John Legend performs with the San Francisco Symphony at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco on July 23, 2024. Matt Pang/STAFF.

SAN FRANCISCO — Twelve-time Grammy winner and EGOT-holder John Legend brought his “An Evening with John Legend: A Night of Songs and Stories” tour to Davies Symphony Hall on Tuesday, teaming up with the San Francisco Symphony and conductor Anthony Parnther.

The 14-date trek sees Legend performing with symphonies across the country, covering his songbook, telling the stories behind the songs and performing some of the songs that shaped his life. Resplendent in a white tuxedo, he walked out to a grand piano at center stage. He and the orchestra divided the show into chapters of sorts, delving into his personal life, particularly being a Black man growing up in Ohio and later studying in Philadelphia.

After speaking about his strict upbringing and discovering music in church, the group performed Aretha Franklin’s “Mary Don’t You Weep.” Old home videos of him singing in choir were projected on a screen above the symphony and a backing choir, which added a gospel tinge to the performance. Legend’s voice shined, and he’d won his first standing ovation by the fourth song.

The second chapter was about growth in loss, specifically his parents’ divorce and the departure of his church’s choir director. Legend explained how he graduated high school two years early, at 16, and was able to step into the choir director’s role at such a young age. During this time, he discovered soul music, around which he honed his sound.

John Legend performs with the San Francisco Symphony at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco on July 23, 2024.

“My dad loved Motown Records and would play artists like Curtis Mayfield, the Temptations and Marvin Gaye,” Legend said, adding that he personally idolized Stevie Wonder.

The story transitioned to a cover of “Ribbon in the Sky,” which he later said Wonder performed at his wedding to Chrissy Teigen.

Legend also discussed how he’d felt like an outsider.

“Music was my way to introduce myself to people. It was my icebreaker,” he said.

After moving to Pennsylvania for school and singing in a church choir there, he was introduced to Lauryn Hill by mutual friends. His first big music success? Playing piano on “Everything Is Everything,” on Hill’s blockbuster album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Of course, he and the San Francisco Symphony musicians then performed the song.

John Legend performs with the San Francisco Symphony at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco on July 23, 2024.

Legend had a plan B if the music thing didn’t pan out, and he got a job at a consulting firm. He ended up in New York and started performing at clubs around the city, a story that he scored with Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark.” He sang beautifully, with cymbals and violin complementing the vocals.

Politics and mental health issues aside, Legend gave Kanye West his flowers for the rapper’s contributions to his music (and vice versa) over the years. Legend played piano on College Dropout and sang on the intro of “Jesus Walks,” for example. West opened other doors that led to Legend playing piano on Jay-Z’s Encore and Alicia Keys’ “You Don’t Know My Name.” He later signed to Ye’s production label. Legend then performed “American Boy,” which he co-wrote for U.K. singer-songwriter Estelle (and which featured West).

This chapter transitioned to “Used to Love You,” a single from from Legend’s 2004 debut album, Get Lifted, as well as “Ordinary People,” which proved to be a crowd favorite. His song vocals bounced off the hall’s walls. Attendees sang along to the latter song’s chorus, and even the symphony musicians clapped along.

John Legend performs with the San Francisco Symphony at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco on July 23, 2024.

Later concert highlights included a string of hits like “Wonder Woman,” “Start A Fire,” his cover of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” and his collab with rapper Common, “Glory,” which he dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr. The choir had a starring turn on the song, finishing with fists raised upward. Legend later spoke about his admiration for people who fight for equality, which has taught him how to live a life with purpose. He said he wanted to use his music to fight for justice and advocate for education, voting rights and reproductive rights. That’s something he continues to pursue with his most recent albums, Legend and Bigger Love.

The night’s final chapter was about meeting Teigen, at first on the set of a music video. He described her as the “fire to my ice” and talked about how he wrote a song on their engagement. This led to the twinkling “All of Me,” on which Legend sang his heart out. During the chorus, which was performed instrumentally, the crowd sang along anyway.

Follow photographer Matt Pang at Twitter.com/mattpangs.