Lionel Richie abruptly ends concert after falling ill
Lionel Richie was forced to cut the first night of his new tour short after falling unwell on stage in Minnesota.
The 77-year-old ‘Say You, Say Me’ singer was performing all the hits on the opening night of his joint tour with Earth, Wind & Fire at St. Paul, MN’s Grand Casino Arena, when he began to feel ill.
As per a handful of social media videos, Richie can be seen sitting down during his performance of ‘Dancing on the Ceiling’, the ninth song in his setlist.
“When you’re feeling dizzy, sit your ass down,” he told fans in the audience, per The Minnesota Star Tribune.
From there, Richie continued sitting for the ensuing track, ‘Three Times a Lady’. Appearing to be still under the throngs of his dizziness, he then proclaimed a surprise “intermission” and exited the stage. Some 15 minutes later, the band members on the stage also left the stage.
40 minutes after Richie had called for the intermission, his saxophonist, Dino Soldo, appeared onstage and thanked the audience for their patience.
“Unfortunately, Lionel is not feeling well,” he announced, “He won’t be able to continue. Additional information will be available.”
Richie had been able to complete approximately 50 minutes of what was set to be a 90-minute show.
Though there has been no official word on his health since the unfortunate turn of events, the tour shows no sign of slowing down.
The Sing a Song All Night Long Tour is currently slated to resume at the United Center in Chicago on June 25th, before travelling to Value City Arena in Columbus the following day.
On June 22nd, Richie shared his gratitude for the team around him via social media, writing online, “Thank you to everyone in my band and crew for all the hard work, dedication, and long hours getting us ready for this tour. It takes an incredible team behind the scenes to make it all happen, and I’m grateful for each and every one of you.”
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