Lionel Richie and Earth Wind & Fire Bring Timeless Hits to Philadelphia

Electrolytes! Yes, “electrolytes” was the surprise word of the night at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia this past Friday (7/17/26), as Lionel Richie addressed – frequently and with great humor – his health scare at a concert in Minnesota towards the end of June when dizziness forced a mid-show cancellation. To prevent a recurrence, the superstar had assistants bring out cups with electrolytes to drink throughout the show, sometimes with different flavors to choose from, some favored, some not so much. The audience of over 14,000 was as happy as could be to give deference to whatever needs the 77-year-old Mr. Richie had, especially as he dealt with his new condition with such grace and humor.

The show began with giant pictures of Richie broadcast on the screen behind the stage. This was a perfect accompaniment for many of the songs throughout the evening, my favorite matchup of song/visual coming towards the end, during a funky combo of “Brick House” and “Fire.” But that was later. Out of a cloudy mist, Richie took us back to 1984 and “Hello” from his “Can’t Slow Down” album, followed by “Running With the Night,” another Top 10 hit from 1984, followed by the Commodores’ classic “Easy” to finish off the first three.

Another couple of standards were presented to an audience that hung on every word, including “Se La” and “Stuck on You,” but the house seemed to lose its mind with “Dancing on the Ceiling,” the eighth song of the evening. Everywhere I looked, from the front rows to the far upper deck, folks were up and dancing, bopping, singing and just enjoying life, forgetting for a moment the oppressive heat and humidity outside the doors of the arena, the smoke blanketing many states from the Canadian wildfires that’s been the talk of the region, the price of gas to get to the venue and the U.S. political landscape, which I’ll save for a more appropriate review.

Up next was a Commodores mashup of “Fancy Dancer”/“Sweet Love”/“Lady (You Bring Me Up).” A tender moment followed, reminding all of us of our mortality, as Lionel performed “Lady,” a virtual duet with friend Kenny Rogers, via the magic of editing. After then joking that Diana Ross was currently enjoying herself boating around in the Mediterranean somewhere – presumably the reason she could not be in Philadelphia – Richie then sang “Endless Love,” which he and Ms. Ross had performed back in 1981.

Coming down the home stretch was the aforementioned “Brick House”/“Fire” barnburner, Academy Award winner (for “White Nights”) “Say You, Say Me,” a discussion of the need for people to be together in distressing times segueing into his involvement with friend Michael Jackson and their USA for Africa hit “We Are the World,” and a rollicking “All Night Long (All Night).”

I’m not sure what was in those electrolytes, but he needs to market it.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t expound upon the brilliant support of Earth, Wind & Fire. Although founder Maurice White passed away in 2016, the band is still anchored by original core member Maurice’s younger brother Verdine White on bass, vocalist Philip Bailey, and Ralph Johnson on drums and percussion.

I first saw Earth, Wind & Fire in 1978 at Kiel Auditorium during the All ‘n All Tour. It was magic. Literally. They appeared. Disappeared. Spaceships. One of the best shows of my college career. Now it’s 48 years later. 48 YEARS! How the **** could that even be? If an alien being got off that spaceship and approached and said, “Take me to your leader,” well…Maurice is gone. But as I said, Verdine, Philip, Ralph and others are still carrying the torch magnificently and the crowd in Philadelphia was thrilled that this band has survived.

Highlights for me were opening tune “Shining Star,” their eloquently reworked cover of The Beatles’ “Got to Get You Into My Life,” “Sing a Song,” “Fantasy,” and of course the brilliant “Serpentine Fire.”

Had Earth, Wind & Fire been the headliner with some other band as opening support, the night would have been equally fun and enjoyable. Their tunes and stagecraft are timeless. I hope to get yet another chance to see them.