Legend’s career began at a high point ... and only improved from there.

JOHN LEGEND

John Legend and other must-see shows this weekend.

Style:

R&B and soul that’s evolved into pop

Backstory:

Legend’s professional career began at a high point — playing piano on Lauryn Hill’s seminal album — and only improved from there. In 2001, Legend met a new collaborator, a rapper, songwriter and producer named Kanye West. By 2004, West was a star, and Legend an artist-towatch by association. 10 Grammys have followed, but Legend experienced another career lift when the ubiquitous “All of Me,” his love ballad for wife Chrissy Teigen, became the third best-selling song of 2014.

Why you should go?

After the success of “All of Me,” Legend went Hollywood, taking a leading role in the Oscar-winning “La La Land” and producing “Southside with You,” about the Obamas first date, and the WGN American series “Underground.” He also kept making music, dropping his fifth studio album, “Darkness and Light,” last year.

Opener:

Buzz-generating R&B newcomer Gallant, who was up for a Best Urban Contemporary Album Grammy alongside Beyoncé and Rhianna this spring. Noteworthy local connection: Gallant’s guitarist, Dylan Jones, is a Milwaukee High School of the Arts alum.

Time and Place:

8 p.m. Thursday, Riverside Theater, 116 W. Wisconsin Ave.

Price:

$78 to $168 at the box office, the Pabst Theater box office (144 E. Wells St.), (414) 286-3663 and pabsttheater.org.