John Legend to Play Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts 2026 Summer Gala

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ 2026 Summer Gala is set to be legendary.

John Legend will help kick off the Summer for the City festival on June 1 with a performance at David Geffen Hall in Manhattan, Billboard can exclusively reveal. The EGOT-winning, Billboard Hot 100-topping artist joins the roster of a gala that is set to fete ballet trailblazer Misty Copeland (the first Black woman promoted to principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre) with the inaugural Lincoln Center luminary award, as well as honor Andreas C. Dracopoulos, co-president of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, for his extensive philanthropic work.

Concert-only tickets for the Summer Gala go on sale to Friends of Lincoln Center on Wednesday (May 13) at noon ET, with tickets available to the general public on Friday (May 15) at noon ET. The Summer Gala and public concert raise funds to support Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (a nonprofit organization) in its mission to provide free and pay-what-you-choose arts programming that’s accessible to everyone. You can get more information about the Summer for the City series of programming at the Lincoln Center’s website.

2026 is a busy year for the EGOT winner. Earlier this month, Legend teamed up with another musical luminary, Dionne Warwick, for the duet single “Where Is Your Heart,” which precedes Warwick’s album Dwuets, set to drop on Aug. 8. Legend is currently on his A Night of Songs & Stories tour, and also serves as a producer on Cats: The Jellicle Ball, which nabbed nine Tony Award nominations last week. He’s also currently working on composing his first theatrical musical, an adaptation of Imitation of Life.