John Legend, Jon Batiste and More Join Tanglewood's 2025 Popular Artist Lineup

Four iconic artists join the 2025 Tanglewood Popular Artist Series, which each year brings a star-studded lineup of musicians and performers to Tanglewood’s Koussevitzky Music Shed, including John Legend, Jon Batiste and more! 

Newly Announced Popular Artists

Timeless poet and rhyme master Nas delivered his first full-length album, Illmatic, in 1994. He went on to release 14 subsequent albums, eight of which are platinum and multiplatinum including: Nastradamus, Stillmatic, God’s Son, and Street’s Disciple. With 16 GRAMMY nominations, Nas released King’s Disease in 2020, giving him his first-ever GRAMMY win for best rap album, followed by King’s Disease II and III, sequels produced by Nas and Hit-Boy. Most recently, Nas and Hit-Boy released Magic 3, featuring 15 brand new tracks and marking the final chapter of the prolific run for the rapper-producer duo. A legendary hip hop mogul, Nas is also a co-founder of Mass Appeal Records, actor, and executive producer. He has collaborated on live performances with a variety of orchestras, including the National Symphony Orchestra, Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, Colorado Symphony, and Las Vegas Philharmonic (Friday, June 27, 7 p.m.).

Jon Batiste is a seven-time GRAMMY Award-winning and Academy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and composer. Batiste recently released his eighth studio album, Beethoven Blues (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 1). Marking the first installment in his new solo piano series, the project showcases Batiste’s interpolations of some of Beethoven’s most iconic works, reimagined through an expansive lens. Beethoven Blues follows Jon’s studio album World Music Radio, released August 2023, which received five Grammy nominations including ‘Album of the Year.’ Batiste also earned an Oscar nomination for his song “It Never Went Away,” on behalf of the Netflix documentary American Symphony, which follows Batiste in early 2022, when he finds himself celebrated with 11 GRAMMY nominations, including album of the year for his 2021 studio album We Are. On the film side, Batiste’s innovative score was featured in Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night. Depicting the chaotic 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live in 1975, the film is underscored by Batiste’s musical masterpiece, which features a blend of jazz, classical, and contemporary elements. Batiste composed and produced the music live on the soundstage in front of the cast and crew, perfectly capturing the intensity and unpredictability of the show’s debut episode (Saturday, June 28, 7 p.m.).

More than a half century after the release of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s critically acclaimed debut album Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd, the band resonates as deeply with their multi-generational fan base today as when they first emerged out of Jacksonville, Florida in 1973. Former members Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Steve Gaines, Ed King, Billy Powell, Bob Burns, and Leon Wilkeson alongside others will forever remain significant contributors to this indelible repertoire and the band’s colorful history. Today, Lynyrd Skynyrd rocks on with a current line-up featuring Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, Damon Johnson, Mark “Sparky” Matejka, Michael Cartellone, Keith Christopher, Peter Keys, Carol Chase, and Stacy Michelle. With a catalog of over 60 albums, billions of streams, tens of millions of records sold, and the introduction of Hell House whiskey, Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Lynyrd Skynyrd remains a cultural icon that appeals to all generations (Saturday, August 30, 7 p.m.). 

John Legend is an EGOT-winning, critically acclaimed, multiplatinum artist and producer, who has garnered 13 GRAMMY Awards, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and three Emmy Awards, among others. Legend, who currently serves as a coach on Season 27 of NBC's The Voice, has released ten albums over the course of his career, including Get Lifted (2004), Once Again (2006), Evolver (2008), Love in the Future (2013), Darkness and Light (2016), A Legendary Christmas Deluxe (2019), Bigger Love (2020), LEGEND (2022), LEGEND (Solo Piano Version) (2023), and My Favorite Dream (2024). Backed by his full band, Legend's “Get Lifted 20th Anniversary World Tour,” which follows the release of a deluxe digital version of his debut album, will showcase a set list celebrating the entirety of Get Lifted, which garnered eight nominations and won three GRAMMYs, including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Ordinary People," Best R&B Album, and Best New Artist.  In addition to honoring Get Lifted, the live show will feature Legend’s other career-spanning hits, showcasing the musical depth and storytelling that have been hallmarks of his artistry for the past two decades (Friday, September 5, 7 p.m.).

Previously Announced Popular Artists

The Popular Artist Series opens in the Shed with A Prairie Home Companion starring Garrison Keillor on June 21 (7 p.m.) Joining Keillor are music director Rich Dworsky and the band, the Royal Academy of Radio Actors (Tim Russell, Sue Scott, and sound-effects wizard Fred Newman), and other guest performers.  

James Taylor and his All-Star Band perform with special guest Tiny Habits on July 3 and 4 (8 p.m.). The six-time GRAMMY-winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee is marking his 51st season at the festival.

The beloved quartet Barenaked Ladies, comprised of Ed Robertson, Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, and Tyler Stewart, has sold over 15 million records worldwide and built up an arsenal of hits. Their July 8 performance will be their second at Tanglewood, where they made their debut in 2013. Joining as special guests are two ever-popular hitmakers, Sugar Ray (“Every Morning,” “Fly-Fly” and “Someday”) and Fastball (“The Way,” and “Out of My Head”) (7 p.m.). 

Emmylou Harris and Graham Nash, two of popular music's most beloved icons, share the stage for A Very Special Evening on July 29. Both artists first performed at Tanglewood in 1975 and will bring their respective complete shows to the historic venue this summer (7 p.m.). 

At the end of the season, Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me!, NPR’s popular news quiz program returns live with host Peter Sagal, judge-scorekeeper Bill Kurtis, and a to-be-named celebrity guest on August 28 (8 p.m.). 

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