A year after the release of her now Grammy Award–winning eighth studio album, Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé is hitting the road again, and like with most of her recent tours, fans are ready to see her raise the bar once more.
The Cowboy Carter Tour officially kicked off in Los Angeles Monday evening, with celebrities (Oprah! Gayle King! Victoria Monét!) and dedicated Beyhive members alike flocking to SoFi Stadium to be the first to experience the superstar’s latest stage production. Starting the night off with the album’s opening track, “Ameriican Requiem,” Beyoncé powered through a nearly three-hour set that saw the singer perform Cowboy Carter hits like “Texas Hold ’Em” and “Bodyguard,” as well as fan-favorite deep cuts like “Why Don’t You Love Me?” and the song that started it all, “Daddy Lessons.” It wouldn’t be a Beyoncé tour without standout costumes either; Queen Bey wore a number of western-inspired ensembles throughout the night, courtesy of fashion houses like Mugler, DSquared2, Roberto Cavalli, Burberry, and more.
While the Beyhive is buzzing following opening night, there will certainly be more moments to come throughout the rest of the tour. For now, let’s recap the biggest moments and takeaways from night one.
A stellar setlist.
Ahead of the tour, fans on social media were quick to comment about how Cowboy Carter songs would mesh with the rest of Beyoncé’s catalog—but if there’s any creative mind who can find a way to make it work, it would be the one of Beyoncé Giselle Knowles Carter. While the first half of the show was ultimately dedicated to songs off of from the Grammy-winning record (as well as a performance of the National Anthem), fans were shocked—and elated—that the singer included a mini set dedicated to Renaissance, her groundbreaking dance album from 2022. Even the famous stage robot arms were back, and this time around they poured the singer a glass of her own SirDavis American Whisky onstage before breaking into her “Cozy” choreography. Man, did we need that boost of serotonin.
It’s her most ambitious stage production yet.
What doesn’t Beyonce do during this nearly three-hour production? She flies on a giant horseshoe! She has golden car-rim-shaped stage fans! Neon beer bottles line the guitar-shaped stage! She defies gravity in a vintage lowrider! And, yes, there are onstage mechanical bulls which she rides mid-song for “Tyrant.” The Cowboy Carter Tour isn’t just a show—it’s a full-on production spectacle.
Fans witnessed a new batch of (tour exclusive) visuals.
Fans were quick to express on social media how impressive the tour interlude visuals in between sets were—and Beyoncé really blessed her Beyhive with a lot to look at during her rare downtime off-stage. The clips appeared to have an unofficial “Cowboys vs. Aliens” theme that saw the superstar cosplaying in a number of western-inspired scenarios, like partaking in a cowboy shootout, dancing (and breaking a beer bottle) in a saloon, and cuddling up to a Louisiana alligator. We know there’s more in that vault of yours, Beyoncé. Free the visuals! We’re begging.
Blue Ivy Carter returns to the stage, while little sister Rumi Carter makes her debut.
While fans were treated to Blue Ivy making her tour debut on the Renaissance Tour, Beyoncé’s eldest daughter was back in a much bigger role for Cowboy Carter. The 13-year-old appeared in a number of dance breaks alongside her mother onstage and even had a solo moment dancing to her parents’ hit “Deja Vu” during the latter half of the show. Her aunt Solange even chimed in on X and Instagram to show how proud she was of the teen. Beyoncé’s seven-year-old daughter, Rumi, also made her stage debut in Los Angeles, coming out during her mom’s performance of the song “Protector.”
It doubles as a history lesson.
Much like the album, the Cowboy Carter Tour is about honoring history—and, specifically for Beyoncé, the overlooked history of Black contributions to country music. Throughout the show, she pays homage to those who came before her, and she acknowledges their importance at the top of the concert. Famous figures like Linda Martell, Rosetta Tharpe, and more appear in visuals onstage, while spoken word about the impact of Black culture blasts across the stadium. The superstar also isn’t afraid to get political; she shares blurred-out clips of arguably racist critiques from TV anchors over the last year who questioned her right to experiment with country music as well.
