Note: This is another old ass post that I was working on last summer, but could never finish. Here’s the thing: I was so psyched after this concert that I wrote four pages worth of material! I’m not even lyin’! However, there was just one problem…it was boring and I was getting bored writing it. The play-by-play worked with my Silk Sonic concert article, but it just seemed to drone on and on with this Renaissance concert post. With that said, I decided to go another route to share my mind-blowing experience of seeing Beyoncé for the first time. Instead of a play-by-play in the exact order that everything happened, I opted to summarize all the cool—and the very few bad—stuff I witnessed that night (which still came to a whopping five pages worth of text!). Plus, with Bey’s new Cowboy Carter album coming up this week (Mar. 29, 2024), it seems like the perfect time to spill the tea on how much fun I had seeing the queen do her thing. I hope y’all enjoy it.
During the summer of 2018, Beyoncé and Jay-Z had a concert scheduled in Columbia, SC for their On the Run II tour. I was dying to go to that show, but as fate would have it, my money was funny and I had to skip it (it’s a trip how I had a similar situation a year prior with Bruno’s concert). A woman I worked with attended the show, but I must’ve aggravated her to death talking about the concert beforehand. That morning following the show, I ran up to her like Chester the Puppy from Looney Tunes, and she quickly told me, with a look of pure annoyance, “Nadiya, let me get in and get settled.” She told my other co-workers little deetz (and I do mean little) about the concert later in the day, and I just had to be nosy and eavesdrop (although she never said so, it was clear she was not tryin’ to fool with me). I later learned that one of my oldest childhood friends went to the same show, and when I asked him how it was, he just answered, “Girrrlllll…” And that was it.
I swore the next time Bey had a concert, I was going.
Fast forward to February 2023. Beyoncé announced that she’s hitting the road again, this time to promote her Renaissance album. I wanted to go, but at the same time, I didn’t want to spend buku on a wack seat. I also didn’t want to pay a down payment on a house or car for seat near the stage, so I decided to wait. After all, Bey wasn’t coming to my neck of the woods until August (Bey’s Charlotte show was scheduled for Aug. 9, 2023). But, time caught up with me, and before I knew it August was here, and I still hadn’t purchased a ticket.
I nearly convinced myself not to even go to the concert. This past July, I visited my family in Syracuse, NY for my birthday, which caused my money to be a bit scarce. The concert date was fast approaching, and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to afford it. However, I remembered two things. First, I recalled that I promised myself that I’d see Bey the next time she came to the south, and if I didn’t go to her show, I’d regret it forever. Then I remembered when Prince came to Charlotte, NC back in 2004. His tickets were reasonably priced, but his show was in the middle of the week—just like Bey’s Charlotte concert, coincidentally—so I decided not to go and told myself I’d get a ticket for his concert next time…but that next time never came for me. I couldn’t let that happen again.
With all that being said, I still had reservations about going to the concert smack dab in the middle of the week, so I opted not to go to the Charlotte show. Instead, I decided to attend one of the three shows Bey had in Atlanta. The Aug. 12th date was perfect.
Y’all, I ain’t even lyin’…this show gave me life. Allow me to spill the tea, because unlike my co-worker and my homeboy, I didn’t sign no NDA!
First Things First…the Dumb Shit
Just like with the Silk Sonic show, allow me to get the wack foolishness out of the way first. I feel it’s also important that to point out that none of this silly shit had anything to do with the actual performance, it’s just some mess that nearly put a damper on my night. 🤬
Before making my way to Atlanta, I read a news article about the concert that stated all the parking spaces at the Mercedes Benz stadium were already sold out. The only other options were to either take an Uber to the stadium or park in another nearby lot and walk the rest of the way. At the time, I wasn’t about to walk over there, so I opted for the Uber. That was a mistake.
