A ‘Legend’ comes to town

As the year draws to a close and students prepare for finals and winter break, the IU Auditorium keeps things rolling with three final performances.

Aside from this weekend’s musical, “Rock of Ages,” and the annual “Chimes of Christmas” performance, rhythm-and-blues artist John Legend will make his way to Bloomington for a Dec. 7 performance.

Legend spoke with reporters from the Indiana Daily Student, Indianapolis Star and Bloomington Herald-Times about his upcoming performance.

“I’m absolutely excited to go and be at IU, especially for someone who grew up watching sports,” Legend said. “It’s such a famed and fabled place.”

Legend’s performance will preview his upcoming album “Love in the Future,” set to release in early 2013.

“The inspiration for making it is telling stories about life and love, things that are personal to me, things that people can relate to,” he said. “The things that will be meaningful and connect with people’s lives.”

Legend said he will perform his new favorite song, “All of Me,” from the upcoming album. The Bloomington audience will be the third to hear this song.

The show will be an acoustic performance, which Legend explained will allow the audience to feel each note he hits.

“There’s no cluster and clutter around it,” he said. “Musically, it’s very pure. It’s really me as a songwriter communicating the song as it’s written.”

Legend hopes to convey his passion to the students attending his performance.

“I feel like I have advice for people who want to do what I’m doing as well, as any career in general,” he said. “Part of being successful is learning through experience.

Everybody starts out by trying to be great at what they’re doing.”

“When I get the opportunity to try to inspire young people to do great things in life it’s always a good thing for me,” he said.

Legend’s influence was one of the reasons Brad Domash, Union Board public relations director, said the board asked him to perform at IU. 

“He has a great message in his songs,” Domash said. “He is a nine-time Grammy-winning superstar.”

Domash hopes the concert will be a fun atmosphere for students to take a break from studying.

PhD student Nalette Brodnax is worried about attending the concert right before finals but said she is still considering buying tickets for her first John Legend concert.

“I have all his albums,” Brodnax said. “I really want to go.”

Students can purchase tickets at IUauditorium.com, the IU Auditorium Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations.