“We’re going to scream our faces off!”
So declared two cowboy-garbed fans even before Beyoncé stepped onstage to kick off the first show of her Cowboy Carter Tour last night (April 28). Multiply those two sets of screams by the thousands of others screaming, cheering and dancing inside Inglewood, Calif.’s SoFi Stadium throughout the 35–time Grammy winner’s nearly three-hour performance and that’s how “fun,” “amazing” and “memorable” — as excited fans noted afterwards — the opening night proved to be.
The screaming began at 8:02 p.m. when the lights dimmed and the image of the flag emblazoned across the giant video grid/screen backing the stage (reminiscent of the set-up for Bey’s Renaissance tour stop at SoFi two years earlier) took full effect. Surrounding the front of the catwalk, which stretched out to the center of the venue, were hundreds of fans in standing-only areas milling around to claim their prime viewing space for the show ahead.
There was no opening act. But as the clock ticked down to 8:14 p.m., the audience’s screams and shouts reached a crescendo as lines of female and male dancers were sighted walking in from both sides of the stage. Then the band struck up the first notes of “Ameriican Requiem,” the opening track from Cowboy Carter. Seconds later, Beyoncé appeared, resplendent in all-white from her cowboy hat and form-fitting body suit to a matching fringed jacket and boots. With her waist-length blonde hair blowing behind her, Beyoncé and her dancers — sporting thigh-high white boots — led the audience in a fervent sing-along. And it was on from there.
It was an evening stockpiled with strong-voiced performances, mesmerizing video imagery and staging (golden cows; various iterations of the flag and its red, white & blue motif; a red Cadillac convertible; a neon sign repping her haircare line Cécred as part of a set decoration during one performance) as well as empowerment themes, love of family and “oh my god”-eliciting surprises.
In addition to the “American Requiem” opener, here are several more of the evening’s highlights.
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A soaring “Blackbiird”
“It feels so good to be on this stage,” shared a smiling and svelte Beyoncé in the lead-up to her reinterpretation of the Beatles’ classic. “Thank you to my fans for allowing me to make this album [Cowboy Carter], for the creative liberty to make this album. I love you!” Then she segued into the first verse of the song, whose lyrics — “Blackbird singing in the dead of night/ Take these broken wings and learn to fly” — took on even more meaning and as she twirled alone onstage during the riveting performance.
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A surprise blast from the past
For the first of several surprises sprinkled throughout the show, Beyoncé pivoted away from the Cowboy Carter tracklist with a brief version of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Then, after the video screen flashed the message “Never ask permission for something that belongs to you,” she launched defiantly into “Freedom” from 2016’s Lemonade, amid an eruption of audience cheers — a purposeful moment given what’s happening in the world right now.
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Get your “Ya Ya”s out
Beyoncé delivered a rousing, extended version of Cowboy Carter fan fave “Ya Ya,” as she and her dancers revved the crowd up to a fever pitch. Adding to the fervor was another surprise: her reaching back to 2008 album I Am … Sasha Fierce for the track “Why Don’t You Love Me” and pairing it with “Ya Ya” for a revivalist-vibed sing-along.
And the surprises didn’t stop there: Queen Bey continued to reach back into her deep catalog, hitting the audience with best shots like “America Has a Problem” from Renaissance, “Formation” and “Diva.” For “America,” Beyoncé and her dancers were outfitted in newspaper-print body suits emblazoned with the song’s title. And yes, one of those dancers was none other than Blue Ivy, who drew a round of cheers when the cameras noted her appearance onstage.
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Blue and Rumi in the spotlight
From there, Beyoncé continued to bring Cowboy Carter to life through colorful and dynamic takes on songs like “Spaghettii” (which features country pioneer Linda Martell and Shaboozey on the album), “Alligator Tears,” “Just for Fun,” “Flamenco,” “Jolene” (sitting on a giant horseshoe), “Riiverdance,” “II Most Wanted” and “Levii’s Jeans.”
But one of the most memorable — and beautiful — moments occurred when Beyoncé performed “Protector” and revealed that youngest daughter Rumi was hugged up next to her. And you could tell that the seven-year-old, smiling from ear-to-ear, enjoyed being onstage and hearing the audience cheer and applaud.
At the end of the song, proud mom Beyoncé stood for a moment with daughters Blue and Rumi, making for a touching, real-life portrait. Later during one of Beyoncé’s costume changes, a confident and assured Blue drew more cheers as she performed a fierce dance routine to mom’s “Déjà Vu.”
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Remembering Frankie
In yet another crowd-pleasing moment, Beyoncé and crew got into line-dancing formation for her cover of Maze featuring Frankie Beverly’s “Before I Let Go.” It was like a giant backyard barbecue, as the SoFi audience got up on its feet to dance and sing along, while watching a black-and-white video clip of the late Beverly singing the song as well. Also adding to the concert’s déjà vu groove was Beyoncé’s integration of other standouts from her career, such as Destiny Child’s “Bills, Bills, Bills,” and her own “Crazy in Love,” “Daddy Lessons,” “Cuff It,” “Thique” and “Alien Superstar.”
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Say “Amen”
Of course, the concert couldn’t end without Bey performing the first two singles that introduced Cowboy Carter’s homage to the singer-songwriter’s Houston and southern roots: “Texas Hold ‘Em” and the biographical “16 Carriages” (sitting inside the aforementioned red convertible). Ahead of both, the giant video screen displayed home movies of her childhood with sister Solange, her early days with Destiny’s Child, the pregnancy reveals and clips/photos of her children as babies, key career moments such as she and Diana Ross hugging at the Renaissance World Tour stop in L.A. last year, and ending with a barrage of photos displaying all of Bey’s varied looks and how she’s continued to evolve over the years.
Wearing a full-length, full-skirted diaphanous dress with a flag design, she fittingly closed her eight-act show with “Amen,” the last song on Cowboy Carter. “Thank you all,” said Beyoncé, standing at one point in front of a replica of the Statue of Liberty’s top half. “This is the first show and you shared it with me. I feel so overwhelmed. God bless you!”
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