Don’t get me wrong, my first Uber driver was really nice (the second driver was nice too, it’s just the first one was a bit friendlier), and he showed up in no time flat—plus, I got to ride to the venue in a Tesla—but the price to get there was a whopping $52.00! And I thought the $20.00 I had to shell out for the Uber that took me to Park MGM in Vegas was pricey! To make matters worse, on the way there, my first Uber driver warned me that the fare to get back to my hotel would be even more expensive. He wasn’t wrong. After the concert, not only did I have to pay doggone $78.00 just to get back to my home away from home, but no one from doggone Uber, Lyft, or the local taxi companies wanted to come pick anyone up because the traffic was too heavy.
At the time, I was like, “WTF? Ain’t this what y’all do for a living?” I later learned from a friend of mine that taxis and Ubers steer clear of traffic situations like that because sitting in gridlock makes them sitting ducks for would-be-robbers. That’s scary. They’ll be more than happy to take you to the venue, but they ain’t pickin’ you up…at least not near that same area. I literally had to walk a few yards away from the stadium just to get an Uber (and it was hot as hell that night, too). That sucked. However, after finding out from my first Uber driver how much they actually earn to drive folks around (and they use a good chunk of their check to rent the Teslas), on top of the threat of possibly being robbed, I understand why they weren’t trying to go back to the stadium. Still can’t say I liked being in that situation, though. My feet were sore as hell, and I was wearing damn Cloud slides.
Another thing that sucked was getting to my damn seat. When I finally made my way to the building (I sat in traffic for a little over an hour on the way to the stadium), I didn’t see any elevators, so I figured I’d have to take the stairs to get to section 320. It took about five or six flights of stairs to get there. Needless to say my ass was out of breath by the time I got to the top section. Then, I had to walk to Timbuktu just to get to the area where my seat was! My only consolation for all this is that I got my steps in for the day. I felt sorry for the folks wearing heels that night (I learned my lesson about wearing heels to a concert after the Silk Sonic debacle. And to think, my mom wanted me to put those damn shoes back on again! Hell, no!). Oh, and did I mention that I ended up in the wrong section and row again? The only difference is, this go ’round I went to the wrong row multiple times! The rows in the stadium had a weird way of being numbered, so I wound up having some embarrassing trial and error before I made it to my designated seat. Lord…
Now On to the Good Stuff!!
As I said before, the sucky stuff had nothing to do with the actual show. Thanks to the traffic in ATL being off the chain that night, and me having to climb the Tower of London and then walk to China to get to my section (and the debacle with trying to find my row), it was about 8:45 PM when I finally got to my seat. The show hadn’t started just yet, much to my delight. Nonetheless, that crowd was buzzing ‘cause we knew our girl was coming soon! After waiting about 20 minutes, the lights dimmed and dry ice started flowing from the stage.
Little by little, a graphic appeared on the screen. It started off as a building with Beyoncé’s name above it, and each panel of the window slowly revealed a pic of Queen Bey. After the crowd hollered in excitement, Beyoncé made her entrance. I swear…I wigged out.
Did I mention we were allowed to have our phones out at this venue? It was on! And guess what…that means I have some actual visuals for this post (yes, I realize the Silk Sonic post had visuals too, but this one will have pics and video from that night, not stock footage)!
The Fashion!
As I said before, talking about this concert play-by-play was a bit dull, some I’m just gonna point out the things about that night that really wowed me…which is just about everything. Let’s start with the kick-ass costumes.
At the start of the night, Bey came out wearing a gorgeous off-the-shoulder pink leotard with a flowing lace veil atop her head. Let me tell y’all, Beyoncé is even prettier in person than she is on TV and movies. That woman is just ethereal!
The costume changes continued throughout the show. She would dress in everything from her sexy cowgirl fit, a new age robot, to the skin tight suit with the hands (I swear that suit was inspired by David Bowie).
There was even a time where Bey dressed like…a queen bee! I especially loved the queen bee costume because it showed how tiny her waist is. She also wore that oversized hat that Erykah Badu was having a full-on fit about last summer. Like I said, Beyoncé is just ethereal. My favorite one is the first costume. Not only was it elegant, but it’s my favorite color (I’ll admit; on some of photos, the leotard looks more red than pink, but I’m still lovin’ it).
