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Beyoncé Announces ‘Renaissance’ 2023 World Tour

• By Larisha Paul

Larisha Paul

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Another Ticketmaster war is on the horizon as the BeyHive prepares for battle. After weeks of speculation, Beyoncé has officially confirmed a world tour in support of Renaissance , scheduled to make stops in stadiums across the world in 2023 .

The musician confirmed the news on Wednesday morning. The tour will begin in Europe this May before landing in North America on July 8 with back-to-back nights at Toronto’s Rogers Centre. The tour will make stops in Philadelphia, Nashville, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, Miami, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and more.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce)

The Renaissance tour marks Beyoncé’s first extended stretch on the road since the On the Run tour, which made 48 stops across North America and Europe in 2018. Those shows were proceeded by the singer’s redefining Coachella performance, which arrived as the Netflix concert film Homecoming the following year.

The clips sparked multiple viral moments, the most notable being Beyoncé’s new vocal arrangements on familiar records, including “Drunk in Love” and “Countdown.” The private concert, notably, did not include any Renaissance tracks on the setlist, even the chart-topping lead single “Break My Soul.”

The tour announcement arrives as a saving grace for a starved BeyHive, still yearning for any meaningful visual companion pieces to the singer’s acclaimed seventh studio album. If Beyoncé is heading on the road again, maybe the wait for the music videos she teased in the record release trailer won’t be too much longer.

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“As is customary for her, she layers the album with enough totems to fuel a million think pieces and dissertations,” Rolling Stone shared of Renaissance . “Yet it’s also possible to simply dance and vibe to the music. This is Beyoncé at her joyous peak, and you won’t get it unless you pull the “plastic off the sofa,” “drop it like a thottie,” and enjoy Queen Bey at her thrilling best.”

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Renaissance tour: Beyoncé’s three-night run at SoFi Stadium was a ridiculously star-studded affair

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Who run the world? Beyoncé, of course.

In May, the megastar embarked on her five-month Renaissance world tour .

In January, the “Break My Soul” hitmaker unveiled dates for her first solo tour in more than six years. Named after her Grammy-winning seventh studio album, Beyoncé’s highly anticipated Renaissance tour launched May 11 in Stockholm, and it’s set to conclude Sept. 27 in New Orleans.

“Y’all make me so happy,” the “Cuff It” singer said during opening night at Stockholm’s Friends Arena.

“I see familiar faces, people that flew from very, very far to come see the first show tonight. Y’all could be anywhere in the world, but you chose to be here with me. And I’m here with you, and I love you, and I’m so filled with gratitude.”

Beyoncé launches Renaissance tour with 37-song set list, dazzling costumes

Beyoncé has launched her Renaissance tour in Sweden. The three-hour show was a spectacle-filled production, but fans were hung up on a potential snag.

May 11, 2023

Before tickets even went on sale, Ticketmaster reported that demand for the Renaissance tour had “drastically” exceeded supply . According to Beyoncé’s website, the majority of her upcoming shows have sold out, prompting some dedicated members of the Beyhive to travel to other countries and continents just to see their queen.

Beyoncé’s 37-song set list spans her two-decade career. The three-hour show includes all 16 tracks from “Renaissance,” as well as classics such as “Dangerously in Love” and “Run the World (Girls).” While on the road, the 41-year-old entertainer has continued to dazzle concertgoers with frequent costume changes and elaborate production designs featuring silver moon rovers and an inflatable horse.

Toward the end of her Renaissance era, Beyoncé is scheduled to play Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara (Aug. 30) and SoFi Stadium in Inglewood (Sept. 1, 2 and 4). Here’s a sampling of viral moments from the tour so far.

SoFi Stadium shows pack some serious star power

Who attended Beyoncé’s three-night stand at SoFi Stadium? More like who didn’t.

A stunning array of stars came out to see the performer in Inglewood, where she celebrated her 42nd birthday in style. Prince Harry and Meghan, LeBron James, Blackpink’s Jennie — figures from all corners of the entertainment industry gathered in Los Angeles over the weekend to see Queen Bey (and Blue Ivy!).

Heck, Diana Ross even joined Beyoncé onstage to surprise and serenade the superstar for her birthday during her final SoFi performance. Here’s a sampling of celebs spotted at the stadium during Beyoncé’s takeover.

• Hailey Bieber
• Justin Bieber
• Timothée Chalamet
• Lana Condor
• Jesse Tyler Ferguson
• Tiffany Haddish
• Harry, Duke of Sussex
• Tom Holland
• LeBron James
• Kendall Jenner
• Kris Jenner
• Kylie Jenner
• Jennie of Blackpink
• Khloé Kardashian
• Kim Kardashian
• Brie Larson
• Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
• Naomi Osaka
• Keke Palmer
• Pedro Pascal
• Sarah Paulson
• Tyler Perry
• Tracee Ellis Ross
• Kelly Rowland
• Maya Rudolph
• Robin Thede
• Gabrielle Union
• Sofía Vergara
• Kerry Washington

Beyoncé sets a shiny dress code ahead of her birthday

You won’t break my soul, nor Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” dress code.

Heading into the final weeks of her tour, the “Alien Superstar” singer told her Beyhive that she wants them to dress for her upcoming 42nd birthday on Sept. 4.

“Virgo season is upon us,” she wrote on her website .

“This tour has been such a joy and as we approach the last month, my birthday wish is to celebrate with you wearing your most fabulous silver fashions to the shows 8.23 - 9.22,” the message continued.

That means fans seeing Bey in Arizona, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Seattle and Houston should conjure up shiny, disco-inspired looks — if they haven’t already. Think silver, sequins and reflective material. Concertgoers can always look to the “Renaissance” album art for inspiration.

“We’ll surround ourselves in a shimmering human disco ball each night,” she wrote. “Everybody mirroring each other’s joy. Virgo season together in the House of Chrome. See you there!”

Fans shelter in place during extreme weather delay

Concertgoers were ordered to shelter in place at FedEx Field in Maryland as extreme weather delayed Beyoncé’s Aug. 6 show by nearly two hours.

According to NBC4 Washington , the seasoned pro still performed — sometimes amid a torrential downpour — after the shelter-in-place order was lifted that night. Thousands of fans were eventually rewarded after waiting through the intense heat, storms and lightning to see their idol live.

“Beyoncé in the rain was truly life changing,” one person tweeted after the show.

“Even the rain couldn’t stop Beyoncé’s lethal walk,” tweeted another.

“Baby Beyoncé performed in the rain and all!!!” a third person wrote . “Floor was slippery and she still showed out!!!!”

Beyoncé’s production team also paid $100,000 to keep Metro trains running late so that fans could get home safely after the delayed concert concluded, NBC4 Washington reported.

Erykah Badu spotlit over Lizzo on ‘The Queens Remix’

“About Damn Time” singer Lizzo — one of the many powerhouses whose name was written into Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul (The Queens Remix)” — was left out of Bey’s performance of the song during her Aug. 1 stop in Boston. The omission came hours after news broke that three of Lizzo’s former dancers filed a lawsuit against the body-positive singer alleging sexual harassment and hostile working conditions.

