“Five Nights of Beyoncé!” That was the tagline trumpeted across television and radio throughout Los Angeles ahead of the Monday (April 28) night kickoff for the 35-time Grammy winner’s highly anticipated Cowboy Carter Tour at SoFi Stadium in neighboring Inglewood, Calif.
The 32-market stadium tour — across nine cities in the U.S. and Europe — borrows its name from Beyoncé’s eighth studio album. Released in March 2024, the country-themed project is the second act in a three-album arc that launched with Act 1: Renaissance in 2022. Featuring a mix of R&B, folk, blues and Americana, Cowboy Carter presented guest turns and cameos by country legends Dolly Parton, Linda Martell and Willie Nelson, contemporary stars Miley Cyrus and Post Malone, and emerging Black country artists such as Shaboozey, Tanner Adell and Brittney Spencer. (Not to mention a cast of stellar musicians from Stevie Wonder and Nile Rodgers to Jon Batiste, Gary Clark Jr. and Rhiannon Giddens.)
Powered by hits and fan faves like “Texas Hold ‘Em” (her ninth Billboard Hot 100 No. 1), covers of Parton’s “Jolene” and the Beatles’ “Blackbird” plus “Levii’s Jeans (with Malone) and “Ya Ya,” Cowboy Carter garnered a leading 11 nominations for the 67th Grammy Awards. The album ultimately won three gold gramophones: best country duo/group performance for “II Most Wanted” (with Cyrus), best country album (the first Black artist to claim that honor) and album of the year — an honor that had long eluded Beyoncé, making her the first Black female to win that marquee category since Ms. Lauryn Hill in 1999.
Beyoncé last visited SoFi Stadium when she brought her Renaissance World Tour to the venue. She played three sold-out nights at the venue in September 2023, highlights of which included a surprise appearance by Diana Ross who led the audience in singing “Happy Birthday” to Beyoncé.
On Christmas Day last year, Beyoncé gave fans a glimpse of what might be in store for the Cowboy Carter Tour when she performed several tracks with special guests like Post Malone, Shaboozey and daughter Blue Ivy for the halftime show during the Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans football game at Houston’s NRG Stadium.
Here’s a look at Beyoncé’s opening night setlist for the Cowboy Carter Tour.
- “Ameriican Requiem”
- “Blackbiird”
- “The Star-Spangled Banner”
- “Freedom”
- “YA YA”
- “OH LOUISIANA” (Interlude)
- “AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM”
- “SPAGHETTII”
- “Formation”
- “MY HOUSE”
- “Diva”
- “WHO IS COWBOY CARTER?”
- “ALLIIGATOR TEARS”
- “JUST FOR FUN”
- “PROTECTOR”
- “FLAMENCO”
- “DESERT EAGLE”
- “RIIVERDANCE”
- “II HANDS II HEAVEN”
- Medley of “Sweet Honey Buckiin”, “Summer Renaissance” and “Pure/Honey”
- “Jolene”
- “Daddy Lessons”
- “BODYGUARD”
- “II MOST WANTED”
- “CUFF IT”
- “TYRANT”
- “THIQUE”
- “LEVII’S JEANS”
- “DAUGHTER”
- “I’M THAT GIRL”
- “COZY”
- “ALIEN SUPERSTAR”
- “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM”
- “Crazy in Love”
- “HEATED”
- “Before I Let Go”
- “16 CARRIAGES”
- “AMEN”
