Bernie Taupin — Storyteller: A USC Thornton School of Music Celebration for Trojan Family Weekend 2026

Event details Date: Friday, October 30, 2026 Time: 7:00 PM Location: Bovard Auditorium (ADM) - 3551 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90089 Type: Arts, Music, Lecture / Talk / Workshop Campus: University Park Campus Department: Thornton School of Music Audience: Students, Alumni, Faculty/Staff About this event Join USC Thornton School of Music for a special Trojan Family Weekend celebration honoring legendary lyricist and storyteller Bernie Taupin. This university-wide event will bring the Trojan Family together for an evening of conversation, storytelling and live music celebrating one of popular music’s most distinctive literary voices—and the enduring power of songs to connect us, move us and give meaning to our lives. For more than five decades, Taupin has demonstrated the extraordinary power of lyrics to tell stories, create characters and conjure entire worlds within a song. Best known for his legendary songwriting partnership with Elton John, Taupin brought a distinctly literary sensibility to popular music, pairing vivid imagery, narrative sweep and emotional directness in songs including “Your Song,” “Rocket Man,” “Tiny Dancer,” “Candle in the Wind,” “Bennie and the Jets” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” His words have helped shape some of the most enduring songs in modern music, revealing how the particular craft of a songwriter can become something universal in the lives of millions. Taupin continues to forge his own creative path with the release of The Sea Has No Mercy, his first solo album in nearly 40 years and his first entirely self-written album, out October 23 via Vertigo Records and MCA Nashville. The evening will begin with an intimate onstage conversation between Taupin and USC Thornton Dean Jason King, offering a rare window into the craft of songwriting: where ideas come from, how words become songs, how creative partnerships take shape and why storytelling through music continues to matter. Their conversation will also explore the larger role songs and the arts play in our lives—as vessels for memory and emotion, expressions of individual and collective experience, and powerful ways of understanding ourselves and one another. The conversation will be followed by a rousing celebration of Taupin’s remarkable songbook, with musical direction by Chair Doug Petty, featuring USC Thornton students joined by special guest artists to bring his words to life on the Bovard stage and illuminate their range, emotional power and enduring resonance. ATTENDANCE INFORMATION: All families & guests attending Trojan Family Weekend, register using the Trojan Family Weekend platform.Public RSVPs are available to non-Trojan Family Weekend attendees using this registration page. Official event details: https://calendar.usc.edu/event/bernie-taupin-storyteller