Beyoncé concert recap: Kansas City show packed with spectacles and sparkles

Editor’s note: Do you want to commemorate the finale of Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour in Kansas City? Sign up to get a free digital download of The Star’s front page sent to your email after the concert.

OK, Kansas City, now let’s get in formation.

Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour made its 56th and final stop Sunday at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

It was the first time the superstar performed in the Kansas City area since 2003, when she surprised fans at a Jay-Z show at what’s now called Azura Amphitheater.

Beyoncé was scheduled to take the stage at 8 p.m. — though that was expected to be closer to 8:30. As it turned out, it was far later.

Waiting for the Arrowhead gates to open, the crowd was patient and full of smiles, with tons of silver, sequined cowboy hats, silver-fringed tunics and thigh-high boots.

That is, after all, what Queen Bey requested. She had asked fans to wear their “most fabulous silver fashions” to mirror the “Renaissance” album’s visuals.

At 7:08 p.m. the stadium gates opened, and the crowds, in lines stretching back 200 yards, cheered happily.

Inside they were greeted by a projection of a giant multi-colored disco ball and a massive screen showing color blocks like an old TV test pattern. The stage at the southeast end of the stadium included a runway extending almost to midfield. Circling the catwalk like a giant lollipop was the VIP “Club Renaissance” section for deep-pocketed fans. Among the celebrities: rapper Cardi B.

Kansas City put out the Beyoncé welcome mat this weekend with a big sparkly silver KC heart at Kansas City International Airport — or “Beyoncé International Airport,” as Mayor Quinton Lucas tweeted — plus an Instagram-ready “Bey in KC” lighted sign at Union Station.

Still waiting for the show to start after 8:30 p.m., Monica Riley, 33, of Kansas City was excited for her first Beyoncé concert.

“I am expecting to just bust out crying as soon as she steps on stage,” she said while laughing.

At 8:57 p.m. smoke began billowing around the stage and the crowd cheered. But it dissipated as the crowd continued to wait. Ten minutes later, the music changed to a heavy bass and chimes. The fans stood and cheered to the rhythmic waiting game.

By 9:30 p.m., social media was venting. On X, formerly Twitter, the general consensus was this: “BEYONCÉ GIRL COME ON.”

X user Adam Kennedy wrote: “Hey @Beyonce could u please start the show!! Im a teacher and I have work tomorrow!! I know I should have taken off!! Stupid me!!! So excited can’t wait!!!”

Finally, at 9:51 p.m., the tune changed, literally. And Beyoncé took the stage.

Date announced for ‘Renaissance’ concert film

For months now, there’s been talk of a film based on Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour.

And now that the tour has come to a close, with the final stop in Kansas City, the concert ended with the announcement via a video from the giant screen that “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé” will premiere in theaters Dec. 1.

Variety says the movie is expected to include elements from the live shows and a documentary-style account of making the “Renaissance” album and building out the tour.

The video came on screen at about 12:40 a.m., a little under three hours after the concert began.

Beyoncé makes a spectacle of herself

Beyoncé is quite the musician. She’s also quite the spectacle.

She rose out of a shell-like bed, like Botticelli’s painting “The Birth of Venus.” After all, she is a goddess of love.

She got in “Formation” in a leopard-print leotard, thigh-high boots and a big coat.

She wore a bright-red bodysuit with hand prints covering her private parts.

During the song “America Has a Problem,” she wore something for her Beyhive: a bee costume — a mini-dress in gold, silver and black, complete with antennae.

And, perhaps the most iconic scene from her set list, she climbed atop a giant sparkly horse sculpture, hearkening back to her “Renaissance” album cover.

Blue Ivy takes the stage

After Beyoncé performed “Run the World (Girls),” out came her own girl.

As she has since the Renaissance tour’s Paris stop back in May, Beyoncé’s 11-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy, joined her on stage. The crowd loudly chanted “Blue, Blue, Blue” as she did her moves with the backup dancers for the songs “My Power” from the album “The Lion King: The Gift,” as well as “Black Parade.” She struck a pose and vogued off the stage.

Her mom, meanwhile, was wearing a silver and black metallic striped leotard and matching thigh-high boots with tassels.

