On April 24 , 2013 , Taylor performed at the memorial service for slain MIT police officer Sean Collier , who was killed by Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev , the men responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing . Taylor was accompanied by the MIT Symphony Orchestra and three MIT a cappella groups while performing his songs " The Water is Wide " and " Shower the People . " He was active in support of Barack Obama 's 2012 reelection campaign , and opened the 2012 Democratic National Convention . He performed " America the Beautiful " at the President 's second inauguration
Boston Marathon bombing
Boston Marathon bombing
James Taylor