Omaha Performing Arts Welcomes John Legend Tonight

By: May. 06, 2014
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Omaha Performing Arts presents John Legend at Kiewit Hall at the Holland Performing Arts Center tonight, May 6, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $51 and are available at TicketOmaha.com, 402.345.0606 or at the Ticket Omaha Office inside the Holland Center, 1200 Douglas St.

The nine-time Grammy® winner's intimate performance at the Holland Center will be acoustic and will feature a string quartet. The tour comes in support of his fourth studio album Love In the Future.

Legend rocketed into stardom in 2004 with his debut album, Get Lifted, earning eight Grammy Award® nominations - winning three for best new artist, best R&B album and best male R&B vocal performance for the hit single "Ordinary People." He followed that with Once Again, featuring the Grammy®-winning single "Heaven," and Evolver, spinning off the hit "Green Light" featuring Andre 3000. His newest album, Love in the Future, integrates the musician's gospel and pop influences, classical training and hip-hop/soul sensibilities.

He serves on several boards, including the Equality Project, Stand for Children, Teach For America, the Harlem Village Academies and PopTech, a network dedicated to accelerating the positive impact of world-changing people, projects and ideas. Legend is the national spokesperson for Management Leadership for Tomorrow and he supports education initiatives with a special focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics. A 2010 BET Humanitarian of the Year honoree, among other accolades, Legend launched his own education-based organization, the Show Me Campaign, in 2007.

Ohio-born John Legend is a critically acclaimed, multi-award winning, platinum-selling singer-songwriter. His work has garnered him nine Grammy Awards, three Soul Train Awards, the BET Award for Best New Artist and the special Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. A graduate of University of Pennsylvania where he studied English and African-American literature, Legend participated in a wide range of musical activities while in college. During the same period, Legend was introduced to Lauryn Hill, who hired him to play piano on her track "Everything Is Everything," and shortly thereafter he began to play shows around the Philadelphia area, eventually expanding his audience base to New York, Boston, Atlanta and Washington D.C. After college, Legend was introduced to then up-and-coming hip-hop artist Kanye West, who quickly signed Legend to his G.O.O.D. Music imprint and hired him to sing vocal hooks on some of his music. Legend started gaining momentum through a series of similar collaborations with established artists, adding vocals to an impressive list of chart-topping hits including West's "All of the Lights," Jay-Z's "Encore" and back-up vocals on Alicia Keys' 2003 song, "You Don't Know My Name." Legend's debut album, Get Lifted, was released in December of 2004 through Columbia Records. The critically acclaimed album spawned the artist's first hit single, "Ordinary People," and scored Legend multiple Grammy Awards in 2006, including Best R&B Album, Best New Artist and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. The follow up was 2006's platinum-selling Once Again, which brought Legend another Grammy, Best Male R&B Performance, for his single "Heaven," and included collaborations with Kanye West, will.i.am and Raphael Saadiq. Legend's next release was 2008's Evolver, led by the hit single "Green Light" featuring Andre 3000. His 2010 collaboration with the Roots, Wake Up, won the Grammy for Best R&B Album a year later. Legend's highly acclaimed fourth and most current studio album Love In the Future continues to gain momentum on the Billboard 200 Chart and currently sits in the top 10 on the R&B Album Chart. Produced by Legend and longtime collaborators Kanye West and Dave Tozer, the albums smash single "All of Me," is his highest selling and charting song to date, reaching #1 on both the Top 40 and Rhythmic charts.

Throughout his career, John has worked to make a difference in the lives of others. In 2007, he launched the Show Me Campaign (ShowMeCampaign.org), an initiative that focuses on education as a key to break the cycle of poverty. The 2010 BET Humanitarian of the Year award, the 2009 CARE Humanitarian Award for Global Change, the 2009 Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award from Africare and the 2011 Harvard Foundation Artist of the Year Award recognize Legend's efforts and leadership in this arena. John sits on the boards of The Education Equality Project, Teach for America, Stand for Children and the Harlem Village Academies and co-chairs the Harlem Village Academies' National Leadership Board.

Omaha Performing Arts is a non-profit arts organization dedicated to enriching the lives of the citizens of Omaha and surrounding communities. In its two venues: the Orpheum Theater and Holland Performing Arts Center, the organization presents the best of Broadway, jazz, blues, dance, comedy, family and popular entertainment. Omaha Performing Arts also offers a range of educational programs and free community events that support, enhance and expand appreciation for the arts. In addition, the organization provides comprehensive ticketing services through Ticket Omaha, the official ticket retailer for the Orpheum and Holland.

For more information, visit OmahaPerformingArts.org.



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