The hits kept coming. For the “Love on Top” she exhorted the crowd to hit all the high notes. And soon came her first hit as a solo artist, “Crazy in Love.”

KC wins the mute challenge

You did it, Kansas City.

The loudest stadium in the country slayed Beyoncé’s mute challenge Sunday night. The queen crowned Kansas City the champion.

Within the show’s first hour, as she has throughout her tour, during the song “Energy” she sang the cue: “Look around, everybody on mute.”

The crowd hushed. And when a few screams broke out, people could be heard loudly hissing.

On stage, with her arms outstretched, Beyoncé smiled at the crowd and waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. Longer, it seemed, than she has waited in other cities.

Then she slowly blessed the crowd with a huge, electric smile as the stadium erupted in cheers.

“You all won. You killed it,” she told fans who had spent hours preparing to win the very last mute challenge of the tour. Here’s how fans reacted.

Brisk sales at the merch booths

Fans were only too happy to scoop up some souvenirs. Zion Isaiah of Kansas City, who was working one of the merchandise booths, said the most popular item was a $45 T-shirt showing Beyoncé in a cowboy hat. In second place: an $80 green hoodie with the tour dates on the back.

He said most customers were spending $200 on average, and the most he saw one person spend was $470.

“I think most people are just excited about getting their hands on something to remember the tour by,” he said. “I know we had almost 1,000 shirts with her in the cowboy hat but now we are almost sold out.”

Beyoncé takes the stage

For her opening numbers, Beyoncé wore a strapless shimmering silver gown with long black gloves, a soft breeze, or maybe a fan, gently blowing her long hair back. And she thanked the crowd for dressing in silver and metallics too.

She perched atop a silver metallic piano, mic held tightly in hand, singing “Dangerously in Love.”

Next: “This next song is dedicated to my queen, Tina Turner, and she launched into Turner’s signature “River Deep, Mountain High,” as she has in other tour stops since the rock ’n’ roll star died in May. Beyoncé blew a big kiss to the audience.

The effects on the screen behind her were eye-popping. Soon a giant black eclipse appeared and the screen turned black. A constellation of stars came into view, replaced by the word “Renaissance” and then an image of Beyoncé herself, naked, and then turning into liquid metal.

She emerged in a sheer chrome bodysuit, flanked by 10 chrome-clad dancers.

Shining in silver

He goes by Chaos, but his earthly name is Brandon McDaniels, 38, of Atlanta.

“I wanted something chrome,” he said. “I wanted something that wasn’t sparkly. I wanted something to make a statement.”

He flew (in a plane) from Atlanta to St. Louis and drove to Kansas City. He’s seen every one of Beyoncé’s tours, since he was 18.

“This was the most expensive one, though.” It cost him $1,000.

Veronica McDowall of Orlando wore a black dress with silver butterflies, black hat with rhinestone chains hanging from the brim, and fairy wings.

“My look I was going for is Beyoncés fairy godmother. I made it all myself using an old dress,” she said.

She loved seeing so many fellow fans going all out with their fashions.

“It is very intriguing to see how everyone is putting themselves in the outfits and it’s amazing how there are so many different looks.”

Melody Thomas, here from Atlanta, wore a one-shoulder chrome sequined top with black boots.

“This is an awesome chance for all of us to get dressed up and look fly,” said Thomas, who came with her boyfriend. “I am a huge fan and really excited for the show because she puts so much into her performances.”

Joc Brown and Justyn Warren are here from North Carolina, about an hour away from Charlotte, where they both missed Beyoncé’s show this year. Warren said it’s fine because they were at the better show now.

Brown found an old tan jacket at home and spray-painted it the silver-metallic color that Beyoncé asked everyone to wear.

“I don’t want to stick out like a sore thumb,” Brown said.

Warren wanted something a little more revealing for the show, and Brown helped him pick out the outfit.

“It is great to feel seen, and I feel like she makes the people here with their outfits feel like they are a part of the show,” said William Hicks of St Louis, who traveled with his best friend, ShanaiReon Williams, for his eighth Beyoncé show.

