At Stockholm’s Friends Arena today, Beyoncé kicked off her first tour in four and a half years, bringing Renaissance to the stage for the very first time. She performed for three hours in the Swedish capital with no opening act. She gave live debuts to “Break My Soul,” “Virgo’s Groove,” “Cuff It,” and other tracks from the record. For her closing performance of “Summer Renaissance,” she rode atop a flying disco horse. Check out the setlist, plus some photos and video from the show, below. Also, see the stage and some merchandise.
Renaissance, released last July, was Beyoncé’s seventh No. 1 album. It won her a handful of Grammy Awards—Best Dance/Electronic Recording, Best Traditional R&B Performance, Best R&B Song, and Best Dance/Electronic Music Album—making her the most decorated artist in Grammys history. (Her sometime collaborator Diplo responded with an apparent bit of snark that may or may not have been misinterpreted.) Nonetheless, by marquee pop standards, she ran a low-key campaign, and her relative scarcity has bolstered intrigue around the tour.
So far, Beyoncé has released no videos from Renaissance, and “Break My Soul” was the only official single. Before tonight, she had performed live just once since the release—controversially, at a private event in Dubai. That concert, for an audience of celebrities and special guests, featured a cover of Etta James’ “At Last” and songs spanning Beyoncé’s career up to Renaissance, but no tracks from the album itself.
The tour continues tomorrow with a second night in Stockholm; the North American leg starts in Toronto on July 8.
Setlist:
Dangerously in Love
Flaws and All
1+1 / I’d Rather Go Blind / I’m Going Down
I Care
I’m That Girl
Cozy
Alien Superstar / Sweet Dreams
Lift Off
7/11
Cuff It
Energy
Break My Soul
Formation
Diva
Run the World (Girls)
My Power
Black Parade
Savage
Church Girl
Get Me Bodied
Before I Let Go
Rather Die Young
Love on Top
Crazy in Love
Green Light
Freedom
Plastic Off the Sofa
Virgo’s Groove
Naughty Girl / Say My Name / Rocket
Move
Heated
Thique
All Up in Your Mind
Drunk in Love
America Has a Problem
Pure/Honey
Summer Renaissance
