Lionel Richie was rushed to a hospital after abruptly ending his concert at the Grand Casino Arena in St Paul, Minnesota, on Wednesday evening. The 77-year-old music legend began feeling dizzy while performing and had to sit down multiple times before the show was cut short.
Paramedics Called Backstage
According to TMZ, paramedics met the former Commodores lead singer backstage, and he was subsequently taken by ambulance to a local hospital. The incident occurred at the start of Richie's joint Sing A Song All Night Long tour with Earth, Wind & Fire.
Performance Interrupted
Richie announced an unusual intermission after performing his hit "Three Times A Lady" from the piano, as reported by Minnesota's Bring Me The News. His band exited the stage minutes later. After more than 40 minutes, saxophonist Dino Soldo returned to inform the audience that Richie would not be able to continue due to illness.
"Unfortunately, Lionel is not feeling well," Soldo said, according to the publication. "He won’t be able to continue. Additional information will be available."
Audience Reaction
Videos from the concert show Richie stopping to sit down multiple times during his second-to-last song, "Dancing On The Ceiling." He reportedly told the crowd he was feeling dizzy. A fan who attended told Bring Me The News that Richie said, "He has been in this business long enough, if you feel dizzy you sit down! And if you don’t feel right, you sit down!"
One disappointed audience member called the surprise end to the show "horrible" while speaking to the Star Tribune. "I’m super bummed. This was my first time [seeing Richie] and I’m old," they vented.
No further updates on Richie's condition have been released at this time.
