Earth, Wind and Fire coming to Salina

The legendary music group, Earth, Wind and Fire are coming to the Stiefel Theatre in Salina next year.

The theater said tickets for the May, 15, 2021 show go on sale at noon Friday, Dec. 3

Earth, Wind and Fire are a musical institution. 2020 marked a year-long celebration of its 50th anniversary in entertainment – one that has taken the group all around the globe playing sold out concerts. In 2019, its contributions to arts and culture were acknowledged in Washington DC with the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors. The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery also awarded Earth, Wind and Fire with its Portrait of a Nation Prize.

The band has scored eight number one hits, have sold over 100 million albums worldwide and released 23 albums. Eight of those albums went Double Platinum and hit the Top 10, making them one of the best-selling artists of all time in addition, the band has won an impressive nine Grammy Awards including one for Lifetime Achievement (2012). In 2000, Earth, Wind and Fire was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, cementing the band's lasting impact on popular music.

For its record-breaking success, the band also been awarded with Lifetime Achievement honors from ASCAP, NAACP, BET, and have star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Their reach extends to heads-of-state having been invited to perform for Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, who said in an interview with Rolling Stone that Earth, Wind and Fire was a “rhythm and blues and pop staple.”

The band's achievements are equally matched by its generosity. Over the years the band has sup-ported various charity organizations including the Make a Wish Foundation, Race to Erase MS, the American Cancer Society, and the Human Society. In 2007, leader Philip Bailey founded Music Is Unity, which helps youth in foster care successfully transition into adulthood and pro-vides music instruments to youth with musical aspirations but lacking the resources. Co- founder, Verdine White has led important initiatives with the Girls & Boys Club of America and opened The Verdine White Foundation in Los Angeles as a mecca to serve youth with music scholarships and other programs.

The music of Earth, Wind and Fire is more alive than ever as the group continues to inspire new audiences and thrill those who have been with it from the beginning. Like the elements in its name, Earth, Wind and Fire’s music has withstood ever-changing trends in the world and shows no sign of vanishing as it continues to create joy and uplifting music that will forever reach a sacred universal atmosphere.

In person ticket sales are Monday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m. from the walk-up window box office at 151 S. Santa Fe Ave., right next to the main entrance. You can call the Stiefel at 785-827-1998 to buy direct or for questions.

Buy tickets online at: www.stiefeltheatre.org.

This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Salina's Stiefel Theatre welcomes Earth, Wind and Fire in May.