Beyoncé opens 'Cowboy Carter' tour with songs about America, including the national anthem
Beyoncé opens 'Cowboy Carter' tour with songs about America, including the national anthem
LOS ANGELES — Beyoncé made a grand entrance during the debut of her "Cowboy Carter" tour, opening the show with "Ameriican Requiem" before serenading the crowd with her Beatles cover "Blackbiird" and the Star Spangled Banner.
Then she kicked the energy up a notch with her anthem "Freedom" and "Ya Ya."
The 35-time Grammy winning singer wore an all-white getup paired with a cowboy hat and chaps as she entered the stage.
Before she walked onstage, singers dressed in all red sang to the lively crowd.
"Oh Beyhive, it feels so good to be on this stage," she said at the end of her first song. "I want to thank all of those who came before me that allowed me to be on this stage today. I want to thank you to my fans for allowing me to make this album. Thank you giving me the creative liberty to challenge myself."
Live updates: Beyoncé kicks off her 'Cowboy Carter' tour
Beyoncé tour set list: Every song played in first 'Cowboy Carter' concert
Find Beyoncé concert tickets
The night marked Beyoncé's first of 32 stadium shows on her Cowboy Carter and the Rodeo Chitlin' Circuit Tour. The nine-city tour will span the U.S. and Europe with the grand finale taking place in Las Vegas on July 26. She's set to make history with her scheduled tour dates, including playing SoFi Stadium more times than any other artist.
Beyoncé first announced the tour the night before the 2025 Grammy Awards, where she took home the award for best country album and the night's top prize album of the year for "Cowboy Carter."
Of course, she first released the 27-track project in March 2024. It has since made history and broken multiple records. As Beyoncé's first country album, she deliberately featured country legends and emerging Black country artists alike.
Beyoncé last toured in 2023 for her record-breaking Renaissance World Tour. It began May 10 in Stockholm, Sweden, and concluded Oct. 1 in Kansas City, Missouri, with Beyoncé performing a total of 56 shows.
The tour followed the release of her seventh studio album, "Renaissance." The 2022 project earned her four Grammys including best dance/electronic music album, making her the most decorated artist in the awards' history. She later announced the album was the first part of a three-act project, making "Cowboy Carter" the second.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
7 hours ago
- New York Post
Tony Award predictions 2025: Audra McDonald vs. Nicole Scherzinger
Here comes a tense Tony's. Last year, many of the major winners were a cinch to predict. This time, well, the bars at Radio City Music Hall will be doing big business. Everybody's freaking out. Producers have been like pollsters the past two weeks, interrogating the 840 Tony voters about who they've chosen. 7 'Maybe Happy Ending,' starring Helen J. Shen and Darren Criss, will win Best Musical. Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman They've also put on their politician hats, hosting more down-to-the-wire cocktail parties than I've ever seen in a single season. 'It's insane,' one insider vented. And it's heated: Audra vs. Nicole; Groff vs. Criss; 'Oh, Mary!' vs. 'Purpose.' For viewers, that's a lot more fun than: 'Hamilton,' 'Hamilton,' 'Hamilton.' As for George Clooney, at least he has his millions and some Oscars to console him when he loses. Here's who I think goes home happy Sunday night. Best Musical: 'Maybe Happy Ending' It's the feel-good story of the year, and I don't mean the South Korean robo rom-com's heartwarming plot. 'Maybe Happy Ending' nearly didn't open on Broadway because of cash problems but, thanks to great reviews and euphoric word of mouth, the show has rebounded big time. Voters adore it. No other musical this season has won any lead-up trophies. And even 'Happy Ending''s glitzier competition — 'Death Becomes Her' and 'Buena Vista Social Club' — aren't exactly the 'Wicked' to its 'Avenue Q.' Definitely happy ending. Best Play: 'Oh, Mary!' There are three shows up for this award that are still running: Cole Escola's Mary Todd Lincoln farce 'Oh, Mary!,' Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' explosive drama about a black political dynasty 'Purpose,' and the high-school MeToo story 'John Proctor is the Villain.' Voters are most vocal about 'Oh, Mary!' and 'Purpose.' What's weird is that the scrappy, strange, downtown show, 'Mary,' is also the commercial juggernaut. With no A-list stars and a unique sense of humor, it regularly outgrosses most musicals. Plus, it's an organic, original hit that began here in New York. Audiences have bombarded it. In recent years, events tend to win. 7 Cole Escola's 'Oh, Mary!' has a great shot to win Best Play. AP A couple of stats. The Drama League has only got this category wrong twice in the past 25 years. They picked 'Oh, Mary!'. 'Purpose' won the Pulitzer, but the last time a Pulitzer winner for Best Play took the Tony was 'Clybourne Park' 14 years ago. Some Broadway insiders find the comedy in 'Oh, Mary!' slight, while others say 'Purpose' is too traditional. I loved both. And both could take it. 'I think 'Proctor' and 'Purpose' split the 'Oh, Mary!'-is-a-skit voters, and 'Oh, Mary!' wins,' said one voter. Best Revival of a Play: 'Eureka Day' 'Eureka Day' was only written in 2018, so it doesn't feel like a revival. It's hilarious Zoom scene sure ain't from 'All My Sons.' 7 'Eureka Day' is in a close race with 'Yellow Face.' Eureka Day But voters liked it a touch more than the older 'Yellow Face.' Best Revival of a Musical: 'Sunset Boulevard' A word about 'Gypsy': Many voters do not care for this production. They cannot stop whining about it. 7 'Sunset Boulevard' will win Best Revival of a Musical. Marc Brenner However, they admire-to-love director Jamie Lloyd's revitalized, reinvented staging of 'Sunset Boulevard,' and it wins handily. Andrew Lloyd Webber snags his first competitive Tony in more than 30 years. Best Actress in a Musical: Nicole Scherzinger, 'Sunset Boulevard' The most exciting Tonys race of the night has been raging for nearly a year, since 'Gypsy' (starring Audra McDonald) and 'Sunset Boulevard' (starring Nicole Scherzinger) began handing out competing merch last summer in the Fire Island Pines: 'Sunset' totes at the pantry, 'Audra Gypsy' cups at the Blue Whale bar. 7 Nicole Scherzinger is in a tight race with Audra McDonald for Best Actress. Marc Brrenner Despite many fantastic reviews for six-time Tony winner McDonald as Rose, the industry itself is more divided on her performance than critics. However, many voters see Scherzinger as a revelation. You can't count Audra out, but smart insiders I've talked to say it's Nicole. Best Actor in a Musical: Darren Criss, 'Maybe Happy Ending' Last year's winner, Jonathan Groff, is exceptional as Bobby Darin in 'Just in Time.' But what gives me pause about his chances is that an actor in a show that's not nominated for Best Musical hasn't won this category since Barry Bostwick in 1977 for 'The Robber Bridegroom.' 