“Her stage presence is second to none. Just watching her evolve over time and seeing how she commands the stage. I think that’s why people connect with her. She is just the queen.”

See the fashions Beyoncé fans wore to Queen B’s concert Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium

No beautiful liars, professor warns

A professor at the University of Arkansas Sunday (jokingly?) warned his students who traveled to Kansas City to see Beyoncé not to use her as an excuse to miss class on Monday.

“To all of my students at Beyoncé’s concert in KC tonight … I see you, and your attendance tomorrow will be recorded accordingly!” Jeffrey Allen Murdock posted on his Facebook page.

“Don’t send me no sick note, either! I see your social media posts in your silver attire!

“Also, yes … I’m mad I didn’t buy tickets and that it is now too late for me to drive the 3h to Kansas City to see the LAST show on the tour.

“But you still gettin’ docked for attendance, cuz I’m petty.”

Murdock is director of choral activities, professor of music and the founding director of the Arkansas Center for Black Music at the university in Fayettville.

He added: “(PS.... anybody got some tickets they ain’t using? My car is gassed up and I’ve ironed my silver, just in case ...)

No word on whether he made it to KC.

Long-distance travelers

Sicelo Mgaga may have traveled the farthest to attend the concert, all the way from Johannesburg, South Africa.

This was his first time traveling outside the country and his first Beyoncé concert. And also: the first time he could be free and open.

“This is the first time I have been able to dress like this and be comfortable,” he said, wearing a black cowboy hat, black leather pants and a silver mesh shirt.

“It feels like a celebration of queerness, and her music makes you feel like you can be comfortable in your own skin.”

Along the way, he met fellow international traveler Stephaney Wilson, who came from Ocho Rios, Jamaica, with her sister to experience her first concert.

“Seeing Beyoncé in concert has been a dream of mine all my life,” Wilson said, wearing a sequined top and a skirt with black feathers.

“I wanted to dress in something that made me feel the way her music made me feel,” she said. “I wanted fun and happy-go-lucky.”

After meeting Mgaga in the parking lot, she feels a sense of community in the Beyhive.

“It is beautiful and everybody is so nice and there is just this energy and vibe in here with everyone.”

Argenies Bernaradina, 29, traveled from Willemstad, Curacao, his first time in the United States. Bernaradina wore a shiny silver sequined shirt.

“This is my first time wearing anything like this but it is the queen’s last show and I want to do something different. I feel comfortable being around so many people who are all so loving and welcome, it feels like family.”

Zac Playford came to Kansas City from London, where he saw Beyoncé perform earlier this year. He just had to be here once he heard this was the last show of the tour. He said it took him 62 hours to make his jacket. And the fan? It’s something people can buy at the merchandise stands inside.

‘Cuff It’ saves lives?

The American Heart Association is a member of the BeyHive?

On the last night of Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour in Kansas City, the group had a heart-healthy message for the singer’s fans.

“#Beyonce fans, we know you’ve been dancing to ‘Cuff It,’ but did you know that same beat could help you save a life?” the heart association posted on social media.

“If a teen or adult collapses, Hands-Only CPR at 100-120 beats per minute can double or triple their chances of survival.”Beyoncé #RenaissanceWorldTour #NationofLifesavers #BeyHive.”

It noted that “Cuff It” has 115 beats per minute, the right tempo for hands-only CPR.

Click here for how to do it.

Click here for the clean version of the song.

Moms and daughters

Outside the stadium, mother and daughter pairs ruled — echoing what was to come at the show, with Beyoncé’s daughter, Blue Ivy, expected to join her on stage.

Jenny Tracz drove six hours from the town of Dighton in southwest Kansas on Saturday, with daughter Olive, 10, niece Onesti McMurray, 19, and nephew, Presley Stanley, 10.

Tracz stayed up until 2 a.m creating her niece’s sequin cowboy hat. Olive spent three months on hers.

“So much hot glue,” mom said, sequins glued around her and Olive’s eyes.

The tickets were a gift for Olive’s 10th birthday on Aug. 7. She seemed a little young to be an avid Beyoncé fan.

Mom said simply: “Indoctrinated.”

