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I Just Watched Beyoncé Perform a 3-Hour Concert in the Pouring Rain and I Don’t Think I’ll Ever Be the Same

If she can do that, I can get out of bed when my alarm goes off

beyonce cowboy carter tour review
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

This week, I had the great pleasure of attending Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour for her fourth performance at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey (technically her “New York” tour stop). As I prepped to schlep my elder millennial keister across the Hudson via public transit, I…was worried. Would Beyoncé deliver? I had no doubt. Would she and I get soaking wet in the process? The severe rain outside my window made me think it inevitable.

My journey to Jerz included a departure from New York’s famed (and in-desperate-need-of-a-gut-reno) Penn Station. In case there were any question of “who run the world,” it became clear by the throngs of denim-clad and cowboy hat-donning fans clamoring to catch the next train that the answer is, indeed, Beyoncé (and girls, obvi).

As expected, I arrived to the stadium in the rain along with thousands and thousands of others who now had the good fortune of hiding their chic fringe and denim beneath dollar store ponchos. (I personally wore a fringe crop jacket, a denim button-down and a disco ball cowboy hat. Though the only thing people saw during my long wait to get through security was a man in a giant, rain-soaked trash bag with a disco ball hat on top of his plastic hood.)

beyonce cowboy carter tour review hat
Original Photo by Philip Mutz

Yada yada (or ya-ya ya-ya?), I got my chicken fingers, my soft pretzel and my beer and I made my way—still in my poncho—to my seat, ready to eat in the rain as I awaited my queen. And then, a miracle. Could it be? Yes! My seat was covered by the tier above! I would actually be able to watch the concert without getting any wetter (and I could finally show off my outfit), something that could not be said for the majority of the night’s attendees.

beyonce cowboy carter tour review outfit
Original Photo by Philip Mutz

When the concert began and I leapt to my feet, I’d love to say all thoughts of rain disappeared. But they did not. Because for the next three hours, I would watch one of the most impressive performances I’d ever seen happen in the cold, pouring rain. Afterwards, I thought to myself, Surely if Beyoncé can do that in the rain, I can get through anything.

Beyhive and non-Beyhive, let me tell you: Beyoncé and the Cowboy Carter concert are incredible. It is a spectacle in the best way possible. So full of joy. So full of power. So full of history.

In fact, I received a history lesson standing there in MetLife, through her music and through her video interludes that took us through Black artists’ massive contributions to the creation of country—and the creation of our country. Queen Bey paid tribute to and followed in the footsteps of those who came before her. And this generational theme was only furthered by the onstage presence of her two daughters, Blue Ivy and Rumi.

There was Americana abound. Flags everywhere. Homages to our nation everywhere. Beyoncé even sang the National Anthem at one point (it was hard not to remember how she started a press conference with the song back in 2013).

This was paired with clips of “newscasters” hating on her for trying to “enter” the country music space (obviously they never did a simple Google search on the history of country music). It was deeply moving and motivating to see this wildly successful Black woman school those who clearly believe in division and “ownership” of a certain genre of music—or of America and Americana itself.

In a time of deep divisions in America, it felt like I was watching Beyoncé take America back—but not just for herself. It felt like she was taking it back for me. She was taking it back for every single person standing in that stadium. It’s hard to describe the power she possesses. But it is quite large—and it was clear that she understands the responsibility and the weight of that.

And as thought-provoking and history-filled as her concert might be, it was also just so damn fun. There was a level of incredible joy up on that stage. And humor. And whimsy (I mean, the woman’s mode of transportation around the stadium was a giant flying horseshoe after all). And this joy was apparent in the music, in the dance, in the spectacle, in the screaming of lyrics by the fans. It also seemed amplified by the pouring rain. The rain—which didn’t cause a single slip or a fall or even a stumbled note—was part of what made the performance so special (though rain or not, that concert is impressive). It seemed like the rainstorm simply helped complement the joy and the gratitude and the grace that she exudes. Beyoncé even acknowledged how special the night was in her closing remarks.

Do I recommend seeing Cowboy Carter when it comes to a town near you? Absolutely. Will it be even better if you see it in a rainstorm? Well, it wasn’t the chicken fingers that changed my life…

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Philip Mutz Headshot

VP, News and Entertainment

  • Oversees news and entertainment content
  • Is an award-winning playwright and has hosted two entertainment podcasts
  • Has 10+ years experience in entertainment coverage and viral media