Beyoncé has long been on my list of must-see artists.
When tickets for her Renaissance tour went on sale in London — where I live — I immediately tried, but did not get seats for one in every of her May shows.
When she added three June dates at town’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, I made one other attempt, to no avail.
I gave up.
But after I began watching scenes of her European shows on Instagram, I got major FOMO (fear of missing out).
Beyoncé is suspended within the air during her Renaissance World Tour on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 30, 2023 in London, U.K.
Kevin Mazur | WireImage for Parkwood | Getty Images
I scrolled through images of her dazzling costumes, from sparkling tunics and matching boots to evening gowns with gloves, and saw that the U.K. shows featured outfits by British fashion houses including Alexander McQueen and Roksanda Ilincic.
And, the entire thing was concurrently broadcast on a stadium-width screen, with stunning visuals — no worries about sitting in a “nosebleed” seat then. What I saw gave me chills.
The value of Beyoncé tour tickets
Beyoncé performs on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium wearing a dress by British designer Roksanda Ilincic on May 29, 2023 in London, U.K.
Kevin Mazur | WireImage for Parkwood | Getty Images
Finding a single ticket on a resale site was relatively easy and, at £187, it was less expensive than the London seat.
Adding a return flight I discovered for £134 meant the outlay would still be lower than the ticket I’d found for the U.K. performance, and I put the Amsterdam show ticket into my online cart.
Just before I hit “buy,” I checked reviews of the resale vendor, which were poor: people complained of not receiving tickets or finding them invalid, and I made a decision I could not take the danger. I used to be very disenchanted but tried to persuade myself that Beyoncé would tour again.
I first danced to “Break My Soul,” a house music track and the lead song on the Renaissance album, at a London club night hosted by British DJ Annie Macmanus in 2022, where the group jumped and cheered on the sound of the opening bars.
Afterward, I listened to “Summer Renaissance,” Beyoncé’s reworking of one in every of my favorite songs, Donna Summer’s 1977 disco hit “I Feel Love,” on repeat. The remainder of the album blew my mind: it was joyful, fabulous fun — and Beyoncé at her most confident and expressive (“Comfortable in my skin, Cozy with who I’m,” she sings on “Cozy,” the album’s second track).
Beyoncé’s daughter, Blue Ivy, dances, as her mother sings behind her on the London, U.K. leg of the Renaissance World Tour in May 2023.
Kevin Mazur | WireImage for Parkwood | Getty Images
Someday, I casually browsed her U.S. tour dates and located a single ticket for $137.40, including fees, on Sept. 27, at Caesar’s Superdome in Latest Orleans, Louisiana, a date near my birthday.
The seat was up within the gods, as Brits say, and had a rather off-center view of the stage. On a whim, I purchased it.
I used to be set to develop into one in every of the people fueled by feelings of YOLO (You Only Live Once) to travel 1000’s of miles to see their favorite artists perform. Earlier this yr, Beyoncé became the most-awarded Grammy winner ever, with 32, so this was the prospect of a lifetime.
I made a decision to make a vacation out of my trip — Latest Orleans being arguably one in every of the world’s best places to see live music — and located direct flights with British Airways for £750 return. Town is around 4,600 miles from London, a 10-hour flight away.
Preparing to see Beyoncé
I discovered Latest Orleans a simple place to sightsee by myself. Virgin Hotels Latest Orleans, where I stayed, is just a half-mile from the Superdome stadium, and was well-prepared to host the numerous concertgoers who stayed there.
The Sunday before the Renaissance show, I enjoyed the hotel’s Beyoncé Burlesque & Drag Brunch, where drag queen Laveau Contraire introduced a team of dancers in Bey-style leotards, feathers, heels and wigs.
Members of Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour band perform at jazz club Snug Harbor in Latest Orleans, led by saxophonist Kat Rodriguez (second from right).
Lucy Handley
I browsed a Latest Orleans newspaper online and discovered that members of Beyoncé’s band would perform at Snug Harbor, a jazz club on town’s Frenchmen Street, the night before the concert.
I already had tickets to Preservation Hall, Latest Orleans’ iconic jazz venue, but headed to Snug Harbor afterward to catch the last hour of the show led by saxophonist Kat Rodriguez, who jammed with trumpeter Crystal Torres and singer Tayler Green, amongst others.
It was exciting to see such achieved musicians up close.
Exploring Latest Orleans solo
Exploring Latest Orleans’ fascinating and varied history by myself was also straightforward: I joined quite a few tours, from a guided walk around town’s famous French Quarter, with its beautiful cast-iron balconies and bohemian galleries, to a cycle tour of areas including the arty Faubourg Marigny, which was founded by a Creole millionaire.