While some saw the oversight as a diss, others saw it as a way for Bey to address perceived drama between her and “On & On” singer Erykah Badu. Bey repeated “Badu” during the song — four times — in lieu of the remix’s original lyrics, “Badu, Lizzo, Kelly Rowl.”

On July 30, Badu called out the “Church Girl” singer for allegedly copying her signature look on the tour.

“Hmm.... ,” the “Bag Lady” singer wrote over a photo of Bey in a tall, wide-brimmed hat, “I guess I’m everybody’s stylist.”

Beyoncé pays tribute to O’Shae Sibley, the dancer who died after vogueing to her music

Beyoncé has paid tribute to O’Shae Sibley, the professional dancer who was stabbed in New York over the weekend after vogueing to one of her songs.

Aug. 2, 2023

Beyoncé gets a visit from Madonna and Oprah

Beyoncé’s July 30 concert in New Jersey was a night of one-name wonders.

In footage from the show, none other than Madonna can be seen enjoying the performance from her VIP box at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. The legendary pop musician even got a shout-out from Bey, who paid homage to the “Queen Mother” while performing the “Queen’s Remix” of “Break My Soul,” which was influenced by Madonna’s “Vogue.”

Beyoncé shouts out Madonna, her ‘Queen Mother,’ during Renaissance show in New Jersey

Beyoncé shared her love for Madonna during a show while the ‘Queen Mother’ was in the crowd, alongside Oprah Winfrey and Tina Knowles-Lawson.

“Big shout-out to the Queen! Queen Mother, Madonna, we love you!” Beyoncé said during the performance.

Also in attendance that evening was media mogul Oprah Winfrey (often referred to as just Oprah). The famous talk-show host danced the night away with her journalist pal Gayle King and Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles-Lawson.

“I have never in my life experienced something as transcendent as @beyonce’s Renaissance Tour,” Winfrey wrote on Instagram after the show.

“That kind of talent, synergy, expression, and anointing is something that comes straight from a Source that creates the planets. The dancers, the production, the musicians, and the team in front and behind the scenes, all perfectly align to create a renaissance in today’s world. You must see it.”

Zendaya and Tom Holland are couple goals

The internet’s favorite Hollywood couple, Tom Holland and Zendaya, were drunk in love at Beyoncé’s June 27 concert in Warsaw.

Concert footage of the “Spider-Man” co-stars singing along to Bey’s performance of “Love on Top” has gone viral on social media, amassing more than 4 million views on TikTok alone.

In the videos, the “Crowded Room” actor and the “Euphoria” star can be seen dancing and singing the chorus of the song (“Baby it’s you / You’re the one I love / You’re the one I need / You’re the only one I see”) to each other with giant smiles on their faces.

“If we ain’t vibin’ like this , I don’t want it,” one person commented on TikTok.

“This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” another person wrote .

“WHEN. IS. IT. GONNA. BE. MY. TURN,” a third person commented .

Backup dancer saves the day

While performing the hit single “Break My Soul” in Hamburg, Germany, on June 21, one of Beyoncé’s backup dancers smoothly and discreetly averted a potential wardrobe malfunction.

In footage from the concert , one-half of the dance duo Les Twins swiftly positions himself in front of Beyoncé (to shield her from the audience’s view) and delicately places her left hand over her left breast, which appeared to be in danger of slipping out of her skintight, pink dress. The blink-and-you’ll-miss it maneuver lasted less than four seconds, with neither the singer nor the dancer missing a beat.

On social media, scores of Beyoncé fans praised the dancer for his tact and professionalism.

“The professionalism, the slickness, the simplicity in his movement placing her own hand where she needed to cover! too good,” one TikTok user commented.

“Now that is talent,” another person wrote. “That he saw something happening and didn’t miss a beat while performing and allowed her to fix it. Love Les Twins.”

Beyoncé spotlights Black designers in honor of Juneteenth

During her June 18 show in Amsterdam, Beyoncé wore costumes “created exclusively” by Black fashion designers in honor of Juneteenth, she announced on Instagram .

Her wardrobe for the concert included designs by Feben, Maximilian Davis for Ferragamo, Olivier Rousteing for Balmain, Ibrahim Kamara for Off-White, LaQuan Smith and, of course, Beyoncé for Ivy Park, according to Vogue .

Among the standout looks were a reflective silver bodysuit and matching thigh-high boots by Rousteing; a bedazzled, ruby-red gown, as well as a sparkly, red, white and gold bodysuit by Davis; a baggy red bodysuit and sparkly thigh-high boots by Kamara; and a Barbie-pink halter dress with elbow-length gloves from Beyoncé’s Ivy Park collection.

“I started designing this collection over a year ago,” Beyoncé wrote on Instagram . “I was so engulfed in all things RENAISSANCE and was inspired by Studio 54, Bob Mackie and the disco era. I wanted to do a modern twist using the signature IVY PARK neon and bring disco to the beach in this swim collection.

“I’m so happy to share this with you and even more proud to launch it for the first time on the RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR. I’m proud to be among the very talented Black designers featured in last night’s show to celebrate Juneteenth.”

‘My Power’ gets a streaming boost from Blue Ivy

“My Power”? More like Blue Ivy’s power.

Streams for Beyoncé’s empowerment anthem from the “Lion King” soundtrack have skyrocketed since the 11-year-old Grammy winner started performing the song alongside her mom on the Renaissance tour.

The week of May 26 — the day Blue Ivy made her Renaissance tour debut as one of Beyoncé’s backup dancers in Paris — on-demand streaming for “My Power” increased by 190%. The following week, U.S. streams spiked by 111.2% as Blue Ivy continued to join her mom onstage during that part of the show, according to music database Luminate.

Globally, streams for “My Power” jumped by 218.2% the first week and an additional 105.6% the second week.

Analysts have also noticed an uptick in the song’s digital sales, which have risen by more than 180% domestically and more than 210% globally in recent weeks.

“My beautiful first born,” Beyoncé captioned Instagram photos of her daughter performing the choreography to “My Power” on tour.

“I’m so proud and thankful to be your mama. You bring us so much joy, my sweet angel.”

All hail Beyoncé, queen of the side-eye

Somebody please check on the concertgoer who was on the receiving end of Beyoncé’s world-famous side-eye at a recent Renaissance tour show.

One (un)lucky fan became the target of Queen Bey’s withering gaze after loudly singing along to the opening verse of “I Care” from the album “4.” And another captured the moment in concert footage that has gone viral on social media.

In the clip, an audience member can be heard shouting the lyrics to “I Care” over Beyoncé, who appears to briefly but pointedly shoot a look in their direction from the stage. The video has been shared widely on Twitter, where the BeyHive has had a field day dissecting the singer’s facial expression.

“Beyoncé was 3 seconds away from telling him to cool it down i’m crying,” @beyoncegarden tweeted .

