It’s not everyday that a group of local teens gets to sing with a Legend.
On Tuesday, singer-songwriter John Legend, dressed in a sharp suit and tie, crashed the rehearsal of a dozen or more students from D.C.’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts, who were working on a Marvin Gaye number to perform at the Kennedy Center.
“Can I play with you all?” the singer-songwriter asked the group, plopping right down at the piano, giving a shout-out to the band and signaling the drummer to get started. The students greeted Legend with a chorus of “of courses” and a lot of gaping mouths before they began work on Gaye’s hit song “What’s Going On.”
Legend was in Washington, once again, to announce a new education initiative in conjunction with the Kennedy Center. Cutting to the press conference — several hours later — the singer decided to delight the kids once more.
“I was so happy to play and sing with the kids from the Duke Ellington School — didn’t they sound incredible?” Legend gushed to reporters, who had just seen video of the rehearsal. “I feel lonely up here now, I feel you all should be singing with me now…come on,” Legend said, getting the teens to come on stage and (beautifully) harmonize with him.
Gaye was the music of the day because the Kennedy Center’s new program, entitled “What’s Going On…Now,” is supposed to get young people interested in Gaye’s period of history through his music and social media.
The Kennedy Center’s campaign also marks the 40th anniversary of Gaye’s performance at the performing arts venue, with two tribute concerts being planned that will feature Legend, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings and the National Symphony Orchestra. The concerts will be held May 3 to 4 with tickets for the general public going on sale Feb. 8, ranging between $20 to $80.
Here’s the video of Legend’s surprise:
