “Listening.”

Amidst these creative releases, touring and creating a solid fan base of his own, a stellar highlight for Taylor, both personally and professionally, came in 2012: The year of the Father-Son Tour.

Initially, he admitted, the prospect of touring with his father was overwhelming. Sure he had performed with him before — singing backup on a record or joining him on stage for a tune or two — but a tour was so much more.

Taylor expected his band would be the opening act. But, Papa James had something else in mind: assimilating his son's band with his own band.

“He assimilated some of my songs, we collaborated, sang verses from each others' songs .... It was a total dream come true; what I'd been working my whole life for.”

While watching an interview with Ben Taylor and his sister, Sally Taylor, on YouTube, he said he was a different person every time he went on stage. I was intrigued. With the upcoming show here in the Harbor, I decided to ask him who he'd been lately.

Taylor paused, and said, “I think I've been the bed of ashes that the phoenix is said to spring out of sooner or later. I've been building a late night, after hours music spot on Martha's Vineyard. I've been staying up real late. The amount of sleep that I've received this summer is not even human.

“So, when I've gotten there (on stage), my songs have been between a half step or a whole step lower — but then again, that quality, that compromised quality to which you have to surrender rather than bully your way through, that lends itself to a particular kind of song, a particular kind of performance. And I have songs to respond to every condition that I find myself.”

Advance tickets for this 7:30 p.m. show are $15 and $20 the day of the show. Buy yours by stopping by the Opera House box office, located at 86 Townsend Avenue in Boothbay Harbor, or by calling 207-633-5159. Tickets and information are also available at www.boothbayoperahouse.com.