Lehman Center for the Performing Arts and Goya Foods is proud to present American Idol winner and Grammy-
nominated singer Ruben Studdard as he passionately performs RUBIN SINGS LUTHER - Always & Forever, a
beautiful tribute concert to his hero Luther Vandross on Saturday, March 30 th , 2019 at 8pm. Ruben Studdard, who has
often been compared to Luther Vandross, rose to fame as the winner of the second season of American Idol. He has
recorded seven albums, including his latest, Ruben Sings Luther, and has sold over two million albums worldwide.
This concert continues the completion of the first phase of renovations at Lehman Center for the Performing Arts.
Concert goers will find that the lobbies have been upgraded for ADA compliance with new ramps and carpeting, and the
interior of the theater will have new seating, carpeted aisles, and finished flooring as well. The $15.4 million dollar
refurbishment of the Center, which is expected to be completed by mid-2019, will also include 5,400 square feet of
enlarged space, with a new main entrance and a redesigned box office, plus new administration offices and restroom
facilities on the first and mezzanine floors, and an elevator. The Center seats 2,278 people in the concert hall and is the
largest of its kind in the borough. Funding for the project is being provided by the Office of the Governor, the New York
State Legislature, the Bronx delegation of the New York City Council, and the Office of the Bronx Borough President.
Additional funding is being raised with a seat naming initiative, which allows community members to make a personal
connection with one of New York City’s most important not-for-profit entertainment venues.
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is on the campus of Lehman College/CUNY at 250 Bedford Park Boulevard
West, Bronx, NY 10468.  Tickets for Rubin Sings Luther on Saturday, March 30 th , 2019 at 8pm are $75*VIP, $45, $40,
and $25, and can be purchased by calling the Lehman Center box office at  718-960-8833  (Monday through Friday,
10am–5pm, and beginning at 4pm on the day of the concert), or through online access at www.LehmanCenter.org . *VIP
Reception: The Havana Café, Goya Foods and Lehman Center special VIP pre-concert wine & hors d’oeuvres
reception will start at 6:30pm. VIP tickets include the reception and the best seats in the house. Sponsored by
Havana Café Restaurant and Goya Foods. Lehman Center is accessible by #4 or D train to Bedford Park Blvd. and is off
the Saw Mill River Parkway and the Major Deegan Expressway. Low-cost on-site parking available for $5.
LUTHER VANDROSS was born in Manhattan and was raised in the Bronx from the age of nine. A singer/songwriter,
Vandross was an eight-time Grammy-winning R&B mega-star who sold over over 35 million records worldwide during
his lifetime. Amongst his thirty top ten hits are “Endless Love”, “Always and Forever”, “Here and Now”, “Power of
Love”, “Dance with My Father”, and “Any Love”. Vandross passed away in 2005 from complications following a stroke.
RUBEN STUDDARD, the Grammy-nominated American R&B, pop, and gospel singer and actor was born in Frankfurt,
Germany while his father was stationed in the U.S. Army. As a young child, his family moved to Birmingham, Alabama,
where he grew up singer gospel in church. After attending Alabama A&M University on a football scholarship, he
graduated with a degree in music and began working in local clubs. Studdard’s big break came in 2003, when he was
accepted as a contestant on the second season of the national television show American Idol, which he narrowly won
over the runner up, Clay Aiken. Impressing audiences with his large voice, warm stage presence, and easy confidence,
he was given the nickname “Velvet Teddy Bear” by guest judge Gladys Knight. In a nod to his hero, Luther Vandross,
to whom Studdard has often been compared, he performed a cover of the Leon Russell/Bonnie Bramlett song

“Superstar”, which had been a R&B hit for Vandross. Ruben’s 2003 debut album, the hip-hop flavored R&B record
Soulful, hit the number 1 position on the Billboard charts, has been certified Platinum, has sold over 1.8 million copies,
and won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding New Artist. The album spawned several top ten hit songs including
“Flying Without Wings”, “Sorry 2004”, and “Superstar”, the latter of which earned a nomination for Grammy Award
for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, ironically alongside his idol Vandross, who ultimately won the category.
Studdard’s next release, the gospel album I Need an Angel (2004), entered the gospel charts at #1, went Gold, won the
Billboard Gospel Music Awards for both Artist and Album, and was nominated for the BET Best Gospel Artist
Award. During the next decade, Studdard toured and released three more hit albums that included the top selling singles
“Change Me“, “Make Ya Feel Beautiful”, “Love Him Like I Do”, “Together”, and “Don’t Make ‘Em Like U No More”. In
2008/2009, he joined the revival tour of Ain’t Misbehavin’ starring as Fats Waller, and the well-received production was
honored with a Grammy nomination for its soundtrack recording. He made his Broadway debut in December 2018, when
he reunited with Clay Aiken for “Ruben & Clay’s First Annual Christmas Carol Family Fun Pageant Spectacular
Reunion Show” where they playfully tried to upstage each other as they humorously traded verses of Christmas classics.
In 2018, Studdard, who has often been compared to Luther Vandross, came full circle from his American Idol “Superstar”
days, with the release of his Vandross tribute album Ruben Sings Luther. The album features Studdard’s handpicked
Vandross favorites, including “Here and Now”, “Always and Forever”, and “A House Is Not a Home”. Studdard has
stated that his “goal was to not only pay tribute to Luther, but to add my own passion on top of Luther’s brilliant songs. As
for the tour, we are not only recreating some of the production elements, musicians, background singers, wardrobe and
lighting that were ever present when Luther took the stage, but my heart and soul will be in every note I sing as I honor
one of the greatest vocalists we’ve ever had.” – Ruben Studdard.
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. is supported, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of
Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council. The 2018-2019 Season is also made possible through the
sponsorships by Goya Foods, New York State Council on the Arts, Con Edison, the Hyde and Watson Foundation,
Havana Café, and the Friends of Lehman Center. (from )

lehmancenter.org/ruben-sings-luther/

• This event has passed.
  March 30, 2019 from 8:00 to 11:00 pm

  March 30, 2019 08:00 to March 30, 2019 11:00
• Lehman Center for the Performing Arts
  250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, Bronx, NY

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