The Songs!
Bey spent the first 15 min. of the concert singing ballads such as “Dangerously in Love,” “Flaws and All,” “1+1,” “I Care,” and Tina Turner’s “River Deep, Mountain High.” After a quick costume change, Bey turned up the volume with tracks from the Renaissance album such as “COZY,” “ENERGY,” “I’M THAT GIRL,” and “ALIEN SUPERSTAR.” I must admit, there were times I felt like I wasn’t a real fan, because I didn’t know all of the deep cuts (I know “Dangerously in Love” and “River Deep…” of course, but it’d been a minute since I heard “Flaws and All,” and I didn’t know “I Care” or “1+1.” Don’t judge me). Not only that, but after I gave the Renaissance album a few listens, there were some songs that I didn’t revisit, and I vaguely remembered them (again, don’t judge me). There were true members of the Beyhive sitting on either side of me that knew every lyric of every song, and were singing their asses off (more on the hyped crowd later)!
I will say this, even though I was a bit embarrassed that I didn’t remember each and every track, I was glad to be reintroduced to the songs I’d forgotten about, because they sounded better than ever, and provided some new material to be added to my Queen Bey playlist. Now, when it came to the songs that I already knew…I was jammin’. Songs like “I’M THAT GIRL,” “Run the World (Girls), ” “VIRGO’S GROOVE,” and “Formation” had me dancing out of my seat (this time, I made sure my purse wasn’t on my shoulder to avoid smacking people in the back of the head. I made that mistake previously at the Silk Sonic show). I especially loved the renditions of “MY POWER,” and “AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM” (Bey had on the queen bee outfit during the “AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM” performance).
Also, Bey was singing her ass her off! You folks out there that love to proclaim, “Beyoncé can’t sing, Beyoncé can’t sing,” please come see her perform live. Please. You’ll see for sure that the lady can actually sing and dance. She more than proved that when she performed “Love on Top” and continued to go up an octave higher and higher as time went on (she eventually went even higher than the recorded song, mind you). I was singing along, but once Bey started entering into Mariah Carey territory, I gave up. On a side note, I’ll never understand how folks feel like Beyoncé can’t sing. That child can blow. And when she did the “SUMMER RENAISSANCE” finale while suspended in air…I was too done!
The Visuals!
Bey had some spectacular visuals throughout the concert. Whenever she had to disappear for a wardrobe change, we were treated to some killer graphics on the jumbotron. The vivid colors and sharp details really seemed to come at you. I especially enjoyed the intro (it was almost like a puzzle, revealing Bey’s picture behind the panes), and the now infamous visual that played during “BREAK MY SOUL” that showed all the ladies that Bey is inspired by. Lizzo was mentioned this go around (she was was previously omitted from the previous performances).
My absolute favorite had to be when Bey performed “AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM.” The jumbotron had a visual of a 24 hr. Beyoncé news network, as well as Beyoncé’s detached talking head (symbolism!). They even had a stock ticker at the bottom! Meanwhile, Bey was behind a podium, singing her heart out. I thought that was really cool.
A lot of the set pieces were cool, too. Many times throughout the show, the “Renaissance Horse” would make an appearance. On a side note, that horse always reminds me of the crystal version of Swift Wind that I had as a kid. For you youngins that have no idea what the hell I’m talking about, Swift Wind was She-Ra’s horse, and she was part of the Princess of Power toy line (She-Ra was He-Man’s sister, by the way). My Swift Wind was transparent with glitter, and pink hair. I loved that horse.
There was also a moment in a the show where Bey performed some of her slower tempo jams while sitting in a seashell, reminiscent of the painting The Birth of Venus.
The most heartfelt graphic was at the very end of the concert. A photo of a young Matthew and Tina Knowles appeared on the jumbotron. I thought that was really sweet, although I’m not the biggest fan of Bey’s dad.