“I’m crying she like this a solo,” @yofancy_kayy tweeted .

“THE VIRGO LOOK,” @yespriest tweeted .

Several deemed the look “bombastic side-eye,” referring to a TikTok trend reserved for only the shadiest of occasions.

“There’s a man who was at Beyoncé’s concert screaming his lungs out she got so distracted by the screaming she said ‘bombastic side eye,’” tweeted @AppleMokoena .

“Not Beyoncé giving them the bombastic side eye,” tweeted @ViDoubleNie .

Beyoncé pays tribute to Tina Turner

During her May 26 concert in Paris, Beyoncé took a moment to honor legendary performer Tina Turner, who died May 24 following a long illness. The “Proud Mary” and “What’s Love Got to Do With It” singer was 83.

“If you’re a fan of mine, you’re a fan of Tina Turner,” Beyoncé told the crowd in France.

“I wouldn’t be on this stage without Tina Turner. So I want you guys to just scream so she can feel your love. I feel so blessed that I was alive to witness her brilliance.”

At a subsequent concert in London, Beyoncé covered the 1966 Ike and Tina Turner track “River Deep Mountain High.”

Entertainment & Arts

Tina Turner, resilient star who sang ‘Proud Mary’ and ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It,’ dies

Grammy-winning Tina Turner was a rock ’n’ roll original with her high-octane, powerful yet soulful voice and iconic hairstyles.

May 24, 2023

This wasn’t the first time Bey has paid homage to the queen of rock ’n’ roll. In 2005, the Destiny’s Child breakout performed a showstopping tribute to Turner at the Kennedy Center Honors before joining her musical hero onstage for a duet of “Proud Mary” at the 50th Grammy Awards.

Shortly after Turner’s death was announced, Beyoncé said in a statement on her website that she was “so grateful for [her] inspiration and all the ways [she] paved the way.”

Blue Ivy steals the show

The audience erupted in cheers on May 26 when Beyoncé brought out her 11-year-old daughter , Blue Ivy, to dance with her onstage in Paris.

Dressed in a shiny silver costume and trendy sunglasses, the eldest child of Beyoncé and Jay-Z didn’t miss a beat while performing the choreography for “My Power” and “Black Parade” alongside her mom and the professional backup dancers.

Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour was announced at auction where Blue Ivy stole the show

Concert tickets to Beyoncé’s forthcoming Renaissance tour were auctioned off at her mother and stepfather’s Wearable Art Gala on Saturday.

Oct. 24, 2022

After the show, Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Lawson, had a proud-grandma moment on Instagram — where she shared a video of the crowd chanting Blue Ivy’s name at the end of her surprise performance.

“Last night I saw my beautiful grandbaby (11) dance in the front of almost 70 thousand people !” Lawson wrote . “She killed it and was as cool as a cucumber! ... No Fear.”

Celebrities abound

The U.S. leg of Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour isn’t scheduled to begin until July, but several American celebrities have already traveled abroad to see their fellow entertainer in Europe.

Among the famous faces who have been spotted at Bey’s Renaissance concerts so far are Selena Gomez , Pharrell Williams , Vivica A. Fox , Natalie Portman , Lenny Kravitz , Kesha and Kylie Jenner — as well as the headliner’s husband, Jay-Z, and her “Savage” collaborator Megan Thee Stallion .

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Beyonce RENAISSANCE Tour setlist 2023 in full: What songs does Beyonce sing at stadium concerts, what time is she on stage in Barcelona Spain and who is the support act?

The wait is finally over. Beyonc é 's much-anticipated RENAISSANCE World Tour is officially under way, with the superstar having kicking things off at the Friends Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.

Set to perform classics from her back catalogue, and tracks from Number 1 album RENAISSANCE including Top 20 hits BREAK MY SOUL, CUFF IT and ALIEN SUPERSTAR, the concert marks Bey's first solo world tour since 2016's The Formation World Tour. In 2018, she joined husband Jay-Z on their On The Run II Tour.

If you're going along to one of Beyoncé's shows across Europe and the UK, check out the full setlist below.

Beyonce's next RENAISSANCE Tour concert is RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany on June 15.

MORE: See where every Beyoncé song and album charted in the UK

Beyonce setlist 2023: renaissance tour songs for rheinenergiestadion, cologne, germany on june 15th:, 1. dangerously in love, 2. flaws and all, 4. i care / i'm goin' down (mary j. blige cover), 5. i'm that girl, 7. alien superstar / sweet dreams (medley), 8. lift off (from jay-z and kanye west's watch the throne), 9. 7/11 (interlude), 10. cuff it / cuff it - wetter remix, 11. energy (ft. beam), 12. break my soul / break my soul - the queens remix (ft. madonna), 13. no angel, 14. haunted, 15. formation, 17. run the world (girls), 18. my power (from the lion king: the gift), 19. black parade, 20. savage remix (megan thee stallion ft. beyonce), 21. partition, 23. church girl, 24. get me bodied / freakum dress, 25. before i let go, 26. rather die young, 27. love on top, 28. crazy in love (ft. jay-z), 29. plastic off the sofa, 30. virgo's groove, 31. naughty girl, 32. move (ft. grace jones), 35. all up in your mind, 36. drunk in love (first date only), 37. america has a problem, 38. pure/honey, 40. summer renaissance.

What are Beyonce's RENAISSANCE UK and Europe tour dates?

May 10 & 11 2023: friends arena, stockholm, sweden, may 14 2023: king baudoudin stadium, brussels, belgium, may 17 2023: principality stadium, cardiff, wales, may 20 2023: bt murrayfield stadium, edinburgh, scotland, may 23 2023: stadium of light, sunderland, england, may 26 2023: stade de france, saint-denis, france, may 29 & 30 and june 1, 3 & 4 2023: tottenham hotspur stadium, london, england, june 8 2023: estadi olimpic lluis companys, barcelona, spain, june 11 2023: orange velodrome, marseille, france, june 15 2023: rheinenergiestadion, cologne, germany, june 17 & 18 2023: johan cruyff arena, amsterdam, netherlands, june 21 2023: volksparkstadion, hamburg, germany, june 24 2023: deutsche bank park, frankfurt, germany, june 27 & 28 2023: pge narodowy, warsaw, poland.

MORE: Beyoncé's biggest songs in the UK

What does beyonce's renaissance tour stage look like.

Fans have been posting photos from their spots in the crowd on social media, and it's safe to say the stage is *huge*.

Vai começar o primeiro show da nova turnê da Beyonce!!! SOS #RenaissanceWorldTour pic.twitter.com/sZIcIvtJWi — roodx (@rodtuita) May 10, 2023

What time is Beyonce on stage in London on the RENAISSANCE Tour?

Beyonc é is expected on stage at around 7:00 PM.

Where is Beyonce playing a concert on the RENAISSANCE Tour next?

Beyonce's next show will be at RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany on June 15 2023 .

Are tickets still available to buy for Beyonce's RENAISSANCE Tour?

