The rain isn’t stopping her show — Beyoncé Knowles-Carter is carrying on with her first “Cowboy Carter” concert in Chicago, despite weather delays and an evacuation.
The Grammy-winning singer launched her first concert at Soldier Field on her Cowboy Carter and the Rodeo Chitlin’ Circuit Tour around 10:15 pm CT on May 15.
“I’m so happy to be on the stage seeing all of your beautiful faces,” she said as she opened the show. “Thank you for all your love even throughout the storm. Y’all are here. I am here, and we’re going to have a good ol’ time.” The concert was supposed to kick off at 7:00 p.m. CT. That changed once the Chicago area faced severe weather warnings.
Earlier in the day, fans were notified by the director of marketing and PR at Soldier Field, Luca Serra, that the concert would “absolutely” not start before 9 p.m. CT due to severe weather, including a thunderstorm warning and tornado watch affecting parts of the Chicago area.
As the night progressed, fans were required to evacuate the main stadium area, though they were allowed to take their seats shortly before 9:00 p.m.
During that time, a message displayed onstage read, “Thank you for your patience during this time. We are setting the show and getting the floor ready to receive guests. Looking forward to a great show!”
The special message confirmed to fans that the show, in fact, would go on.
Chicago native and Beyhive member Damian Roa, 24, waited hours and endured the evacuation before the show began. “It was quite a day but we made it! I know Beyoncé is a professional, so she would never cancel a show! I got my hat protector and poncho in case the rain would continue,” Roa said.
Beyoncé will perform her “Cowboy Carter” tour at Soldier Field for a total of three nights, including May 17 and 18.
Beyoncé first debuted the highly anticipated show at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on April 28 with 39 songs on the set list. She performed a total of five shows there, with each taking place on April 28, May 1, May 4, May 7 and May 9. The concerts proved to be a revolutionary spectacle filled with fashion, different music genres and most notably country music and politics.
The nine-city tour will span the U.S. and Europe, with the grand finale taking place in Las Vegas on July 26. Beyoncé has already made history with her scheduled tour dates, including playing the most dates at SoFi Stadium of any artist.
Follow Caché McClay, the USA TODAY Network’s Beyoncé Knowles-Carter reporter, on Instagram, TikTok and X as @cachemcclay.
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