John Legend tour maps nearly 50 concerts for summer 2009

When soul singer-songwriter John Legend announced his initial plans for a summer tour, he only revealed a few dates on the North American itinerary at a time. Since then, the acclaimed artist has gone back and filled in his calendar for nearly 50 performances over the coming months.

The 10-week tour begins June 27 at the Muskegon Summer Celebration in Muskegon, MI, and ends October 2-4 at the eighth annual Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin, TX, with the exact date of Legend’s performance yet to be announced.

Tour highlights include performances on July 9 and 19 at Seminole Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, FL, an August 7 concert at the Bank of America Pavilion in Boston, MA, an August 13 event at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY, and a September 1-2 stand at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. The coast-to-coast trek features only three dates in Canada at the moment, including an August 17 show at Metropolis in Montreal, QC.

Fellow R&B/soul artist India.Arie will provide support on most dates of the tour.

The summer-long tour will get a kick-start early on as Legend takes the stage for a June 28 set at Summerfest in Milwaukee, WI, appearing as the special guest of Stevie Wonder. The two soul singers previously performed a rendition of Legend’s “Oridinary People” together at the BET Awards in 2005.

Legend recently completed a spring tour of the Asia-Pacific region, including performances in Korea and Japan. Since his return, Legend has been working on a number of projects. “I’ll be in New York for a while, getting ready for the summer tour and working on some new music too,” he wrote in his official blog, adding, “I’m excited that many of the summer shows are going on sale now…. This will be the best one yet!”

The vocalist and pianist is still touring behind his third studio album, “Evolver,” which debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 following its late October 2008 release. Legend has already completed several tour legs of the U.S. and Canada to support the effort, including a fall 2008 tour with Raphael Saadiq and a winter 2009 trek with Estelle.

John Legend itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change.)