Tickets are very nearly sold out, but there's limited availability for the UK dates at Ticketmaster .

Who is Beyonce's RENAISSANCE Tour support act?

Beyonc é doesn't have a support act on this tour (but she does have an amazing pre-show playlist including such bops as Ariana Grande 's Into You ).

Oh, and she's also joked she's her own opening act with the ballad segment at the start of the setlist. Queen.

Where to buy Beyonce RENAISSANCE Tour merch:

Official RENAISSANCE Tour merchandise can be purchased from the designated stands at each venue.

Article images: Andrew White / Mason Poole

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Beyonce Announces 2023 Renaissance World Tour

The 41-show global outing kicks off in Stockholm in May.

By Carl Lamarre

Carl Lamarre

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The announcement photo may look familiar to fans, as she donned the same glittery attire on the cover of her seventh studio album. Bey also added “Renaissance World Tour” on her Instagram bio, further accenting the news. Last week, Beyonce performed a full concert for the first time in four years at a luxury resort in Dubai in front of influencers and journalists. The 19-song set included a collaboration with her oldest daughter Blue Ivy as the two performed “Brown Skin Girl,” which earned them a Grammy two years ago for best music video.

Crowned a triumphant win by music lovers, Renaissance stormed to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 last year and rattled off two Hot 100 top 10 hits, including her chart-topper “Break My Soul.” The dance-centric album also notched nine Grammy nominations, the most for any nominee for this year’s ceremony. Bey is looking to rack up more trophy wins, as she currently sits at a staggering 28 wins. Nominated for album of the year, song, and record of the year, Bey is facing some stout competition , especially in the former. The R&B juggernaut will tango against Adele, Harry Styles, Kendrick Lamar, Bad Bunny, and more for album of the year. A win in this category would serve as Beyonce’s first. The 65th Grammy Awards will occur Sunday night in Los Angeles at 8 pm EST.

Check out Beyonce’s Instagram post and 2023 Renaissance dates below.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce)

2023 Renaissance European dates :

May 10 — Stockholm, SE @ Friends Arena

May 14 — Brussels, BE @ King Baudouin Stadium

May 17 — Cardiff, UK @ Cardiff Principality Stadium

May 20 — Edinburgh, UK @ BT Murrayfield Stadium

May 23 — Sunderland, UK @ Stadium of Light

May 26 — Paris, FR @ Stade de France

May 29 — London, UK @ Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

May 30 — London, UK @ Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

June 8 — Barcelona, ES @ Olympic Stadium

June 11 — Marseille, FR @ Orange Velodrome

June 15 — Cologne, DE @ Rhein Energie Stadion

June 17 — Amsterdam, NL @ Johan Cruijff Arena

June 21 — Hamburg, DE @ Volksparkstadion

June 24 — Frankfurt, DE @ Deutsche Bank Park

June 27 — Warsaw, PL @ PGE Narodowy

2023 Renaissance North American dates :

July 8 — Toronto, CA @ Rogers Centre

July 12 — Philadelphia, PA @ Lincoln Financial Field

July 15 — Nashville, TN @ Nissan Stadium

July 17 — Louisville, KY @ Cardinal Stadium

July 20 — Minneapolis, MN @ Huntington Bank Stadium

July 22 — Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field

July 26 — Detroit, MI @ Ford Field

July 29 — East Rutherford, NJ @ Metlife Stadium

August 1 — Boston, MA @ Gillete Stadium

August 3 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Heinz Field

August 5 — Washington, DC @ Fedex Field

August 9 — Charlotte, NC @ Bank Of America Stadium

August 11 — Atlanta, GA @ Mercedes Benz Stadium

August 16 — Tampa, FL @ Raymond James Stadium

August 18 — Miami, FL @ Hard Rock Stadium

August 21 — St. Louis, MI @ Dome at America’s Center

August 26 — Las Vegas, NV @ Allegiant Stadium

August 30 — San Francisco, CA @ Levi’s Stadium

Sept. 2 — Inglewood, CA @ Sofi Stadium

Sept. 11 — Vancouver, BC @ BC Place

Sept. 13 — Seattle, WA @ Lumen Field

Sept. 18 — Kansas City, KS @ Arrowhead Stadium

Sept. 21 — Dallas, TX @ AT&T Stadium

Sept. 23 — Houston, TX @ NRG Stadium

Sept. 27 — New Orleans, LA @ Caesars Superdome

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The Revealing Spectacle of Beyoncé’s “Renaissance”

By Carrie Battan

For the past decade, Beyoncé has been using documentary film to craft a narrative about herself in the absence of traditional press interviews and public appearances. Her films, which include “Life Is But a Dream” (2013) and “Homecoming” (2019), attempt to show audiences just how much labor is involved in the extraordinary job of being Beyoncé. In “Homecoming,” the Netflix documentary she released to supplement her historically ambitious 2018 Coachella performance , the brunt of the work on show was physical. “ Homecoming ” takes place months after Beyoncé gave birth to twins, and emphasizes just how brutal the diet, training, and choreography regimen that she undertook leading up to such an ambitious production was. In a voice-over that accompanies footage of her struggling through a piece of choreography, she says, “I had to rebuild my body from cut muscles. . . . In order for me to meet my goal, I’m limiting myself to no bread, no carbs, no sugar, no dairy, no meat, no fish, no alcohol. And I’m hungry.” Then she explains that she has learned a valuable lesson: “I will never, never push myself that far again.”

“Renaissance,” the superstar performer’s new concert film, which draws on footage of a global tour Beyoncé commenced in May this year and completed in October, shows the artist making good on that promise. The tour issues from her 2022 album of the same name, a dance record born out of a need to escape the ennui and claustrophobia of the pandemic’s prime time. As a paean to underground house and disco scenes and queer communities of the eighties and nineties, the album might have been Beyoncé’s most physical. But in the film, viewers see comparatively little of the elaborate, athletic choreography that has defined Beyoncé’s presence in so many of her other projects. Onstage, she uses dancers and set design to create movement, while she often sits, calm and regal, at the center of the storm. It’s a choice that allows her true gifts to shine through. Given the size of Beyoncé’s cultural footprint, it can be easy to forget that the forty-two-year-old is, at her core, a once-in-a-generation vocalist, but the film foregrounds this fact in delightful ways. It opens not with a rousing medley or cinematic intro but with a block of ballads that finds her trilling toward the limits of her vocal range.

The “Renaissance” tour is a maximalist project, among the most extravagant that Beyoncé has ever undertaken. The retrofuturism of the record, which borrows signatures of nineties house music and drag-ball culture, flows neatly into the stage show’s visual elements. The performance is punctuated with moments that blend whimsy, theatricality, and camp. During “Alien Superstar,” Beyoncé is enveloped in metallic pillows and a comforter, at which point she closes her eyes and tilts her head to the side, as if she’s taking a nap. Other parts of the show find her nestled inside an enormous iridescent clamshell, or sporting an elaborate bee costume while stationed behind a news anchor’s desk. Beyoncé may not be living out the hedonistic late-night dance-club dreams of “Renaissance” ’s lyrics in real life, but in this playfulness it seems as if she may have found a form of ecstatic freedom.

