Queen Bey was back at White Hart Lane and in her element in her country era to perform in the north London rain as her Cowboy Carter tour rolled into town ★★★★★
Beyoncé silenced the haters claiming she had ‘hundreds of unsold seats’ at her Cowboy Carter tour as she wowed an (almost) sold out crowd at White Hart Lane. Queen Bey even perched on top of a giant flying neon horseshoe to closer inspect adoring fans packed into the far corners of the Tottenham stadium and filling the floorspace.
“Thank you for all your beautiful outfits. Thank you for dressing up,” she tells them, surveying the sea of denim, stetson hats and sequins around her. It seems everyone got the Cowboy Carter memo and came dressed for a hoedown in north London. “I postponed my wedding to come to this rodeo,” one fan sign reads.
While everyone is ready for the party, before she came on stage tonight, there were whispers that Beyonce’s latest tour hadn’t sold well and swathes of seats remained up for grabs. However, once the band kicked in with opening ballad American Requiem, it was clear that only a handful of limited view seats were going spare – which some fans seized the chance to move to in a bid to extend their dancefloor.
And the whole stadium was up dancing all night long to already loved tracks from Beyonce’s country-inspired 2024 album to tried and tested anthems spanning her entire back catalogue. Beyonce even throws in some Destiny’s Child hits to the delight of the crowd to really cement how long she’s been on top.
And on top she is, from flawless vocals and dance moves to a wave of bold stunts and spectacular visuals. In one section, the Texas native climbs on top of a gold-plated bucking mechanical bull as she gyrates without missing a note.
But this isn’t Beyonce’s first rodeo, and it’s no gimmick. Born and raised in Houston, Bey is a bona fide country girl, riding horses from an early age as home footage dating back to 1993 hammers home to the crowd.
The crackly video montage moves from Beyonce’s humble upbringing to showcase some of her career highlights from singing at Barack Obama’s inauguration to her obvious delight at performing alongside her idols Tina Turner and Diana Ross.
Beyonce’s last world tour Renaissance arrived in London just days after Tina died in May 2023, with the singer pausing her set to pay homage with a rendition of River Deep, Mountain High. Tonight, Beyonce focuses on her country roots as she belts out her revamped hit of another idol, Dolly Parton with female anthem Jolene.
As perfectionist Bey seamlessly moves between ‘chapters’ of her hits, the thrilling set comes with just one minor hiccup. While busting out some moves in the disco section, Beyonce’s gold-sequinned chaps come loose and fall to her ankles, leaving a backup dancer frantically trying to pull them back together at her hips. A temporarily frozen Beyonce’ laughs off the wardrobe mishap as the crowd roars with support until she’s able to move again.
The night takes a moving turn as Beyonce brings out both daughters Blue Ivy and Rumi to the stage as she sings ballad Protector, written as a lullaby to them. Blue, 12, joined Beyonce on her latest tour becoming one of her stand-out backing dancers. On her debut, seven-year-old Rumi is already showing signs of the family’s entertainer gene as she confidently waves and beams to fans while adorably singing along with her mum. No doubt rapper dad Jay Z was somewhere in the crowd too proudly looking on.
As Beyonce’s near-three hour set thrills the crowd, not even the weather can stop the superstar entertainer. “The rain feels so good!” she cries. “I’m having a good time with y’all tonight!”, she adds. The start of six nights at the Spurs ground and already feels like the start of another iconic run for the unstoppable singer. Yee-haw.