John Legend to Ignite Lincoln Center's Summer Gala with Exclusive Performance

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' 2026 Summer Gala promises an unforgettable start to the season.

John Legend will inaugurate the Summer for the City festival with a performance at David Geffen Hall in Manhattan on June 1, Billboard can exclusively reveal. The EGOT winner joins a gala lineup celebrating ballet icon Misty Copeland, the first Black woman to become a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre, with the inaugural Lincoln Center Luminary Award. Philanthropist Andreas C. Dracopoulos, co-president of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, will also be honored for his contributions.

Tickets for the Summer Gala concert will be available to Friends of Lincoln Center starting Wednesday (May 13) at noon ET, and to the general public on Friday (May 15) at noon ET. Proceeds from the Gala and public concert will support Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, a nonprofit dedicated to providing accessible arts programming for all. More information about the Summer for the City series can be found on the Lincoln Center’s website.
John Legend

2026 is shaping up to be a busy year for Legend. Earlier this month, he collaborated with Dionne Warwick on the duet single “Where Is Your Heart,” preceding Warwick’s album Dwuets, set for release on Aug. 8. Legend is currently on his A Night of Songs & Stories tour and is producing Cats: The Jellicle Ball, which recently received nine Tony Award nominations. He is also composing his first theatrical musical, an adaptation of Imitation of Life.

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