Lionel Richie and Earth, Wind & Fire Postpone Three Final U.S. Tour Dates After Singer’s Afib Procedure Pushes San Francisco, Chicago and Columbus Shows
LOS ANGELES, CA — Lionel Richie and Earth, Wind & Fire have postponed the final three U.S. concerts on their Sing A Song All Night Long tour after Richie underwent a routine procedure for atrial fibrillation. Venue pages in San Francisco, Chicago and Columbus now list the affected shows as postponed, not canceled.
The affected dates are Sept. 26 at Chase Center in San Francisco, Sept. 30 at United Center in Chicago and Oct. 2 at Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio. All three venues say new dates will be announced later, and existing tickets are expected to remain valid for the rescheduled performances.
What each venue says about the postponed dates
Chase Center’s official event page now marks the San Francisco concert as postponed. The venue says a replacement date will be announced and that current tickets will carry over to the new performance.
United Center uses the same wording for Chicago, where Richie and Earth, Wind & Fire had been scheduled to play Sept. 30. Schottenstein Center has also updated its Columbus page to show the Oct. 2 performance as postponed, with tickets still valid when a new date is set.
That distinction matters for fans trying to plan travel or lodging. For now, the shows remain part of the tour, but the calendar no longer includes them on their original dates.
Richie’s AFib procedure led to the break from touring
Richie’s representative told the Associated Press that the 77-year-old singer underwent a routine procedure for atrial fibrillation, or AFib, and that the doctor said everything went successfully. The statement added that Richie is feeling well but will take time to rest before returning to the stage.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes AFib as the most common treated heart arrhythmia. It can cause symptoms including palpitations, fatigue, dizziness, shortness of breath and chest pain, and it can raise the risk of blood clots and stroke.
No exact return date has been announced, so venue updates remain the clearest guide to the schedule. For now, organizers are only saying that Richie will resume after a period of rest.
San Francisco had already been shifted once before
The San Francisco concert has had the most complicated path. It was first set for Aug. 6, then postponed shortly before showtime after a medical emergency involving a member of Earth, Wind & Fire.
That show was rescheduled for Sept. 26, but Chase Center now lists that date as postponed too. The venue says tickets will still be honored once a new date is announced, which means fans who already adjusted once will now be waiting for a second replacement date.
For ticket holders, the key point is that the event remains in postponed status rather than canceled. Until a new date is released, the original purchase still stands for the future performance.
Chicago and Columbus were already moved earlier this year
Chicago and Columbus were both affected earlier in the tour, when United Center said the June 26 Chicago show and the June 27 Columbus show were postponed on medical advice so Richie could rest and fully recover. The Chicago concert was moved to Sept. 30, while Columbus was reset for Oct. 2.
Now both of those rescheduled dates have been pushed again. United Center and Schottenstein Center each say the concerts are postponed and that ticket holders will be covered when new dates are confirmed.
The repeated changes mean both cities have now seen multiple schedule shifts during the same tour. Fans who had been waiting for the fall dates will need to wait again for new instructions from the venues or ticket sellers.
The tour was built around 26 arena shows across North America
Live Nation and Earth, Wind & Fire announced the 2026 North American run in January as a 26-city arena tour that began June 24 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and was supposed to end Aug. 14 in Austin, Texas. The schedule also included major stops such as New York, Toronto, Los Angeles, Seattle, Denver and Dallas.
The Sing A Song All Night Long tour blends Richie’s solo hits, songs from his Commodores era and Earth, Wind & Fire’s catalog. It continues a joint concert format the artists have brought to large arenas in recent years.
Because these are major venue productions, finding replacement dates depends on the artists, the promoter, the arenas and the wider calendar. For now, none of the three postponed concerts has a new date.
What fans should watch for next
The most immediate update fans need is the announcement of new dates. Chase Center, United Center and Schottenstein Center all say their existing tickets will remain valid, but each venue says more details will come later.
That means travelers should wait before making new plans around San Francisco, Chicago or Columbus. Until the replacement dates are posted, the only confirmed status is that the original performances will not happen as scheduled.
Richie’s team has not given a timeline for his return beyond saying he will come back after resting. For the tour, the next official notice will likely be the one that finally puts these three concerts back on the calendar.
Fans are waiting for replacement dates and ticket guidance
The venue notices also make clear that any refunds or other ticketing options depend on the rules of the point of sale and whatever instructions arrive after new dates are announced. Right now, the most consistent message is simple: the shows are postponed, and current tickets should still be good for the replacement performances.
That leaves the practical side of the tour in a holding pattern. Fans in all three cities can still expect updates from the venues, but until those dates appear, travel and planning remain unsettled.
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