Beyoncé launches the Cowboy Carter tour at SoFi Stadium

Beyoncé opened her Cowboy Carter satellite circuit Monday nighttime with the archetypal of 5 shows astatine Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium: a characteristically analyzable popular spectacle that framed Black creativity arsenic a wellspring — possibly the wellspring — of American culture.

Kicking disconnected a twelvemonth and alteration aft the merchandise of Beyoncé’s country-inspired “Cowboy Carter” LP — which yet earned the vocalist a Grammy grant for medium of the twelvemonth this past February aft 4 erstwhile losses — the caller roadworthy amusement features virtually each of the euphony from “Cowboy Carter” yet besides looks backmost implicit Beyoncé’s sizable catalog, successful peculiar 2022’s clubby “Renaissance,” which spawned a blockbuster satellite tour of its own.

Monday’s show, which lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes, began arsenic “Cowboy Carter” does, with renditions of Beyoncé’s churchy “Ameriican Requiem” and the Beatles’ “Blackbird”; past she sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” arsenic a elephantine video surface down her flashed a message: “Never inquire support for thing that already belongs to you.” Beyoncé, dressed successful fringed achromatic cow-wrangler garb, did a spot of her opus “Freedom” earlier segueing into “Ya Ya,” during which her 13-year-old girl Blue Ivy was among her ample unit of dancers. “Ya Ya” ended with the vocalist sitting successful a throne arsenic a elephantine robot limb poured her a drink.

After a costume change, the show’s 2nd enactment began with “America Has a Problem,” which Beyoncé sang astatine a quality podium festooned with microphones, past zoomed done “Spaghettii,” “Formation,” “My House” and “Diva.” Act III opened with comparatively low-key versions of “Alliigator Tears” and “Just for Fun” earlier a tender speechmaking of “Protector,” for which different of Beyoncé’s children — 7-year-old Rumi — appeared onstage and gave her ma a hug.

For “Desert Eagle,” Beyoncé wore a bedazzled bodysuit that she kept connected for “Riiverdance,” “II Hands II Heaven” and “Sweet Honey Buckiin’” — a dance-heavy information of the amusement that again prominently featured Blue Ivy. After a New Orleans-accented rendition of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” the vocalist strapped onto an tremendous neon horseshoe and sang “Daddy Lessons” arsenic the horseshoe flew astir the stadium. A funky “Bodyguard” and a snippet of “II Most Wanted” past gave mode to an ecstatic “Cuff It,” which Beyoncé performed connected a tiny secondary signifier adjacent the rear of the venue. She rode the horseshoe backmost to the main signifier and did “Tyrant” astride a aureate mechanical bull accompanied by 2 bull heads connected swiveling robot arms.

At astir the two-hour mark, Beyoncé said, “Welcome backmost to the Renaissance, y’all,” which led into versions of “I’m That Girl,” “Cozy” and “Alien Superstar,” arsenic good arsenic a western-tinged instrumentality connected the ballroom conflict that Beyoncé’s dancers undertook each nighttime connected the Renaissance tour.

The vocalist started the show’s location agelong performing “Texas Hold ’Em” connected a prop large rig dressed successful denim short-shorts and furry thigh-high boots; she stayed successful that outfit for a chopped-and-screwed “Crazy successful Love,” which she followed with “Heated” and her screen of the precocious Frankie Beverly’s “Before I Let Go.” The performance ended with “16 Carriages,” a bluesy ballad astir her beingness successful amusement concern that she sang from wrong a flying convertible, and “Cowboy Carter’s” closer, “Amen,” for which she wore a fluffy stars-and-stripes gown. As the lights went up, a masked replica of the Statue of Liberty’s caput was astatine the halfway of the stage.