LIVE REVIEW + PHOTOS: Lionel Richie, Earth, Wind & Fire in Boston, MA (07.08.26)
On a warm Wednesday night in Boston, Grammy-winning artist Lionel Richie brought the “Sing A Song All Night Long Tour” to the TD Garden, co-headlining with Earth, Wind & Fire. The tour began on June 24th, the same night that Lionel unfortunately experienced a medical scare that resulted in him being taken to a nearby hospital. With the uncertainty surrounding a recovery, many fans, myself included, were left wondering if the Boston performance would happen as the show got closer. But in the end, nothing can “Truly” stop this man.
After seeing the two perform in 2023 at the same venue and on the same tour as this one, I came into the Garden expecting something very similar to last time: probably the same setlist, same pyro, and the same rants. However, the night ended up being much more refreshing than I expected. While plenty of similar moments remained, there were dozens of changes throughout the evening that helped the show feel a lot more fresh and exciting, instead of feeling like a repeat of what I had already seen. It proved that both bands were still capable of surprising the audience and delivering an entertaining performance.
With Earth, Wind & Fire opening the night with their #1 hit “Shining Star,” the hour-long set turned the arena into one giant dance party. Led by classic members Phillip Bailey, Ralph Johnson, and founding member Verdine White, the trio was backed by a crew of very talented musicians. The band included two drummers, a horn section with sax, trombone and trumpet, two guitarists, a keyboardist, and multiple lead and backing vocalists who also played percussion, with one of them even being Phillip Bailey’s own son. And despite the band’s decades-long career, this band is not slowing down anytime soon.
One thing I enjoyed was the fact that the band experimented throughout the night, extending a variety of their famous ballads like “Reasons” and “After the Love Has Gone,” while also surprising the audience with their legendary cover of the Beatles classic “Got to Get You Into My Life.” It added another layer to the performance and helped make the concert feel even more memorable. Other songs included “Serpentine Fire,” “Let Your Feelings Show,” “System of Survival,” and my favorite “That’s the Way of the World.”
But what came next was the best part of an Earth, Wind & Fire show. The band ends every one of their concerts with four back-to-back hits; “Fantasy,” “Boogie Wonderland,” “Let’s Groove,” and “September.” Overall, it was a real treat to see both the older and younger generations just jump out of their seats and dance along. For many casual fans in attendance, these were the moments they had been waiting for, as the entire arena transformed into one massive dance floor. The band closed their 13-song set with a bow, tossing drumsticks into the audience and blowing kisses to the crowd.
Then, came Lionel Richie. Like the previous tour, Lionel surprised the audience with the first song! As fog rolled over the stage, Richie’s voice echoed throughout the arena, before he emerged to perform his Billboard chart-topping hit, “Hello.” Opening the show with such an intimate ballad quickly drew the audience in before Richie immediately shifted gears to the lively “Running With the Night.”
After the tune, he paused to converse with the crowd. “It’s great to be back in Boston,” he shouted in a New England accent, to a roaring sound of audience laughter. He continued, stating, “Let me just say this to you. I wanna thank so many people, because when I had my little incident on stage, basically a form of dehydration, it’s funny what people will say to you thinking they know the remedy to your ailment. You have no idea what people sent me. But I’m gonna tell you a few of them.” Lionel then continued to mention hilarious text messages he got from close friends, one of them being his American Idol co-star, Luke Bryan. Suddenly, the show started to feel like a stand-up bit!
Suddenly, a piano appeared from the ground, rising up, and shining brightly. Lionel continued entertaining the crowd, walked up to the piano, and began the Commodores feel-good track “Easy.” And this was just the beginning of many songs from his former band throughout the night. Even after leaving the Commodores in 1982, Lionel continues to perform songs like the smooth–yet powerful–“Sail On,” the thrilling “Lady (You Bring Me Up),” “Brick House,” “Three Times a Lady,” “Fancy Dancer,” and a few more, paying tribute to the group that launched his career. Lionel also recognized Ronald LaPread, former Commodores bassist who recently passed away on May 30th.
After stepping away from the Commodores, Richie began building a solo career that would produce some of his most recognizable songs. The night continued with some of those massive hits, including his emotional duet with Diana Ross, “Endless Love.” Now, walking into the venue, I thought, “How’s he even gonna perform this song tonight? He doesn’t even have a female singer in his band.” Well, Lionel pointed the microphone to the audience, having the ladies sing the part of Diana. Another song I thought the same about was “Lady,” a song which was written and produced by Lionel but was originally sung by the legendary Kenny Rogers. Years later, Lionel and Kenny performed the song live as a duet. And that’s exactly what happened on this night. With a video of Rogers on the giant screen behind the band, Lionel sang to Kenny, visibly tearing up near the end of the track.
Among performing many of his solo career hits (“Dancing On The Ceiling,” “Stuck On You,” “You Are”), the set ended with an emotional performance of “We Are the World,” the song Lionel wrote with Michael Jackson in 1985. The song–which was produced to raise money for the famine in Ethiopia–sold over 20 million copies and became one of the best-selling singles of all time. The recording united artists like Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Steve Perry, and more than 40 other of the biggest names in music. And that’s what really means a lot to me about the song–the fact that musicians and singers with all different attitudes and styles came together to raise money for something. A gathering like that doesn’t happen as much as it should in music anymore.
Lionel then returned back to the stage for an encore which was completed with an extended version of his most famous song from his solo career, “All Night Long (All Night).” And overall, after just turning 77 years old a couple of weeks ago, I was stunned that Richie continues to perform with a level of passion, charisma, and energy that many artists half his age would struggle to match. Seeing a legend like him still command a sold-out arena was something I will hold onto for a very long time.
Photos – Lionel Richie, Earth, Wind & Fire at TD Garden in Boston, MA on July 8th: (All photos by Jaffer Hasan)