“Definitely on my bucket list,” said Asia Williams, 20, in silver fringe boots with her mom, Mandy Giesker, 46, of Lenexa. They stood waiting g to buy T-shirts with Kie Isaiah, 27, of Kansas City.

“She’s been doing this for three decades and is still relevant,” Isaiah said.

Said Giesler: “And she looks 20.”

Beyoncé rhymes with fiancée

Thaonuhu Truong, 21, came from Wichita with sister Vina Truong, 25, in the driver’s seat, and brother Kenjin Truong, 22, with their car proclaiming some big news.

“We noticed Beyoncé rhymed with fiancée,” said Thaonuhu’s, who is engaged to be married — the “bride to Bey,” as the car’s rear windsheild said.

Thaonuhu’s fiancé, James Lou, 25, who lives in Dallas, bought concert tickets for his bride-to-be and her siblings. They got engaged in August in Hawaii.

Lou isn’t a big fan, but the Truongs all are. They drove the three hours to Arrowhead on Sunday and planned to drive back after the show.

“Beyoncé speaks for herself,” Vina said. “She’s beautiful. She’s such a great person.”

Goin’ to Kansas City, no matter what

In line to drive into the Arrowhead parking lot, Kathryn Heller’s Beyoncé story is already a novel or horror story or story of redemption.

Back home in New Jersey on Friday, she was driving along on the Palisades Parkway in a historic rain. She had tickets to the Kansas City Beyoncé show, $800 a seat, and a flight out of Newark International Airport.

Suddenly, she hydroplaned and wrecked her new 2023 Nissan Rogue.

“I’m going to KC, regardless,” she told herself.

At the airport, she met Dawn Hicks from Brooklyn, also headed to KC for the concert. The flight she was supposed to be on out of JFK was canceled. Meanwhile, her twin sister, Denise Hicks, was trying to get to Kansas City via train, a trip of over 30 hours. New York to Chicago to St. Louis to Kansas City.

Heller and Dawn Hicks flew into St. Louis with Heller’s college friend, Severin Kameni, 32, from Jersey City. Then they rented a car together and drove five hours to Kansas City.

They made it to Arrowhead, dressed in silver sequins, because Beyoncé means that much.

“She’s amazing,” Kameni said. This is his fourth show. “Her dedication to LGBTQ is so important to me.”

Arty Tsipursky and Tiffany Henriquez also had trouble with the New York weather.

A lot of the flights to Kansas City got canceled because of the rainstorms, and they decided to make the cross-country trip by car to catch Beyoncé’s final show on the Renaissance tour. They arrived at Gate 6 at 3 p.m. Sunday, and were the first in line there.

Kansas City barber helps the band look good

At 26, Danni Woods already has been cutting hair for six years. Her professional name is DanniCutIt.

On Saturday, three haircuts put her within one degree of separation of the woman bringing her monster Renaissance World Tour to a close at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium the next day: Beyoncé.

She trimmed up drummer Diamond Johnson (who grew up in Johnson County), trombone player Chris Johnson and music director/keyboard player Khirye Tyler.

“It feels amazing knowing that my work is on stage, that I was able to be a part of it in some way, somehow,” she said. Read more about her here.

Beyoncé’s blue-haired drummer is from Johnson County

Diamond Johnson was asked once in an interview to name his favorite city in the United States, other than Los Angeles because he lives there.

The professional drummer didn’t miss a beat.

Kansas City.

Robert “Diamond” Johnson — just Diamond now — graduated from Gardner Edgerton High School in Johnson County. He’s back home to finish what has been unquestionably the most important gig of his musical career.

Johnson, 27, has been playing drums in Beyoncé’s band on her Renaissance World Tour.

Here are 10 things to know about the drummer, including his Tiffany-blue hair.

More Beyoncé concert coverage

Beyoncé and ballroom: This Black queer subculture in Kansas City is thrilled by Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour

Renaissance tour outfits: Beyoncé bringing ‘show-stopping fashion moments’ to Kansas City. Here are 8 of the best

Arrowhead bag policy: Going to Beyoncé in Kansas City? Here’s what you can bring inside Arrowhead Stadium