Like “Homecoming,” “Renaissance” mixes invigorating concert footage shot on various tour dates with artful clips from behind the scenes. In these portions, Beyoncé is more forthcoming than she has been in public for years. But her disclosures seem largely intended to direct the limelight to the show’s creation—the technology, the costuming, the dancers, the swarms of backstage production workers, and also her fans, her collaborators, and her oldest daughter. (That’s not to say that we can’t expect her fingerprints on every facet of the show: at one point, she elaborates on her abiding and autodidactic interest in lighting design.) The film, which runs nearly three hours long, emphasizes the staggering efforts that went into the tour’s making. Describing the vast amount of materials and manpower needed to create the set every night, Beyoncé notes, “It took four years to create this show. . . . This tour is a machine,” before pointing up to a screen so large that its content is visible across a football stadium. “You don’t realize that screen was built by hand.”

This summer, Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” performances overlapped with Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour , generating a live-pop-music doubleheader of epic proportions—a Barbenheimer for the music industry—as well as unprecedented expense. Tickets for the Eras Tour originally retailed for between forty-nine and four hundred and ninety-nine dollars, but they were so highly coveted, and so difficult to snag, that resale prices climbed into the thousands. Retail ticket prices for floor seats at “Renaissance” shows were north of a thousand dollars. Both artists have brought concert films to movie theatres as a consolation for the legions of fans who couldn’t, logistically or financially, swing the live shows—and to capitalize on their megastardom, a quality that is vanishingly rare in a world of fractured fans distinguished by highly specific tastes. This proved to be, for both women, a characteristically shrewd choice: In less than two months, the “Eras” film has already generated a quarter of a billion dollars in ticket revenue globally, and during its opening weekend “Renaissance” was No. 1 at the box office.

But the two artists have chosen radically different paths. Swift took the least fussy route available, using footage from shows at a single venue (SoFi Stadium, in Los Angeles). Though some of its set pieces are elaborate, “Eras” is a straightforward representation of a performance, and its proposition is simple: here is one woman and her never-ending collection of hit songs. Most of the action takes place through Swift’s facial expressions, or the light flicks of her wrist that count as her choreography.

“Renaissance,” aside from depicting a more grandiose affair, also has much loftier aspirations. One of these is to weave together an artist’s personal history with broader narratives of creative and technological evolution, an objective the film accomplishes in part by bridging the story of Beyoncé’s late uncle Johnny, who was gay, and the queer dance influences she draws from. Another is to provide a platform for undersung performers plucked from across the past few decades of American music. In doing so, the film continues Beyoncé’s recent spate of thoughtful and effective attempts to spotlight influential or innovative artists whose talents may have not received their appropriate due. Some of the most absorbing footage in “Renaissance” features Kevin JZ Prodigy, a longtime legend of the Philadelphia ballroom scene, who was recruited to m.c. the tour. Reams of footage showing the crowds in communal rapture, dressed in left-field ensembles, prove that Beyonce’s aim to “create a safe space” for her fans on the tour is not just a hollow, buzzword-based promise, but a hard-won reality.

Still, for Beyoncé the filmmaker and autobiographer, one narrative-building feat seems to remain out of reach. For her past several albums, she has been engaged in a war against her own perfectionism—striving for some kind of release from it, and for the world to see her humanity. In a behind-the-scenes video that was released during the rollout of her self-titled album, in 2013, she lamented the hollow satisfaction of all the prizes she’d worked for since childhood, which, in the video for the song “Pretty Hurts,” are symbolized by a trophy wall. “The trophy represents all of the sacrifices I made as a kid, all of the time that I lost,” she says. “And I just want to blow that shit up.”

A decade later, she is still on this mission. Early in the film, she announces that she is “embracing every flaw.” To that end, the film relates some of the technological hiccups that occurred at a handful of shows. These are flaws, sure, but not defining ones. And when the film begins to grapple in earnest with imperfection, it gets a little clammy. It is not until near the end that Beyoncé finally discusses the physical fact that surely helped to shape the tone and structure of the performance: shortly before rehearsals began, she relates, she underwent surgery for an old knee injury that had been aggravated. “I don’t feel the need to move around so much to give my best performance,” she explains. “My voice is my instrument.” Here is a glimpse of a deeply human limitation—even of mortality—but the film quickly moves on, returning to the nearly unbounded effort expended in the pursuit of another superhuman performance. ♦

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Beyoncé Drops Striking New Trailer for the 'Renaissance' Concert Film: 'The Renaissance Is Not Over'

'Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé' arrives in theaters worldwide on Dec. 1

BeyHive, it’s time to get in formation. 

On Thursday, Beyoncé released the worldwide trailer for her upcoming concert film Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé , several weeks out from its Dec. 1 release date. After dropping a teaser featuring behind-the-scenes footage and a voiceover when she announced the project , the new visual offers fans a preview of some of the live footage in the highly anticipated film. 

The clip teasing the theatrical version of the pop superstar’s acclaimed Renaissance World Tour opens to her silhouette before gracing an audience of thousands. “I close my eyes and travel through realms of space and time,” Queen Bey, 42, says in a voice over. “Reality holds no power or control of my state of mind on my voyage to find a source to charge my inner being. Assembly line frequency as I tap my MPC.” 

Beyoncé/ YouTube

As vulnerable backstage clips — including shots with her 11-year-old daughter Blue Ivy and husband JAY-Z — are interspersed with shots of her on stage, Beyoncé opens up about her identity and the challenges that she’s faced. She says, “In this world that is very male-dominated, I’ve had to be really tough. To balance motherhood and being on this stage, it just reminds me of who I really am.”

The minute-and-a-half-long teaser then bursts into glimpses of the Grammy winner’s record-breaking stage show, including brief looks at the spectacular wardrobe and choreography while audio of her hit “Break My Soul” plays. 

“You are the visual baby. It’s a new birth. I hope you feel liberated or the renaissance is not over,” the “America Has a Problem” singer says as the visual concludes. 

In the caption for the trailer, the official synopsis says the concert film “accentuates the journey of RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR, from its inception, to the opening in Stockholm, Sweden, to the finale in Kansas City, Missouri.”

Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood

“It is about Beyoncé’s intention, hard work, involvement in every aspect of the production, her creative mind and purpose to create her legacy, and master her craft,” the description continues. “Received with extraordinary acclaim, Beyoncé’s RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR created a sanctuary for freedom, and shared joy, for more than 2.7 million fans.”

The hitmaker announced Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé after the final stop of her tour in Kansas City, Missouri on Oct. 1 by releasing the first trailer online. 

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In late October, the film’s distributor AMC Theatres Distribution confirmed that the singer-songwriter will celebrate the release of the on-screen version of her acclaimed tour with two premiere events . Several days before its release into cinemas worldwide on Dec. 1, the U.S. premiere will be held in L.A. on Nov. 25 and the world premiere will follow in London on Nov. 30. 

