SAN JOSE, Calif. — Paul Simon’s A Quiet Celebration Tour definitely lived up to its billing during the first part of a two-night stand at Frost Amphitheater at Stanford University.

Let’s start with the first part of that tour moniker — “Quiet” — which it most definitely was on Wednesday, to the point where a person softly singing along to the lyrics a few seats away might feel like a major disturbance. The music was extremely toned down, delivering a wonderfully hushed and intimate vibe. And the crowd, for the most part, barely made a peep while Simon played (although fans were appropriately appreciative during the song breaks). Indeed, I can’t remember an audience of this size (6,000-plus) being so quiet during a major pop/rock gig.

The move to quieter, acoustic-oriented performances was deemed necessary due to Simon’s hearing loss in his left ear, which makes it highly difficult for him to handle and lead a loud rock-based setlist. Yet, the change also works perfectly with his chosen material, quietly but dramatically highlighting his gorgeous lyrics and wordplay.

Then we get to the “Celebration” part, which was certainly the case at Stanford — and, really, should be wherever this 84-year-old New Jersey-born, Queens-raised singer-songwriter takes the stage. Of course, it wasn’t that long ago that it looked like we’d never see this singer-songwriter-guitarist out on the road again, after Simon announced his retirement from touring back in 2018. (Although he would do a one-off benefit performance at Outside Lands in San Francisco back in 2019).

But then Simon unretired, which led to a big round of gigs last year — including a trio of shows at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco — and more concerts in 2026. These two Frost Amphitheater dates — including a show scheduled for Thursday (June 4) — served as the launching pad for this latest portion of Simon’s unretirement tour.

His Bay Area fans were certainly thrilled to see him as he walked slowly to the center of the stage at right around 7:20 p.m., and gazed out at the good-sized crowd assembled at this lovely, tree-lined outdoor venue on the Stanford campus.

“It’s interesting when you play outdoors, you know, and you can see everybody and everybody can see you,” Simon said. “There’s something different about it. But it’s interesting tonight — it’s like a picnic.”

He then outlined exactly how the evening would go over the next two hours and change.

“The show has two parts. The first part is the piece ‘Seven Psalms’ that I wrote three-four years ago. That piece is 33-minutes long. It’s uninterrupted. There are no spaces between the songs,” Simon explained. “And in the second half, we’ll do a combination of a bunch of hits and songs that I like to play, but are seldom played. I hope you enjoy yourselves.”

I didn’t time that first set, which was my bad. But — as meticulous and exacting as Simon is with his music — I wouldn’t be surprised if the performance did clock in at exactly 33 minutes.

Even though probably 5,985 of the 6,000-plus in attendance weren’t familiar with “Seven Psalms,” Simon’s 15th solo studio album and his first batch of new material since 2016’s “Stranger to Stranger,” they greeted this seven-part piece with silent reverence, as if each lyric uttered by Simon was an absolute treasure.

After a short break following the “Seven Psalms” performance, Simon and his terrific 11-piece band — which included Mark Stewart (guitar), Bakithi Kumalo (bass), Andy Snitzer (saxophone), Jamey Haddad (percussion), Mick Rossi (piano, keys), Gyan Riley (guitar), Matt Chamberlain (drums), Nancy Stagnitta (flute), Caleb Burhans (viola), Eugene Friesen (cello) and, at times, Simon’s wife Edie Brickell (vocals, whistling) — really gave the crowd what they had paid to hear.

They started with the title track to “Graceland,” Simon’s Grammy-winning blockbuster of 1986, which was delivered in a more-mellow fashion than what’s found on the album, yet still close enough to the original to please both longtime and casual fans.

The two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee — who was first enshrined as one half of Simon & Garfunkel in 1990 and then again in 2001 as a solo artist — followed up with a spellbinding take on “Slip Slidin’ Away,” a song that Simon just knew was so fantastic that he felt comfortable originally releasing it as the lead track on his first greatest hits package. Most songs, of course, have to earn their way onto a greatest hits compilation. But a few rare ones — like “Slip Slidin’ Away” are just born with that distinction.

Following an endearing “Homeward Bound,” one of only three Simon & Garfunkel tracks to make the setlist, Simon pushed pause on the hits/fan favorites portion of the show so he could explore other works, finding particular success with “The Late Great Johnny Ace” from 1983’s often-overlooked “Hearts and Bones” and “The Cool, Cool River” from the terrific “Graceland” follow-up “The Rhythm of the Saints” from 1990.

Simon and company closed the second set with the always-fun “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,” with Brickell reappearing to handle the famed whistle solo that her husband originally did on the 1972 studio recording. The whole crew then returned for a four-song encore — highlighted by the gorgeous take on Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Boxer” to close — before taking their bows in front of the highly appreciative audience.

Yet, Simon still had one more in him and remained on the stage after the other musicians departed. What came next was the moment that everyone in attendance will likely remember for years to come as he glided into a precious, humbling and completely raw solo take on Simon and Garfunkel’s classic “The Sound of Silence.”

It was one of those perfect concert moments, as Simon turned to the only song that could really bring this Quiet Celebration to a close in such a fitting and heartfelt manner.

Set 1 (performance of “Seven Psalms:)

1. “The Lord”

2. “Love Is Like a Braid”

3. “My Professional Opinion”

4. “Your Forgiveness”

5. “Trail of Volcanoes”

6. “The Sacred Harp”

7. “Wait”

Set 2

8. “Graceland”

9. “Slip Slidin’ Away”

10. “Train in the Distance”

11. “Homeward Bound”

12. “The Late Great Johnny Ace”

13. “St. Judy’s Comet”

14. “Under African Skies”

15. “Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War”

16. “Rewrite”

17. “Spirit Voices”

18. “The Cool, Cool River”

19. “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard”

Encore 1:

20. “Darling Lorraine”

21. “Something So Right”

22. “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”

23. “The Boxer”

Encore 2:

24. “The Sound of Silence”

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