Earth, Wind & Fire
May 7, 2022
Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, Mount Pleasant, Michigan

I have been to many concerts over the decades, and one band I seemed to always miss was the legendary “Earth, Wind and Fire”. So, when a concert was announced for May 7 at the nearby Soaring Eagle Casino in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, I determined this was the time to see them.

The band is celebrating over 50 years of performing, and they are “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” members. While the group is know to have many members, only 3 core members remain. Vocalist Philip Bailey, bassist Verdine White, and vocalist Ralph Johnson – all 3 of them around 70 years old. The current performing band includes additional vocalists including Philip’s son, additional percussionist, guitarist, drummer, keyboards, and 3 horn players (trumpet, saxophone, trombone). Overall, they sound great, but I’m sure it was even more exciting in the late 1970s or 1980s.

Anyway, the sold out show opened with “Shining Star”, and the energy seemed a little low. Maybe the band was just working out some issues, but it seemed like they were not firing on all cylinders. However, about half way through the set, the entire mood seemed to turn around and everyone was having a great time – the party got started. Philip Bailey still has most of his voice and can hit those high falsetto notes like nobody else. Sure, he may not be able to hit notes as high as high “Easy Lover” days in the 1980s, but he is still better than most. Bassist Verdine White is just a monster on bass and a legend in his own right. Honestly, I expected to see a supporting bass player in the band, as Verdine does quite a bit of dancing while playing. But, to my surprise, he was the only bass player on stage – holding down all the grooves, while still dancing the night away. Ralph Johnson seemed to be having a good time, but rarely held his microphone up very close to his mouth. I had suspicion he may not be as strong on vocals as he used to be – he was not a featured vocalist on any song. The band had 2 additional backing vocalists who helped bring energy to the performance. These 2 did great with vocals, as well as dancing and jumping. The keyboardist was the musical director, and put together a great set of hits. Everyone sounded great, but there was certainly focus on Philip, Verdine, and Ralph.

Hits such as “After The Love Is Gone”, “Boogie Wonderland”, and “Let’s Groove” all sounded great, it was the ending “September” that brought the whole crowd together. Even at 70 years old, these guys know how to bring great harmonies to dance, ballad, and funk tunes. They made it clear why Earth, Wind and Fire are truly a legendary group.

While we didn’t have the best seats, and ended up watching some of the video screens for closeups, I was still able to see most of the band and enjoy most of the evening. I would love to see the band again at a better venue and from the center section. I get the feeling Verdine brings much of the energy, and it was tough to see him from our position.

If you get a chance to see Earth, Wind and Fire before they completely retire, I highly recommend it. They know how to bring a fun evening with quality musicianship. Well done.

Here is video I shot of the ending of “Let’s Groove” and the start of “September” – unfortunately, I mistakenly hit the “stop” button on my video before ending of “September” – sorry, but it is a good 4 minutes – enjoy:

Earth, Wind and Fire Setlist – I know some of these songs shown are not the correct order, and I think some are missing – but it is mostly correct: