Hello, Lionel Richie is coming to Union Transfer in March
The Grammy- and Oscar-winning star and 'American Idol' judge is playing the 1200-seats venue as a part of Wells Fargo's 'Autograph' series.
Lionel Richie is doing a one-off, only-in-Philly show at Union Transfer, the Spring Garden club that usually presents indie rock acts rather than time-tested household-name pop stars like Richie, who has sold millions of records, cowrote “We Are the World,” and is an American Idol judge.
Why is this happening? The March 29 show is part of a series of shows, presented by a credit card company, featuring big name acts playing in venues with much smaller capacities than where they normally perform.
The last time Richie said “Hello” to Philadelphia was in 2023, when he shared a bill with Earth, Wind & Fire at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philly. That arena holds 20,000 or so. The comparatively intimate Union Transfer — a former Spaghetti Factory — maxes out at 1,200. In music industry terms, that’s known as an underplay.
The Union Transfer show also has a Wells Fargo connection. Tickets for the show — sold from 10 a.m. Feb. 24 until Feb. 28, by which time they will undoubtedly be gone — are exclusively available to Wells Fargo Autograph credit card holders at wellsfargo.com/autographcardexclusives
The Saturday night show is part of an occasional series of “Autograph” shows that have been staged throughout the country, beginning with a Mumford & Sons show in Los Angeles in 2023 and including club dates with Brandi Carlile in Atlanta and Halsey in San Francisco.
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Union Transfer was named one of the best clubs in America by Rolling Stone in 2013. The Ritchie show is another high-profile event at the venue after ex-Eagle-turned-TV personality Jason Kelce taped his They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce for ESPN there last month.
Richie’s No. 1 pop/easy-listening hits include “Say You, Say Me,” “Endless Love” (with Diana Ross),” “All Night Long (All Night),” and of course, “Hello.” The Grammy and Oscar winner, who is also a Kennedy Center honoree, also topped the R&B charts as the leader of the Commodores with “Easy,” “Three Times a Lady,” and “Slippery When Wet.”
He starred in the 2024 Netflix doc The Greatest Night in Pop, about the charity single “We Are the World,” which he cowrote with Michael Jackson. It was produced by Quincy Jones in a recording session immediately after Richie hosted an American Music Awards telecast in which he won six awards.
Richie has been a judge on American Idol since 2018. He has an as-yet-untitled memoir due later this year.