For generations of Athenians, a summer night at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus isn’t just a concert, it’s a rite of passage. For the artists who perform there, it’s a career landmark. On June 30, John Legend will be the last artist to experience that privilege for three years.
The performance will be part of Legend’s intimate An Evening of Songs & Stories tour and will mark his first appearance in Greece and the last event the Odeon of Herodes Atticus will host before closing for an extensive three-year restoration. The famed conservatory itself needs little introduction: a Roman amphitheater carved into the southern slope of the Acropolis in 161 AD, it has defined the Athenian summer for decades.
The Herodeon’s Last Night
For decades, the Athens & Epidaurus Festival has brought the world’s most celebrated artists and performers to the Herodeon, cementing it as Greece’s most prestigious annual cultural event. In July, restoration work begins and the emblematic conservatory will go quiet. Legend’s performance will be the 15th event of this year’s festival, and its last. “A modern legend, a legendary theater, and an undeniable momentum,” reads the festival’s announcement.
Thirteen Grammys and Counting
Legend’s résumé doesn’t require much setup. Thirteen Grammy Awards. An Academy Award for Best Original Song, shared with Common for “Glory”, the anthem from the 2014 civil rights film Selma. A Tony and an Emmy. He is the first Black artist in history to achieve EGOT status, the sweep of all four of entertainment’s major prizes.
The songs are just as familiar: “All of Me,” “Ordinary People,” “Love Me Now,” “Minefields,” “Beauty and the Beast” — billions of streams, four platinum albums, and a collaborators list that reads like a who’s who of modern music: Lauryn Hill, Ariana Grande, André 3000, Ludacris, Sam Smith, Herbie Hancock, Sergio Mendes, Meghan Trainor, DJ Khaled and Clipse, among others. The body of work speaks for itself.
Stripped Down, Opened Up
The An Evening of Songs & Stories tour will strip everything back: Legend alone at the piano, no production, no orchestral arrangements — just the compositions and the stories behind them. The songs become waypoints in a personal narrative, each one tied to the experiences and encounters that made him the artist he is.
The festival’s announcement reaches for Latin to frame it: legenda means “those stories that must be told aloud.” At the Herodeon, on its last night, it’s hard to imagine a more fitting farewell.
Tickets for John Legend at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus on June 30 are available through more.com.
