Usually when he releases an album, R&B/pop singer-songwriter John Legend hits the road and shares his new music with his fans.
And if he had had his way, he would have done just that right around the time that he released his latest album “Bigger Love” — in June 2020.
We all know how that plan got railroaded by the COVID-19 pandemic.
His 2020 “Bigger Love” Tour was shelved, including a September 2020 date penciled in for Tucson’s AVA at Casino del Sol.
But as the pandemic numbers started to mostly slow down or level off and venues around the country started reopening to live events a couple of months ago, Legend relaunched “Bigger Love,” including a stop at the AVA on Friday, Sept. 24 — almost exactly a year after his scheduled 2020 Tucson date.
“I still wanted to have that feeling of playing these songs live for the first time,” Legend explained earlier this month from home in Beverly Hills. “Usually that comes right after you put the album out. For it to happen almost 18 months later is pretty crazy.”
Even though “Bigger Love” is “old” and Legend is putting the finishing touches on its followup, Legend said he can’t wait to see his fans’ reaction when he gets on stage and sings the inspiring title song “Bigger Love” that will put the past 18 months into perspective — “We got a one-way ticket love/We ain’t going no place but up” — and the sultry ballads “Wild” and “Slow Cooker.”
“Bigger Love” is a reflection of the musical influences that have defined Legend’s nearly 25-year career, from the soulful “Remember Us” to the reggae-inspired “Don’t Walk Away” and the R&B rich “Actions” that turns Legend’s trademark love song on its head with the refrain “actions speak louder than love songs.”
“That’s the music that made me,” said the 42-year-old Ohio native. “I think about soul music, hip-hop, pop, a little bit of reggae as well, gospel music — this is the music that is the tapestry of who I am. And so much of that is the tapestry of American music, particularly Black music in America.”
Legend opened the tour on Sept. 1 in Atlanta and will perform 28 shows through October before returning for his sixth season as a coach on “The Voice.”
“It was fun to finally put it out there for the audience and to feel our energy. It felt really good,” Legend said of the Atlanta show. “It felt joyful and full of love and connection. That’s what I want the shows to feel like. It was pretty magical feeling the energy of the crowd and connecting with them. There is something special about that. You can’t duplicate that in any other way.”
Legend said there is one downfall to being back on the road: His two young kids had gotten used to having him and his wife, Chrissy Teigen, around the house. Through the family’s ups and downs including losing a baby and losing older family members to COVID, the family grew closer, he said.
“We’ve had some challenges, for sure, but I feel like we’re closer together than ever, more supportive of each other than ever,” he said. “I feel like this time has been good for us as far as bringing us closer and making us stronger.”