Tickets are now on sale for screenings across the globe at BeyonceFilm.com . 

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Beyoncé Reveals Full Credits for Renaissance Tour

By Nina Corcoran

Just three dates in, Beyoncé has shared the full credits for her ongoing Renaissance World Tour , a massive spectacle that includes a flying disco horse and mechanical arms . The list, published on her website , is an exhaustive look at everyone involved in making this tour happen. In addition to backup dancers, band members, and audio technicians, the credits also outline the teams handling wardrobe, carpentry, choreography, lighting, video, props, and “automation.” She even shouts out her drivers, caterers, and security – the latter of which includes, yes, fan favorite Julius Deboer. Read the full Renaissance Tour credits at Beyoncé’s website .

The Renaissance World Tour kicked off on May 10 in Stockholm, Sweden with a long setlist. Beyoncé is currently in the United Kingdom for the European leg of the tour. Once she flies back to North America this summer, she will perform in Toronto, Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Seattle, and Houston, among other cities.

Renaissance came out last July. It was Beyoncé’s seventh No. 1 album and won her a handful of Grammy Awards : Best Dance/Electronic Recording , Best Traditional R&B Performance , Best R&B Song , and Best Dance/Electronic Music Album . With those wins, Beyoncé is officially the most decorated artist ever in Grammys history.

Read why Pitchfork named the Renaissance World Tour one of “ The Most Anticipated Tours of 2023 .”

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By Matthew Strauss

By Jazz Monroe

By Madison Bloom

Will Beyoncé announce the 'Cowboy Carter' tour? Fans think she may be hitting the road again soon

• Beyoncé released her new album "Cowboy Carter" on Friday.
• Some fans think she's gearing up to tour again, though many say they don't have the funds to attend.
• The Renaissance World Tour wrapped last October in Kansas City. It was hailed as a must-see event.

Less than a year after the Renaissance World Tour wrapped, it might already be time for the Beyhive to dust off their boots and head back out to see Beyoncé live again.

The Renaissance World Tour was hailed as a once-in-a-lifetime event , a bona fide status symbol , and a blockbuster concert movie that awed audiences while near-singlehandedly boosting AMC's revenue . The 56-show run wrapped on October 1, 2023, in Kansas City.

On its heels, Beyoncé has released her new album " Cowboy Carter ." The triumphant country-inspired project is billed as "Act II" in a three-part "Renaissance" series.

So it would stand to reason — financially and thematically — that Beyoncé would plan another tour leg for "Cowboy Carter."

Her team seemed to hint that something is coming by launching a new website, " Been Country ." The landing page shows a photo of young Beyoncé performing at the Texas Sweetheart Pageant, as well as a childhood photo of her mother, Tina Knowles-Lawson , and an image of a banjo.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Slayonce Avenue (@slayonce_avenue2)

A fan account on Instagram shared a rumor that the tour announcement is scheduled for Friday, exactly one week after the album's arrival. Knowles-Lawson liked the post, adding more fuel to the rumor's flame.

Beyoncé's longtime collaborator The-Dream, who produced 10 of the new album's 27 tracks, also alluded to a forthcoming tour. He celebrated the release of "Cowboy Carter" on X, writing, "This tour bout to B' Incredible!"

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Fans grabbed screenshots of The-Dream's post, though it has since been deleted.

'The-Dream' via Twitter: “This tour bout to B’ incredible!” The singer-songwriter is Beyoncé’s longtime friend, and worked on 10 songs on her new album #CowboyCarter . pic.twitter.com/KNHQOuqFI9 — COWBOY CARTER TOUR (@CowboyCarterWT) March 31, 2024

However, the six-month turnaround since Beyoncé's last concert does cast suspicion on these theories. Thanks to "Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé," we know the Renaissance World Tour took four years to ideate and execute.

It's unclear if plans for a "Cowboy Carter" show were also in the works during that time, but if not, fans may have to wait a bit longer to watch Beyoncé perform. As she's already made clear, " A queen moves at her own pace ."

Even so, a delay may come as welcome news, even for dedicated members of the Beyhive.

Many fans have been posting about their lack of ticket funds on X, playfully begging Beyoncé to put off touring until next year.

- I don’t want https://t.co/QqyQduNfkr to be a tour because we https://t.co/icyUqbLR1L . pic.twitter.com/XZ5WHMUqyL — Rob Milton (@therobmilton) April 3, 2024

She can announce it for 2025 but in 2024 we are at capacity https://t.co/Gtg7f2jvSG — Antoinette “Asst (To The) Regional Manager” Childs (@TheFancyFriend) March 31, 2024

. @Beyonce keep the tour announcement for next year…I have trips planned for this summer pic.twitter.com/GPhRrW1GiF — Nicolas is happy (@niggaolas) April 3, 2024

what i’m eating if beyoncé announce this tour https://t.co/CfI1Vm3XuG — 𐚁 onii 𐚁 (@__Onixivy_) April 4, 2024

i'm begging beyoncé to tour in 2025 and not this summer pic.twitter.com/Nqw68434Bu — zae (@itszaeok) March 27, 2024

the whole fandom begging beyoncé not to announce a tour is HILARIOUS! we are BROKE DOWN pic.twitter.com/YXDFHuzELM — j. (@virgosgrooviest) March 27, 2024

Representatives for Beyoncé did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Watch: The Taylor Swift effect: How a pop star created her own economy

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Beyoncé's 'cowboy carter' is a portrait of the artist getting joyously weird.

Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter has ignited discourse about the place of Black musicians in country music. But it's also evidence of its creator's desire to break genre walls by following her most eccentric impulses. Mason Poole/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter has ignited discourse about the place of Black musicians in country music. But it's also evidence of its creator's desire to break genre walls by following her most eccentric impulses.

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After two months of anticipation, Cowboy Carter has been out in the world for nearly a fortnight, and the discourse is thick as sawdust on a honky-tonk floor. Beyoncé's spangled opus, as lengthy and florid as a Sergio Leone classic — it really could have been called The Good, the Bey and the Ugly -- has generated more think pieces than any pop phenomenon since her friendly rival Taylor's Eras tour.

I've kept track of the coverage of Cowboy Carter and it's, well, something. Actually it's everything, ranging from paeans to (not too many) pans . Not weighing in hasn't been an option for most music writers, who have spilled tons of ink documenting the album's backstory, tracing its references, and examining its work of legacy building. What could I add to the discourse? Well, this: Whether it's considered a champion's walk, an overlong stumble, a powerful political gesture or a highly personal cri de couer — one thing Cowboy Carter is, undeniably even if no one has said it, is weird. And that's a wonderful thing.

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On 'cowboy carter,' beyoncé's country is as broad as the public she serves.

