John Legend, who played Hard Rock Event Center at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa, Florida on Oct. 29, 2023. Credit: Photo by Josh Bradley

Fans who thought they were coming to see a straightforward concert from R&B heavyweight John Legend on Sunday evening got a little more than they bargained for. Instead, patrons who filled up every possible seat of the intimate performance venue nestled inside Tampa’s Seminole Hard Rock complex got to hear the singer tell his life’s story, set to the backdrop of photographs chronicling his entire life, all while playing many powerful songs from his canon.

Billed as “An Evening with John Legend,” and is just that: a night with oly the Springfield, Ohio native supported only by the musical accompaniment of a grand piano. With no opening act, the nattily dressed singer appeared onstage not very long after the scheduled 8 p.m. start time. Dressed in stylish white jacket and slacks and shoes to match, Legend instantly made his way to the enormous piano perched upon the small stage.

Tackling some of his many mega-hits before delving into the storytelling format the rest of the night would take, Legend made it clear and known early on that his fine, melodic, and sometimes soaring vocals were in tiptop shape. Kicking off with the smooth and breezy “Save Room,” the leadoff single from his 2006 sophomore album, Once Again, Legend was in total command of his vocals and of his fluid, emotive playing. And his ability to rev up a crowd was in full effect too: an early reading of “Tonight (Best You Ever Had)” was a great vehicle for Legend to tempt and tease the audience, particularly the females in attendance, by interjecting the sexy ballad with his promise of “Tampa! Tonight’s the night. I wanna be the best you ever had!” which was, of course, met with a roar of screams and hollers.

From there, the flow of the show followed the night’s autobiographical theme. Giving glimpses into his childhood (complemented by actual family photos beamed on two small screens at the rear of the stage), Legend spoke of his upbringing, his love of music and how it came to blossom, thanks to his family’s involvement in the musical aspect of his local church in Ohio. With that, Legend delivered a stirring, downright stunning version of the gospel music standard “Take My Hand, Precious Lord” that proved to be one of this night’s absolute highlights.

While it was interesting and revealing to learn about his origins and to hear about what inspired the singer to stick with music, or to excel in school and to pursue his musical dreams, the singer’s spoken passages were, sadly, sometimes marred by chatty audience members who found it a perfect time to have their own conversations with each other from their seats. There were times when the nature of Legend’s revelations was so enthralling that they provoked an absolute hush throughout the venue, like talking about his beloved grandmother’s early, unexpected death, or his mother’s bouts with addiction, but as is so common nowadays, sometimes attendees see no fault in chit-chatting throughout live performances, and this night was sadly not immune from those types of gabbers.

Giving context to the choices for the cover songs that made up the night’s setlist was equally intriguing. Legend performed a note-perfect reading of Stevie Wonder’s lush ballad “Ribbon in the Sky” and painted a picture of him being a young artist and winning local talent shows and contests as an adolescent by performing the song early in his career. Later in the program, when talking again about Wonder, who Legend described as one of his heroes, he made it known how special it was that the singer would perform that very song at the wedding reception for Legend and his celebrity-model partner, Chrissy Teigen in 2013.

While that type of rich backstory helped to make each chapter and movement of the night more alluring, it was curious why, when opening his second act after a brief intermission, Legend delivered a pair of stunning covers but not touch on the reason for choosing them. After a change of clothes, Legend sported a finely tailored, shiny maroon suit for act two and kicked it off with a superb, a cappella reading of the Beach Boys’ classic “God Only Knows” which really showed off his versatile, rich pipes in fine style. Next on tap was a piano-driven take on Bruce Springsteen’s introspective “Dancing in the Dark” which really showcased the lyrics and the vibe of the song. However, it wasn’t clear why these two tunes were included; without any context, one had to assume that the messages or the themes of those songs are particularly meaningful to Legend.

The rest of the night was filled with vivid imagery and sometimes hilarious and poignant verbal interludes provided by the singer. Charting his ascent to superstardom, Legend spoke of his early workings with ex-Fugees member Lauryn Hill on her blockbuster debut solo album, getting to grow and flourish under the wing of hip-hop entrepreneur Kanye West (“the old Kanye,” Legend reiterated, undoubtedly referring to the early version of the artist, versus the confounding persona he’s adopted in recent years), and working alongside other contemporaries like Jay-Z and Alicia Keys.

Legend perfectly wove in his personal trials and tribulations into his delivery of many of his mega-hits like “Ordinary People” and “Good Morning” and did so with complete and utter class and ace musicianship. He also found it appropriate to speak of his activism and his desire to remain socially conscious throughout his tenure as a musician and gave a tip of the hat to the trailblazers that preceded him, namely jazz legend Nina Simone, for remaining a politically aware celebrity. With that, Legend performed his emotional “Glory,” the song he and hip-hop star Common wrote for the 2015 film “Selma,” which brought the pair an Academy Award. In the storytelling vein of the night, Legend brought up a published essay he’d written at the age of 15 where, as a tuned-in child, he made it clear that his mission, if he were to become a famous musician, would be to remain aware of his surroundings and to do his part to support his community as a socially-active participant. It was powerful to hear those words and see that newspaper article displayed on a video screen and know that the singer has more than lived up to that teenage claim.

Closing the show, which clocked in a little over two hours in length, with “All of Me,” another one of his tender, romantic ballads, Legend painted a warm and emotive picture in setting up the song and declaring the motivation for its lyrics, his love and admiration for his spouse.

While Legend’s unfaltering vocal talents and his mastery of the piano are certainly reasons enough to see this dynamic performer in any setting and at any time, the retrospective theme of the performance only helped make this a truly engaging night in giving a glimpse into the life story of the performer and in learning how he truly became the Legend he now is.

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