If last year represented the crossroads of where the past, present and future met for John Legend, then 2026 is a time for the Ohio-born piano-playing singer-songwriter to considerably expand his creative footprint.
Currently he’s furthering his main gig as a musician by playing a string of dates dubbed “An Evening With John Legend: A Night of Songs & Stories” tour, which will be stopping at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts on Aug. 1. And whereas last year’s tour found him celebrating the 20th anniversary of his 2004 debut album “Get Lifted” with a 10-piece band and a bigger production, this current live music foray is a far more personal affair centered on the solo John Legend experience.
“This show is much more intimate with just me on the piano,” Legend explained. “No background singers and no band, it’s really me in conversation with the audience. It’s a different feel and a different energy. I loved doing the ‘Get Lifted’ tour, but this show I love equally. It’s just a different feeling. It’s much more intimate and conversational.”
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John Legend. (Photo courtesy of Guy Aroch)
He added, “People not only get to know the stories behind the songs, but more the story of my life, even some things you may not have expected. There are some things you may not have heard me talk about before. I get into the struggles I’ve had in my family and some of the challenges I’ve had throughout my life. I talk about some of the records I was a part of and stories behind songs you might not have heard of, even the story of how I got my name. It’s all really fun, interesting and sometimes emotional.”
Along with the tour, Legend has also been lending his talents to the worlds of theater, television and publishing. A large part of 2026 involves Legend’s work with his Get Lifted Film Co. First up has been his involvement in the production team behind “Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” a tweaked iteration of the Andrew Lloyd Webber classic that will complete its Broadway debut at Manhattan’s Broadhurst Theatre on Aug. 8. Having worked with Lloyd Webber in 2017, Legend was both eager and grateful to work with the English musical impresario again.
“We’re excited to be a part of this team producing ‘The Jellicle Ball’ version of ‘Cats,’” Legend said. “I got to work with Andrew Lloyd-Webber doing ‘Jesus Christ Superstar,’ and I love that he is so excited about seeing his work reimagined in this way. What’s cool about him is that he created such great work, but he also knows that it can evolve over time as different creative people are influenced by him and are able to put their spin on his work. He’s really embraced that, and I think that’s super cool of him to be excited about this kind of reimagining of his work.”
Part of Legend’s pivot towards live theater will find him taking a greater plunge into the medium via a musical adaptation of “Imitation of Life,” whose source material was the 1933 Fannie Hurst novel of the same name. Its themes of race, class and gender inspired the leap to the silver screen via cinematic adaptations in 1934 and 1959. Set to debut Sept. 9 at The Shed in New York City, Legend took his first crack at writing full music and lyrics for the stage in partnership with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage and Tony Award-nominated director Liesl Tommy. Given the caliber of talent he’s working with on this musical adaptation, Legend is exhilarated by the potential of the project.
“Not only are we making it a musical, I think in doing it with an all-Black creative team, we’re applying our own spin to the story and who gets emphasized and whose perspective gets featured in the story,” Legend said. “I think people who love the original version will love our production, but they will see something new in what we’ve done with it. It was an exciting challenge to find our own unique way into it. And I got to work with two of the best in the business with Lynn Nottage and Liesl Tommy as our creative team. Given that this is my first time writing a full lyric and music for a show, it was really crucial that I did it with the right people that could mentor me and teach me more of the conventions of Broadway that I’m not familiar with. It’s been such a blessing working with this team.”
While he was unfamiliar with “Imitation of Life” before being presented with this project, Legend’s folks were very familiar with the original films.
John Legend kicks off ‘Get Lifted’ 20th Anniversary Tour in Los Angeles
“My parents knew it well,” Legend said. “When I told my mother I was doing it, she was so excited because she remembers watching the movie and crying, and how powerful it was. I can’t wait for her to see what our version is because it will give her a whole new perspective. A lot of folks from our parents’ generation know it very well and we’re excited for this opportunity to reimagine it and tell it from a different perspective.”
Other recent activities have included Legend returning to his role as a judge for season 29 of “The Voice: Battle of The Champions” alongside fellow coaches Kelly Clarkson and Adam Levine and penning the forward for Dr. Deborah Kenny’s new book, “The Well-Educated Child.” And while Legend is a father of four with spouse Chrissy Teigen, the University of Pennsylvania alum has always had a deep-seated interest in public education.
“I had gotten involved with the Harlem Village Academies and its founder, Dr. Deborah Kenny, long before I even had kids,” Legend said. “I was someone concerned about public education and making sure, particularly when it came to Black and Brown kids who don’t come from a lot of money or don’t have a lot of resources, still get an opportunity to get a great public education. Deborah Kenny is a friend and founded Harlem Village Academies. Not only does she want those schools to be successful, and the kids that attend those schools to be successful, but she wants toinfluence the way kids are educated all around the country. She wrote this book because she’s put a lot of thought into what she’s learned with her particular schools to other educators and other schools around the country. And I think that stealthily, it serves as a great guide for parents, too, and what you look for in getting your kid ready for the world.”
For now, Legend is focused on his tour and creating possible memories he’ll provide to those who catch him on this string of dates. In addition to performing familiar material, fans just might see Legend sneaking in songs from a yet-untitled new album set to drop as soon as this fall.
“I’m going to play a lot of songs and all of them are stripped down — just me on the piano,” he said. “I’m going to play it by ear, and given how I have a new album I’m working on, I might preview some songs here and there. Every night is going to be a little different. Being by myself on stage makes it easy to improvise because I can just call an audible in the middle of the show and not have to tell anybody else.”