The only one I wasn’t crazy about was a graphic where Beyoncé seemed to be on fire. That wasn’t exactly my cup of tea. Before the concert started, there were some religious folks outside the stadium protesting the concert (at least I believe they were protesting the concert; I believe I remember hearing one of them say, “She’s a devil!” or something to that effect). They would’ve had a field day if they saw that shit. There was also a graphic where the jumbotron had a visual of Bey with her legs open and the circular space on the stage was between them. Yep, she took it there.
The Dancing and Performances!
Y’all, Bey and those dancers didn’t come to play. They came to slay. Bey did her thing, of course, but her dancers brought the house down. Toward the end of the concert, they had a ball. And no, I’m not saying they were having a load of fun (although they probably had that, too), but an actual ball. I’m dead ass; it was a doggone ball, and I loved every minute of it. Naturally, Les Twins were there, and they had two solo performances. I hate I wasn’t able to record their first dance or the dancers’ ball. They were fire! Not only that, but the backup singers and musicians were killin’ it, too! I tell you what…Bey does not play when it comes to her camp. Another one of my favorite performances of the night was “MY POWER.” The singing, dancing, and visuals came together perfectly. Not only that, but it reminded me of how much of banger that song is! And speaking of which…
BLUE!!
When I officially bought my ticket for this concert, I found myself hoping that Blue would make an appearance. She did, and that little lady did not disappoint. Blue came out and did her thing during the “MY POWER” segment, and she and her mom killed it. Plus, I loved how they had on matching outfits (Blue wore a jersey with the roman numeral VI, and Beyoncé wore a jersey with the roman numeral IV. Mirror images). I kid y’all not…I screamed and cheered for Blue even harder than I did for Bey ( you can hear me on the video). I honestly believe that when Bey officially retires her microphone, Blue will be the one to pick up the mantle in her place.
The Crowd!
Last, but certainly not least, I have to mention the crowd. ATL was lit that night. I thought the Silk Sonic crowd was hyped up in Vegas, but man…they didn’t have nothin’ on the Beyhive during that hot summer evening in Atlanta. First off, everyone came there dressed to kill: sequined covered cowgirl hats, halter tops, see-through jumpsuits, and six-inch heels. I wasn’t sure if we were all headed to a concert or a club. I thought I was doin’ something with my freakum dress and Cloud slides, but once I got around the Beyhive, I felt extremely underdressed.
Not only that, but seeing them walk to the concert (many people ditched their Ubers and/or parked a short distance away from the stadium and walked the rest of the way) gave the impression of a Beyoncé pilgrimage.
I could feel the energy of the crowd the minute I arrived at my section, and the heightened buzz just grew and grew while we waited for Queen Bey to make her entrance. Once she did, that crowd could not be contained. They lost their minds, and if I’m being honest, I did too. The vibe was so invigorating. They hung onto every note and every word Bey spoke. They danced to every song and sang their hearts out.
The LGBTQ crowd came and represented, too. Of course, they had on the flyest outfits. There was a lovely dovey couple sitting a few rows down from me that danced with each other during one of Bey’s love ballads (for the life of me, I can’t remember which one). I thought that was really sweet. Maybe one day I can have a man dance with me during a concert…
Hey, a girl can dream, right?
To sum all this up, I loved the Renaissance concert. It gave me life, and I felt like a new woman walking out of the Mercedes Benz stadium. I came down off my high once I realized I had to walk about a mile away from the venue to get a ride back to my hotel, but I was floating on cloud nine before that. Now that Cowboy Carter has officially been released, I have to go back and see Queen Bey do her thing one more time.
––Written by Nadiya
Did you go to any of the shows scheduled for Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour last year? If so, did you enjoy the concert as much as I did? Did you attend one of the three dates Bey had in Atlanta? Did you go the same night I did? Was your experience about the same as mine? Have you been to any Beyoncé concerts before? Did you enjoy them? Which were your favorites? When Beyoncé has her Cowboy Carter tour, will you be in attendance? Let me know in the comments section!
Insights from a Southern Girl 