Not that Beyoncé herself would ever admit to her own eccentricity. She's declared herself a diligent student of the genre she sought to revise, and many of the touchstones on this massive grab bag of ballads and bangers check the boxes of cultural intervention. She features Dolly and Willie; shows us her boots, brand-name jeans and whiskey bottle; includes a murder ballad and her perspective on that ultimate country emblem, the American flag. (She sees it as red: blood, Alabama clay, indigenous people.)

Her inclusion of the undersung Black Grand Ole Opry pioneer Linda Martell as a collaborator nods to efforts to rectify historical omissions that have been going on in and around Nashville for years — shoutout to the Black Opry crew, to artist and radio host Rissi Palmer and to Martell's granddaughter, who continues to crowd-fund a documentary that Beyoncé really should just finance.

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But the way she assembles these hardly unique elements is startling. Sidestepping either a conventional foray into country's traditional sounds or a risk-averse pop approach that would just use those elements as window-dressing, she and her dozens of collaborators assemble a cosmic omnibus of reference points while drilling down on her long-standing obsessions. While it's correct to call this album an epic and a strong political statement, it's an idiosyncratic one, more akin to Jim Jarmusch's off-kilter visions of American heritage — especially Mystery Train -- than, say, Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon .

It may seem off to identify eccentricity in a project that includes radio-ready Miley Cyrus and Post Malone collabs, and which was quickly endorsed by none other than the Vice President. Yet the first thing I thought of when I sat down to listen to Cowboy Carter was an album from 1967 that's beloved by many rock cognoscenti for its very peculiarness. Van Dyke Parks 's Song Cycle was the first solo album by the noted composer, arranger and producer. It is a shambling, sunnily psychedelic portrait of California living from the perspective of a transplanted white East Coaster with Southern roots. (Parks was born in Mississippi but grew up in Princeton singing in a boys' choir.)

Rich with strings and gorgeous melodies and rife with punnily poetical lines like, "Nowadays a Yankee dread not take his time to wend to sea" in a song about Parks's own experience trying to make it within the L.A. music biz hustle, no less, Song Cycle features Parks's birdlike warble, and by birdlike, I don't mean Beyoncé's operatic forays on new songs like "DAUGHTER" or "FLAMENCO," but Tweety Bird or the Peanuts ' Woodstock. Parks made the unfinished psychedelic masterpiece Smile with Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and later worked with 21st-century visionaries Joanna Newsom and Gaby Moreno, among others. But Song Cycle is his strange baby. Though it's a rich work that offers real insight into the melting late 1960s American West Coast dream, Song Cycle is not for everyone. Parks experimented joyfully with song structure, sound effects and lyricism, painting a floating world that requires time and sympathy to comprehend.

Cowboy Carter sounds absolutely nothing like Song Cycle , yet I thought about the latter as I sunk into the non-linear, fragmentary experience of listening to it. I appreciate how Beyoncé sticks to her guns throughout, just as Parks maintained his whimsicality and dreaminess. Stacked harmonies do here what strings do on Song Cycle , lending grandeur to the opening "American Requiem" and tenderness to the ballads "MY ROSE" and "FLAMENCO" (the latter pairs them artfully with Andalusian hand-claps); yet those vocals also set a kind of Broadway stage for the songs, rendering them winsomely surreal. The album's employment of banjo and pedal steel signify country, sure, but they're used in unusual ways, as Parks uses accordion and balalaika. The distortions are highly individualistic, nothing like what current country sounds like. (Exception: that Post Malone duet, "LEVII'S JEANS.") Same with the roots references. The interlude "OH LOUISIANA" speeds up a Chuck Berry vocal to turn that rock and roll founder into helium. On the tour de force Tina Turner tribute "YA YA," Beyoncé begins with a spoken exchange with her background singers that calls back to her campy turn in Austin Powers in Goldmember as well as to Southern rap's most glorious weirdo breakthrough, Outkast's "Hey Ya!" Sure, this is historical work, but it's hardly textbook.

These tracks stand alongside others in a sprawl of concepts, tempos and tones until Cowboy Carter turns into a full-on megamix, its final four tracks returning to the dance party of Renaissance , abruptly concluded with a literal showstopper, the Broadway-ready "AMEN." The album is immersive, but it's a jerky, bucking rodeo ride, not a narrative that lends itself to easy absorption. And through it all Beyoncé bends country and blues tropes — those two genres are inseparable, something Cowboy Carter acknowledges — to the themes she can never abandon: the perils of attempted monogamy, the joy and terror involved in mothering and her own determination to be great, an ambition that she views as a responsibility more than a privilege.

Concept albums can be relatively straightforward, like Willie Nelson's classic Red Headed Stranger , but often they do come out ornate and leaky as their makers dump all of their ideas within the frame. Beyoncé nods sonically to a few that came after Song Cycle . At certain points, Sly and the Family Stone's murky funk on There's a Riot Goin' On comes to mind. Michael Jackson never made a full-on concept album, but that tarnished legend requires mention because Beyoncé's massive ambition rivals his more than anyone's. (Maybe Madonna's; she did make a concept record, Erotica . Or that soundtrack-maker Prince's.)

More recent touchstones include the high-concept forays of Janelle Monaé, whose " Tightrope " seems as much a touchstone for "YA YA" as does Tina Turner's shimmy, and the efforts of two of her collaborators on Cowboy Carter . Raphael Saadiq, who co-produced several tracks, released a similarly massive and emotionally affecting concept album , Jimmy Lee , in 2019. And the Virginia-born multihyphenate Shaboozie, a visionary character whom Beyoncé has apparently recognized as a kindred soul, paid tribute to the landscapes and culture of his native state on his own 2022 disquisition on the same themes as Cowboy Carter . Its title? Cowboys Live Forever, Outlaws Never Die .

Beyoncé is getting played on country radio. Could her success help other Black women?

When I associate Cowboy Carter with these equally adventurous and strange concept albums and the outsiders who made them, I don't mean to reduce the impact of her work or her centrality as an era-defining artist. Instead, I'm trying to free this fun and unfettered music from the burden of predefined significance. Beyoncé has, by her own will as well as her fans's needs, become what Doreen St. Felix calls an "übermatriarch," not only a biological mother but the nurturing, burdened mother of all of her faithful — and of Black America, a role she inherited and claimed from the equally eccentric and more reluctantly ennobled Aretha Franklin. The seriousness of her responsibilities has earned her a lot: millions nearing billions of dollars, a place among heads of state and a fan base that strikes fear in the hearts of naysayers. But for an artist, such success ultimately confines. Only a few have been able to remain playful and light-footed as their public images have hardened into marble.

Two such artists, as it happens, are ones Beyoncé directly takes on in Cowboy Carter : The Beatles, whose members never stopped releasing humorous and even nonsense songs alongside their wedding-and-funeral ballads and politicized anthems; and Dolly Parton, the most agile pop star of all, who's crossed into nearly every category that's interested her with her own birdlike laugh and dimpled smile. Dolly herself has deep and strange predilections: her many songs about dead children, for example, or her way of turning sexuality cartoonish not only as comic relief, but as a weapon. It's her oddball side as well as her musical genius that's allowed her to slip through so many doors.

