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Lionel Richie with Earth, Wind & Fire at TD Garden, July 8, 2026.

Lionel Richie is a master manipulator.

Just when he had me mooning over why my high school boyfriend never told me I was "Three Times a Lady," Richie reminded me he's the same guy that sang "Brick House," which my college boyfriend may or may not have sung with me in mind.

Richie and his incredibly tight and by all appearances tight-knit band hit the stage at TD Garden Wednesday like an old friend, opening with what else but "Hello" his iconic 1984 ballad. From there he launched into his 1983 hit "Running With the Night," and the two-song start was met with such extended and thunderous applause Richie joked that he was calling it a night.

But it wasn't just those two songs that were met with raucous adulation - it was every song.

From his heartbreaking ballads - and I'm 100% sure I was not the only one flashing back to teenage angst - to his classic party song "Dancing on the Ceiling" (where the video is totally, shall we say, borrowed from Fred Astaire's classic dancing on the ceiling routine in "Royal Wedding"), to his Commodores days, every song Richie performed was answered with a long, drawn-out, resounding ovation from some 20,000 people packed into the Garden.

Between hits, Richie was chatty, even joking about his June 24 "hydration issue," where he was forced to cut his show short after feeling dizzy. Richie said that he heard from all sorts of people with all sorts or remedies for all sorts of ailments they each believed he had, but the simple answer was he needed to drink more. So to prevent that from happening again, Richie took several electrolyte breaks, shooting back Pedialyte while good-naturedly grumbling about it … and it seemed to have worked. The 77-year-old “American Idol” judge didn't flag once, though he did get to sit down a few times when he played the piano that rose from and disappeared under the floor as needed.

About halfway through his 90-minute set, Richie went old school with Commodores hits like "Brick House," as well as a mash up of sorts of “Fancy Dancer,” “Sweet Love,” and “Lady (You Bring Me Up)” - not to be confused with "Lady" the song Richie wrote for his friend Kenny Rogers.

When Richie performed "Lady" he actually brought out a special guest, something he said he'd never done before. He sang a duet with the late Rogers, a la Natalie and Nat King Cole , which was a little bit creepy and a little bit weepy. Richie was clearly choked up by singing with his old friend, but blamed it on the Pedialyte.

Richie, right, did a duet with his old friend Kenny Rogers, who appeared from beyond the grave. – Chris Stevens for Boston.com

He segued from Kenny to Diana Ross, but told the crowd not to get excited because "Diana ain't showing up tonight." Nonetheless, he wanted to sing his 1981 hit "Endless Love" with all the ladies in the house - and he did. And we sang our parts like we were the Queen of Motown and the only girl in the room. Her loss.

And just when you couldn't imagine what iconic song he had yet to sing, there came the opening notes of "Say You, Say Me," the-pass-me-the-tissues ballad from 1985's "White Nights," the Mikhail Baryshnikov/Gregory Hines ballet movie. Then he got a little political and busted out a song he wrote with another good friend, Michael Jackson, a little ditty we of a certain age might remember as "We Are the World."

"And we need this song again," he said.

After saying goodnight, he came back one more time with his 1983 hit "All Night Long," and you could see the crowd smile and nod almost in unison, thinking, "Right! That one! I was wondering what the encore would be!"

Or maybe that was just me.

I don't know what I was expecting from Lionel Richie, but whatever it was, he delivered way more. His music is wildly danceable and I was happy to be reunited with "Easy," get a little weepy with "Stuck on You," and soar with "Sail." I was also surprised ,and not unhappily so, to realize that I remembered the lyrics to nearly every song he put forth. He was the tearjerker of my youth and in my opinion, it's quite a legacy when 15,000-20,000 people can sing along with songs that are at least five decades old but still near and dear to the collective heart.

That said, Lionel Richie wasn't the only one riding the relic train. Opening for the icon was Earth Wind & Fire, a band that is every bit as iconic in its own right.

Earth, Wind & Fire proved an apt opener for Lionel Richie Wednesday. – Chris Stevens for Boston.com

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Like Lionel, every song they did was a classic and sounded just how you remembered - or should I say, do you remember "September," which I had to wait until the end of their hour long set to hear, or "Shining Star," 1979's "Boogie Wonderland," 1981's "Let's Groove" and 1978's cover of "Got to Get You into My Life?"

Richie's music seemed almost minimalistic compared to Earth Wind & Fire, who have a lot going on on stage. There are only three original members left: percussionist/singer Philip Bailey, who could shatter glass with that four-octave range that still hits every note, Verdine White, still one of the most distinctive bass players around, and percussionist Ralph Johnson. But with a small but lush horn section, at least three percussionists, a couple of guitar players, keyboardist and vocalists, including Philip Bailey Jr., they are as rich and funky and soulful as they ever were.

What I realized in watching the crowd watch Earth Wind & Fire is that they are pure joy, and their music knows no age limit. There were young and old getting their groove on and joining in on "Sing a Song" and "Fantasy," and even "After the Love is Gone." And they certainly still have the dance moves, particularly percussionist B. David Whitworth, whose timing on the tambourine toss and flying jump kicks to his cymbals I'm pretty sure go unmatched.

They are infectious, not unlike Richie's pop tunes, and you can't help but have fun because they're having fun. Honestly, I don't know who thought of putting Lionel Richie and Earth Wind & Fire on the road together, but it was genius.

Setlist for Earth, Wind & Fire at TD Garden, July 8, 2026

Let Your Feelings Show

Got to Get You Into My Life (Beatles cover)

After The Love Is Gone

That’s the Way of the World

Setlist for Lionel Richie at TD Garden, July 8, 2026

Running With the Night

Sail On (Commodores song)

Dancing on the Ceiling / Jump

Three Times a Lady (Commodores song)

Fancy Dancer / Sweet Love / Lady (You Bring Me Up) (Commodores song)

Lady (Duet with Kenny Rogers video)

Endless Love (Diana Ross & Lionel Richie song)

We Are the World (USA for Africa song)

Chris Stevens is a freelance concert reviewer for Boston.com.

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