Beyoncé has been reborn.
“Renaissance” is not just an album or tour title—it is a state of mind, body and soul. For over two hours, Beyoncé led the crowd at Philly’s Lincoln Financial Field through a transformative experience that was a celebration of queer and Black excellence.
The tour’s first stop in America was a homecoming for Queen Bey in a literal and figurative sense. It’s been seven years since her last solo tour, and in that time, her stature as a legend has grown immeasurably – and the stadium show boasts grandiosity to match. The show is a ball, and Beyoncé is the Mother of the Haus of Renaissance, welcoming her children home.
The category was disco realness, and the Haus was dressed to impress in glittering, shimmering, silver ensembles, assembled in the stadium like the mirrors of a disco ball – 10s across the board. When Beyoncé finally took the stage, the crowd exploded as she sang her opening line, “I love you,” a warm embrace for a community under attack.
Before ushering us into the Renaissance, she humbly gives grace and gratitude to her roots. There is no opening act; for all intents and purposes, Beyoncé is the opening act. The first song is not a flashy, high-energy dance number – she starts with “Dangerously In Love,” which was on Destiny’s Child’s 2001 ‘Survivor‘ album before it became the namesake of her solo debut album in 2003. Ballads comprise the entire opening set, sitting atop a piano, Beyoncé puts her vocals front and center before the other-worldly Renaissance begins.
Since the album was released last July, fans have been clamoring for ‘Renaissance‘ visuals, and this show aims to fill that void. The high-production visuals that are shown on the set’s massive screens combined with the in-person props and set pieces, create an experience that transcends any visual film or tour Beyoncé has ever produced. She is, without a doubt, the greatest performer of our generation and one of music’s most profound visual artists. Beyoncé brings Hollywood-level production value to a stadium show, weaved together like a seamless theatrical production that makes fans feel as though they are inside of the visuals, rather than merely spectators. When you walk through the doors of ‘Renaissance World Tour’, you enter Beyoncé’s haus, and no matter how you identify, you’ll feel at home.
For the first song of the Renaissance section (“I’M THAT GIRL”) she sings, “I shine … touching everything in my plain view/ And everything next to me gets lit up too,” her mission is clear, to shine a light on those who need it most. “I didn’t want this power,” she admits, but it’s too late. She has it, and embraces it on the next song “COZY” singing, “Might I suggest you don’t f— with my sis.” As Mother, she takes up the mantle of fearless protector.
Throughout the night, Beyoncé takes the audience on a journey that celebrates queerness (“PURE/HONEY”), Blackness (“BLACK PARADE”), women (“Run the World”), family (“MY POWER”) and the force that brings it all together – love (“VIRGO’S GROOVE”). It’s a liberating experience that renders rebirth upon anyone who witnesses it.
The show ends with Beyoncé mounted atop her disco-fied horse, which fans have nicknamed “Reneigh,” flying across the stadium to perform the album closer, “SUMMER RENAISSANCE.” The first line is the perfect summation of her mission: “I wanna house you and make you take my name.” In that moment, Mother Beyoncé officially anoints the roughly 55,000 attendees with her name – as members of her Haus. It is a final formality: Welcome to the Renaissance.