Beyoncé did not create Cowboy Carter to honor white artists like Parton, but she made a wise decision by invoking her as a partner and a patron saint. In the spoken interlude that precedes Beyoncé's rewrite of her classic "Jolene," Parton refers to Beyoncé's famous line about a white woman's allure for her Black husband, "Becky with the good hair," as "that hussy with the good hair." She drawls out the insult, though, as if she's in the middle of a Hee Haw skit: huzzzzy . It's a goofy, enjoyably destabilizing moment — an eccentric gesture that reminds us that as serious as music can be, it's most powerful when its subversions are also fun.

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Concert Films Look to a Future Beyond Taylor Swift and Beyoncé 

By Carolyn Giardina

Carolyn Giardina

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In this article

• Why “The Eras Tour” and “Renaissance” are proving the case for renewed interest in the theatrical release of concert films
• With releases spotlighting new concerts as well as remastered library titles, labels and artists can expect a bump in sales
• How Imax is seizing the opportunity with both current and classic artists to aggressively pursue concert experiences

When the concert special “The 100th: Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden” airs on CBS this weekend and begins streaming on demand on Paramount+ , it will be just the latest example of renewed interest in the genre.  

The Piano Man will come hot on the heels of global boy band BTS sensation Suga getting cinematic exposure via “SUGA/Agust D Tour ‘D-Day’ the Movie,” which opened in both traditional theaters and Imax on April 10. 

“We’re in discussions with a lot a number of labels and artists about doing their concerts in Imax,” says Imax CEO Richard Gelfond in an interview with VIP+. 

The theatrical showings of concert films, both for new performances and remastered library titles, was driven by the success of recent releases, particularly those from Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, which hit all the right notes and have revved up interest in the genre as producers and exhibitors work to give fans a front-row seat at more shows from some of the biggest pop stars and bands. 

In fall 2023, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” became the highest-grossing theatrical concert film domestically, at nearly $181 million, and the second highest worldwide, with a total of $262 million. “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé,” released a couple months later, is also among the all-time biggest-grossing concert films, with the December offering earning $33.9 million domestic and $40.8 million worldwide. 

The genre overall had a notable 2023, including the rerelease of Talking Heads concert film “Stop Making Sense” to celebrate its 40th anniversary. The movie made $5.4 million worldwide when it debuted in 1984 and outperformed that with the 2023 reissue by A24 that generated $6.9 million, also resulting in sold-out Imax shows and a tribute album. 

Imax hosted the premiere event last fall at the Toronto International Film Festival with a reunion of the band’s original lineup, who participated in a livestreamed Q&A . 

The Taylor Swift and Beyoncé movies were distributed by AMC (the releases were not exclusive to AMC), bypassing the traditional studio route and signaling that unique business models may also come out of this genre. 

Where new productions are concerned, the format has built-in advantages. “For [artists such as] Taylor Swift, the economies of scale are in place — they were filming it anyway,” says Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian in an interview with VIP+. In the case of the “Eras Tour” the production budget was reportedly $15 million. 

Concert films also can benefit artists and the music industry by creating interest around the music, contributing to more sales and downloads. “You generally see a bump in interest in those artists. It ignites that spark of interest,” Dergarabedian   notes. “The music labels can draw off of these films as their artists see a bump in music sales.” 

With “Eras Tour” and “Renaissance” among its 2023 releases, Imax is aggressively pursuing concert experiences. In January, the company’s remastered version of the 1981 “Queen Rock Montreal” performance made $5.5 million globally and was the company’s biggest opening for an Imax-exclusive event film.

Also that month, the giant-screen company hosted a cinematic listening event for “New Blue Sun,” the debut solo album by Outkast’s André 3000, live across 25 Imax locations in the U.S. 

Imax’s Gelfond notes that “for a number of concert films we did, people were up in the aisles, dancing, screaming ... It was some kind of hybrid between actually being there and watching it in an auditorium.” 

Looking ahead, the company clearly aims to harness the surge in interest to create an experience viewers simply can’t get at home.

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Beyoncé effect: Cowboy Carter album puts Levi’s on fashion hotlist

Influence of the ‘culture shaper’ is a potential goldmine for the jeans brand, but effect won’t last forever, say observers

“Denim on denim on denim on denim,” sings Beyoncé on Levii’s Jeans, one of the standout tracks of her new album, Cowboy Carter. And it appears fans are taking the statement to heart.

In the week after the album’s release, the clothing company Levi Strauss & Co noted a 20% rise in footfall at stores across the US and a 20% increase in its share price . In the UK, John Lewis report that searches for “women’s Levi’s jeans” were up 263% since the record was announced.

Beyoncé is also endorsing double – or, going by her lyrics, quadruple – denim. She posted an image on Instagram of her wearing a pair of jeans with denim shirt and a denim bag. The Instagram account @databutmakeitfashion, which covers consumer behaviour in relation to style, report that the mentions of double denim were up 14% on social media since Cowboy Carter’s release.

Double denim – sometimes known as the Canadian tuxedo – has long been a divisive look. It’s either seen as the epitome of bad taste or perfect cowboy style. It’s the latter that Beyoncé is leaning into. Lil Nas X, Lizzo and Harry Styles have also experimented with cowboy style, and Pharrell Williams’s latest collection for Louis Vuitton had a western theme. Cowboy-core, meanwhile, has become an aesthetic on TikTok.

Levi Strauss have embraced the megastar nod – temporarily changing its name on Instagram to Levii’s as a tribute. Speaking on a conference call last week, the chief executive, Michelle Gass, emphasised the brand’s position at the heart of culture. “I don’t think there’s any better evidence or proof point than having someone like Beyoncé, who is a culture shaper, to actually name a song after us,” she said.

Arguably, both the singer and the jeans are American classics. “Levi’s, the original Americana brand, feels like a natural fit” for Beyoncé to reference, said Sheena Butler-Young, a senior correspondent at the platform the Business of Fashion. “It … has just the right mix of classic and affordable – but not cheap.”

Natalie Dickson is the head of women’s luxury brand partnerships at Flannels, a retailer the singer collaborated with on the 2023’ Renaissance tour.

“Beyoncé has a really unique ability to influence trends with her work,” said Dickson. “Brands can really capitalise on riding the wave of Beyoncé’s influence – as we’re seeing with Levi’s at the moment.”

In Summer Renaissance, the last track on her 2022 album, Renaissance, the star took on handbags . “This Telfar bag imported,” she sings. “Birkins? Them shit’s in storage.” Vogue Business reported searches for Telfar on the resale site The RealReal jumped by 85% on the day the album was released.

Butler-Young warns that the Beyoncé effect will not last for ever for Levi’s. To continue “revenue success”, she said, a key task is to “excite and court younger shoppers with marketing and products, which Beyoncé certainly helps, and broaden its appeal beyond a singular staple. Beyoncé, in many ways, placed the proverbial ball in their court, it’s up to Levi’s to execute.”

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