Stopping at an intersection, our cycle guide Danny Laurino identified that we were inside view of three historical periods — a usual sight within the U.S. Standing within the 19th-century Marigny, we could see across the 18th-century French Quarter to the fashionable skyscrapers of the central business district, lower than two miles away.
The 18th-century French Quarter of Latest Orleans, with the fashionable central business district within the background.
John Coletti | The Image Bank | Getty Images
I also enjoyed a walking tour of the Garden District, filled with fancy mansions originally inhabited by sugar cane plantation owners, and afterward browsed the stores of Magazine Street, which make up the district’s southern border.
At vintage outlet Magpie I purchased a pair of Beyoncé-style long diamante earrings, and at Uptown Costume and Dancewear, I picked up a rhinestone-decorated cowboy hat to wear to the concert.
Plantations along the Mississippi River
Most striking of all was a visit I took to the Whitney Plantation, about an hour’s drive from Latest Orleans along the Mississippi River. It’s one in every of the one sugar plantation museums that tells the story of the individuals who were enslaved there, slightly than specializing in wealthy owners or architecture.
A Wall of Honor memorial is devoted to several hundred slaves, while an exhibit describing the 1811 German Coast Rebellion shows decapitated heads on poles, a recreation of the executed slaves who participated within the revolt.
The treatment of black people within the U.S. is explored by Beyoncé in her 2016 album, “Lemonade,” with images of black women on the steps of a former plantation home featuring on the title track’s video.
The video for “Formation,” set in Louisiana, shows the singer on top of a Latest Orleans police automobile because it sinks into floodwaters brought on by Hurricane Katrina, and ends with Beyoncé making a “black-girl air grab” movement while sitting in a plantation house.
Beyoncé’s Latest Orleans performance
I used to be especially excited to see Beyoncé perform in Latest Orleans given its significance for her, and on the day of the show it seemed that everybody in town was there to see the singer.
As I sipped coffee on the hotel’s rooftop bar within the morning, a lady within the swimming pool exclaimed: “I’m relaxing … I’m doing my aqua aerobics, I would like to be limber for tonight. A person next to her in a yellow Beyoncé-themed top and cowboy hat held a pink drink.
I went for a great brunch at Willa Jean, where the cocktails were themed around Bey’s songs, after which headed to Vue Orleans, an interactive exhibit on the 4 Seasons Hotel that helped me understand town’s past.
As I walked toward the museum, a person in a passing automobile yelled: “It’s Beyoncé day!” out of the window.
The writer outside Beyoncé’s concert at Caesar’s Superdome, Latest Orleans. Many fans wearing sequins and diamante to observe the show.
Lucy Handley
Back at my hotel, a station for applying facial glitter was arrange within the first-floor café, while several sequin-clad guests sat on the bar. Beyoncé’s fans make a serious effort with outfits for her shows, and as I walked along the sidewalk toward the Superdome, I used to be surrounded by a whole bunch of individuals whose clothes twinkled on the street lights.
Some were in diamante jumpsuits or long dresses, with sparkling cowboy hats or thigh-high metallic boots. Others had recreated Beyoncé’s costumes, with bee-themed colours (her “super” fans are generally known as the Bey Hive) or rhinestone-decorated sunglasses.
I gasped as I saw the Renaissance set contained in the stadium. It was huge, with a football pitch-width screen and stage, with one other circular stage in the midst of the ground.
Although my seat was high up, I still had a terrific view, and as Beyoncé rose up on a platform in a neon yellow gown to sing the primary song of the night, “Dangerously In Love,” the atmosphere was electric. Her silver-dressed band, who I recognized from their performance the night before, appeared on a stepped stage behind her.
Caesars Superdome stadium in Latest Orleans is illuminated by 1000’s of lights attached to audience members’ wristbands during Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour.
Lucy Handley
As she moved on to songs from the “Renaissance” album, wristbands — that every audience member had been given — lit up, and it felt like I used to be dancing inside an enormous disco ball. Later, the lights modified from white to purple for “Drunk In Love,” after which flashed red, white and blue when Beyoncé sang “America Has A Problem.”
I had a way of being on the world’s biggest party, where everyone got here wearing their glittering best — and everybody was welcome.
From the incredible visuals to fireworks and spectacular costumes and dancing, it’s hard to select a favourite moment. Beyoncé repeated “Mama Louisiana” — a lyric from “Formation,” several times — which delighted the audience, and when Blue Ivy danced to “Black Parade,” it was hard to listen to her mother’s singing for the screaming around me.
“I hope y’all had the time of your lives,” Beyoncé shouted over the ultimate track, “Summer Renaissance,” as she appeared to drift within the air above the audience in a shimmering silver gown.
I did.