At 82, Diana Ross still knows how
to turn a concert into an occasion

From the moment Washington, D.C.’s DJ Heat began warming up the crowd, Diana Ross’s return to Wolf Trap felt like a celebration. By the time Miss Ross swept onto the white-drenched stage in an electric chartreuse gown and dramatic feathered cloak, glamour was no longer merely promised. It had arrived.

The stage itself was a vision in white. Artistic wings framed the performance space, with a white grand piano, bongos and drum kit set among enormous white flowers, while the band looked fabulous in crisp white suits. Even the instruments became part of the elegant visual palette. The backup singers added movement and exuberance, dancing in perfect synchronicity. Against all that white, Ross’s entrance was a knockout.

She opened with “I’m Coming Out,” an irresistible declaration of arrival, followed by “More Today Than Yesterday,” before reaching back to the songs that first made her a star: “Baby Love,” “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “Come See About Me” and “Stop! In the Name of Love.” Hearing those Supremes classics sung by the woman who helped make them part of the American musical landscape was pure nostalgia, but there was nothing museum-like about it. Ross wanted the audience participating. She repeatedly invited us to sing and dance, and soon the lawn and pavilion became an extension of the stage.

Her solo hits kept the crowd moving with “The Boss,” “Chain Reaction,” “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand)” and “Upside Down,” but Ross also knew when to pull back. Her interpretation of Billie Holiday’s “Don’t Explain” brought a welcome intimacy before the sultry “Love Hangover / Take Me Higher.” “Ease on Down the Road,” from The Wiz, changed the temperature again, recalling another chapter in a career that has moved easily between music and film.

Then came the evening’s most personal moment. Ross’s eldest daughter, singer-songwriter Rhonda Ross Kendrick, joined her mother for “Count on Me,” which Rhonda wrote for Diana. Their connection was palpable, and the duet felt less like a star turn than a mother and daughter sharing something personal with several thousand people. Ross then left the stage to Rhonda for “Driving Me Away,” giving her daughter a chance to command Wolf Trap on her own.

Miss Ross returned transformed, this time in a dazzling silver sequined cape and gown. “If the World Just Danced,” “Why Do Fools Fall in Love” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” drove the concert toward its finish, with “I Will Survive” providing a fitting capstone. By then, costume changes, Supremes hits, solo classics, jazz, The Wiz, a family duet and a dancing audience had all somehow belonged to the same evening.

At 82, Ross remains a remarkably engaged performer. She moved, danced, gestured, joked and worked the crowd throughout the concert, appearing to take as much pleasure in the exchange as her audience did. Even that chartreuse hand fan became part of the act as she playfully turned it toward members of her band.

What impressed me most was how little Ross seemed interested in merely presenting a parade of hits. She knows exactly what people have come to hear, but she also knows how to make familiar material feel like a shared event. Six decades of songs carry plenty of nostalgia on their own; Ross supplies the glamour, warmth and showmanship that keep them from becoming relics.

At Wolf Trap beneath the summer sky, Diana Ross demonstrated why “The Boss” still fits. She may have spent part of the evening asking us to “Stop! In the Name of Love,” but at 82, Miss Ross shows no sign of stopping.

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Diana Ross
DJ Heat
Filene Center, 1551 Trap Road in Vienna, Virginia
reviewed on August 19, 2026
for more shows, visit Wolf Trap

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