SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — For decades people all over the world have been listening to and enjoying John Legend’s music.
Earlier this week, 25,000 people gathered as he performed his first-ever show at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center with the Philadelphia Orchestra. “An Evening With John Legend,” conducted by Anthony Parnther who was also making his SPAC debut, gave audiences an inside look at the performer from his humble beginnings in Springfield, Ohio before taking on the moniker “John Legend,” his real name being John Roger Stephens, to where he is now as a critically acclaimed, multi-platinum singer-songwriter, record producer and actor, among other things. “I’m going to take you back in time with me,” Legend told the sold-out crowd at the beginning of the performance.
“Sing you the songs and tell you the stories that make me who I am.” And from the moment Legend stepped out on the stage the crowd was hanging on his every word. No matter if he was seated at the piano or up on his feet engaging with the crowd, he guided the show expertly, crafting the narrative of his life with personal anecdotes and songs from multiple eras of his life.
“It is a bit of a retrospective of his life and career,” Parnther told the Saratogian before the performance. “You get to know him and his story at a profoundly deep level. You get to understand where he came from and how he got to where he is now.
(You) get to learn about him, his life, his career and his family. “I would say it is a surprisingly personal show.” The atmosphere was intimate, despite being in a sea of thousands.
He talked about his upbringing, the influence of his mother and maternal grandmother, who he dedicated his performance of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” to, as well as the church, through him being in school and dealing with losing both of them in very different ways, those in attendance got to see beyond the dazzling stardom and look at a very raw Legend. As the narrative flowed, Legend guided the crowd through the story of his life — his time in high school, playing piano on Lauryn Hill’s “Everything Is Everything” for which he was only paid $500, and the beginnings of his career in which he worked closely with the artist formerly known as Kanye, now known as Ye, and performed uncredited backing on Jay-Z’s “Encore” and Alicia Keys’ “You Don’t Know My Name” as well as Estelle’s “American Boy.” Legend performed a number of his songs from early on in his career including his first single “Used to Love U” and one which originally was going to be a Black Eye Peas song before he realized how much he liked it and wanted it for himself, was “Ordinary People” which he sang in tandem with the audience.
He also played a number of his biggest hits, including “Tonight (Best You Ever Had)” and “All of Me” which he sang with the crowd. He also played several songs from his latest release “Legend” including “Wonder Woman” in which he asked the crowd to celebrate all the wonder women in their lives — and maybe even elect on to the White House. While making nods to Bob Marley and Marvin Gaye, and singing snippets of their songs, Legend also talked about the responsibility he feels as an artist to speak up for what he believes in.
For him, some of his favorite musical moments include when he is weaving his own political beliefs into songs and he enjoys sharing that with the world. “It is important to use my platform to give back, to help people in my community, to speak out and advocate on the issues the effect is most like voting rights, education, reproductive rights, ending mass incarceration — and when I talk about forgiveness and grace, when I sing about redemption it’s not just theoretical,” Legend said. “People tell me to shut up and sing sometimes, but how can you do both, I don’t know.
I don’t let that deter me, I know how fortunate I am to be where I am to have the power I have and I want to use that power to make that world better.” Legend’s song “Glory” which he performed with his band and the orchestra was something he created for the movie “Selma.” Legend shared he wrote this song for the movie based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches, but also thinking of the BLM movement that was happening at the time.
Legend stated the fight for justice is far from over but, “We will not go back, one day when the glory comes, it will be ours” echoing the lyrics of the song. When asked what his favorite song to conduct in the performance, Parnther shared he would pick “Glory” and it was an easy choice to make because of the way it taps into the civil rights movement from music to lyrics and construction. He also nods to the way all parties on the stage from Legend and his band to the choir and orchestra work in tandem.
“I have gotten the opportunity to work with so many artists over the years and John Legend is one of those rare talents that keeps getting better with time. It is really fascinating to see how he brings a different dimensionality each night. It’s really inspiring,” Parnther said.
“And I have always admired the Philadelphia orchestra as one of the great orchestras of the world,” Parnther shared.” Working with literally one of the best possible orchestras ever, I have been admiring their recordings ever since I was a kid so it is always a dream to work with this legendary orchestra under any circumstance.” Throughout the performance, the Philadelphia Orchestra proved to be a beautiful companion to Legend’s music.
Masterfully intertwining their musical prowess and expertise with the beloved lyrics and melodies of Legend’s work — “An Evening with John Legend” was a fantastic and unforgettable experience. Each summer the Philadelphia Orchestra does a summer residency at SPAC for three weeks putting on a variety of performances including masterworks from the classical cannon as well as movie scores and SPAC premieres and appearances by diverse and international conductors and performers. More performances by the orchestra are available at https://spac.
org . Legend and Parnther will go on to perform many other shows together this summer, making stops in many other US cities as well as internationally. Tickets can be purchased both on Legend’s as well as Parnther’s websites.
“It’s been wonderful, the crowds have reacted really passionately to John’s story and his music and it has been a real joy to watch this show sort of transform,” Parnther said. “Crowds love good music, period. End of story.
So it starts there. John’s charisma and enthusiasm beyond his actual music talents is a plus, but crowds have discerning music taste and it starts there. John’s a great musician, his songs and his music are so beautifully constructed and tell a storyline so many can relate with and quite frankly it is a lot of fun.
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