7 Darren Criss leads 'Maybe Happy Ending.' Evan Agostini/Invision/AP And a musical performer hasn't won twice in a row since Gwen Verdon. Darin is a flashier part than Criss' android in 'Maybe Happy Ending' — however, many voters will want new blood. Criss by a hair. Best Actor in a Play: Cole Escola, 'Oh, Mary!' How hilarious that, in a year with Oscar winners George Clooney, Denzel Washington, and Robert Downey Jr., the absolutely-no-contest Best Actor winner is Cole Escola for 'Oh, Mary!' Best Actress in a Play: Sarah Snook, 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' Sunday night will be a great success for the 'Succession' actress, who expertly plays 26 roles in 'The Picture of Dorian Gray.' 7 Sarah Snook might win her first Tony Award. Marc Brenner A few other categories: Michael Arden likely edges out Lloyd as Best Director of a Musical for 'Maybe Happy Ending' (there's always some anti-screen people). Sam Pinkleton probably wins Director of a Play for 'Oh, Mary!'. Natalie Venetia Belcon has a lot of support for her Featured Actress in a Musical turn in 'Buena Vista Social Club' And Featured Actor in a Musical goes to Jak Malone for 'Operation Mincemeat.'
New York Times
11 hours ago
- New York Times
What Makes His Taste So Good?
Perhaps you've seen Beyoncé soaring over crowds in a floating horseshoe at her Cowboy Carter tour performances, or riding a metallic mechanical bull. If you've wondered who came up with those stunts, the answer involves Willo Perron. 'She really is, in my eyes, the last of a type of an entertainer-performer,' Mr. Perron, the tour's stage designer, said over tea at Corner Bar, a restaurant on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, in April. 'Really, I've never seen somebody work so diligently.' He was speaking with the perspective of someone who has also worked with Rihanna (on her Super Bowl LVII halftime show), with Drake (on the Aubrey and the Three Migos tour) and with Florence and the Machine (on the group's High As Hope tour). 'It makes you have to kind of show up at such a high level all the time,' Mr. Perron said of working with Beyoncé. 'And it's good, it's like playing a sport with somebody who is much better than you. Hopefully, it makes you a little bit better yourself.' Mr. Perron, 51, is one of those people who is hard to put a label on professionally — the type of creative mind whose fluency in various mediums has led some to call him a cultural polymath and others a world builder. 'What I do is like planting seeds with no expectations,' he said. 'Just constantly planting seeds and planting seeds. And then if something grows, then I give it attention. And then simultaneously, this thing will grow over here and I'll give that a little bit of attention.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sacramento-area students win trips to national landmarks in semiquincentennial contest
What does America mean to you? Two Sacramento-area students won a national competition for their answers to that question as part of the build-up to next year's celebrations of the nation's 250th anniversary. Mélanie Golé, who just finished fourth grade in Rancho Cordova, and Evelyn Bravo, who completed tenth grade in Sacramento, were among the 75 first-place winners of the 'America's Field Trip' contest, the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, known as America250, announced on Wednesday. Each of the contest participants — who numbered in the thousands, according to the commission — submitted art or writing in the spring. Now, each winner will travel to one place on a menu of national landmarks, ranging from Mount Rushmore to the Angel Island Immigration Station in Marin County. Golé, who attends Riverview STEM Academy, painted the Statue of Liberty standing atop two layers — a foundation of Americans in different professions and historical figures including Ruth Bader Ginsburg and George Washington. 'I chose the Statue of Liberty as a symbol of our country and its freedom because it was a gift from France to the United States,' Mélanie said. 'So it also shows friendship and our strength working with other countries.' Her father is from France, and her mother, Sabrina Abbott, explained that the family maintains dual American and French citizenship. Mélanie said she used paint, oil pastel, marker and colored pencil for the composition. 'She worked on it for a long time,' Abbott said. 'She would have to walk away, come back another day, work on it.' Evelyn Bravo, who attends Las Flores High School's virtual study, submitted an essay for the contest after her older sister, Aiyana, was one of last year's winners. The contest will also be held next year before July 4, 2026, 250 years after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Evelyn said she wrote about her multiracial identity — her mother being Black and white, her father Mexican — to illustrate that 'you can be from a different place and still be part of America.' She also wrote about her passion for crocheting, which she is trying to turn into a business. 'Since America thrives off of business owners, I want to be a business owner myself,' she said. This year, California has the most first-place winners of any state, with 11 — four more than the next state, New Jersey. More information about the celebration and contest can be found at
