What began as a chance to lastly see one of many world’s biggest performers stay changed into a nightmare for Each day Mail senior leisure reporter Jacques Peterson, he reported this week.
The British tabloid’s reporter bought tickets for a current date Inglewood, California, date on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour and took to the platform to place her, the ticket vendor, and the manufacturing on blast.
Regardless of not being the largest Beyoncé fan, based on his description of himself, Peterson was drawn to the famous person’s newest nation music enterprise and thought declining ticket gross sales would make it the right time to expertise Queen Bey’s legendary stage presence firsthand on what apparently was the second live performance of the tour.
In his live performance evaluation for the Could 2 date in suburban Los Angeles, the author admitted to being an enormous fan of Beyoncé’s history-making “Cowboy Carter” album, praising its breathtaking manufacturing and vocal preparations that showcase a degree of artistry hardly ever seen from the singer’s pop contemporaries.
With excessive expectations, Peterson splurged on tickets priced at over $350 every within the first elevation part, simply above the ground space at SoFi Stadium.
“I couldn’t imagine that I’d spent $700 for me and my pal to see Bey stay, however she is essentially the most awarded artist in Grammy historical past and has been lauded as the best performer to ever grace the stage,” Peterson wrote, recounting the anticipation of what ought to have been the live performance of a lifetime.
The joy shortly light when an usher led Peterson to seats with severely obstructed views.
Gigantic scaffolding and a big box-shaped construction blocked a lot of the stage, regardless of Peterson’s “cautious analysis” of the seating association beforehand.
No warnings about obstructed views appeared on the tickets, both, leaving Peterson feeling “utterly bamboozled.”
To make issues worse, the stadium audio system have been pointed instantly at Peterson’s part, inflicting deafening and distorted sound.
Mixed with freezing air con that appeared to focus on solely their space, the live performance shortly turned insufferable. Peterson missed Beyoncé using a mechanical bull onstage whereas trying to resolve the seating subject with confused workers members amid the overwhelming noise.
After the present, Peterson sought a refund from Ticketmaster, which initially solely returned the $114 service payment. Nevertheless, as of Could 5, Ticketmaster has since refunded the complete $700 ticket value.
The incident sparked varied reactions from Each day Mail readers.
One commenter merely acknowledged, “The present was superb,” sharing what the critic didn’t see, whereas one other advised, “Your subject ought to be with Ticketmaster.”
Some positioned blame on Peterson, with one reader writing, “How ever pays 700 for a ticket is out of their thoughts.”
One other claimed, “You spent $700 for behind the stage tickets. I’m fairly sure you have been warned.”
One significantly unsympathetic response learn, “$700 for a ticket! Effectively, that’s a self inflicted harm. Phrase on the road was that the tickets weren’t promoting and somebody determined to purchase earlier than they went right down to $25.00. Monetary genius.”
Peterson’s expertise comes amid experiences that Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour is battling ticket gross sales.
Resale costs have reportedly plummeted under $60 in some markets, with 1000’s of seats remaining empty throughout a number of stadiums.
Monetary consultants recommend this gross sales hunch might point out broader financial considerations, as luxurious leisure bills are sometimes the primary casualties of client belt-tightening amid recession fears.
The distinction is stark in comparison with Beyoncé’s earlier Renaissance tour. Opening evening tickets for Cowboy Carter in Los Angeles have been out there for simply $44 on resale platform Gametime, whereas Renaissance tour tickets began at $115 in Philadelphia simply two years in the past.
Some tickets are stated to be as low cost as McDonald’s Comfortable Meals.
As a result of its low demand, @Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter Tour” tickets ($20) at the moment are cheaper than a McDonald’s Minecraft meal ($21.39). pic.twitter.com/CfvJW1Y1zt
— Robin from RENAISSANCE aka CASS (@Unhinged_Cass) April 23, 2025
Regardless of these challenges, tour promoter Reside Nation presents a distinct perspective, stating the tour was over 94 p.c bought as of mid-March, with 10 extra dates added to the unique 22-show schedule. The corporate emphasised “super demand” and characterised the tour as a “record-breaking run,” with the schedule finally increasing to 32 performances.
Billboard initiatives the tour will nonetheless generate roughly $325 million, averaging about $10.15 million per present—solely barely under the Renaissance tour’s $10.33 million common. This means that whereas particular person ticket costs could also be declining, Beyoncé’s general income projections stay sturdy.
Not all evaluations have been detrimental. Billboard veteran reporter Gail Mitchell described how followers have been aglow concerning the opening evening live performance at SoFi final week, with two declaring, “We’re going to scream our faces off!” on the venue as they waited for the singer to take the stage.
That’s wrap on one other unimaginable evening!
COWBOY CARTER TOUR = The Best Live performance of All Time! https://t.co/tOEdFZrnMW pic.twitter.com/Dr4MDnWKs1
— NotBeyoncebutViolence (@ourhermitage) Could 5, 2025
Mitchell’s evaluation reported followers extolled the practically three-hour April 28 efficiency as “enjoyable,” “superb,” and “memorable,” and she or he highlighted Beyoncé’s strong-voiced performances, mesmerizing video imagery, and empowering themes all through the present.
#Beyonce closes her #CowboyCarterSunday Could 4 2025 present at SoFi Stadium pic.twitter.com/m43hKXRIG7
— IG: ❤❤❤ iLissaNJ❤❤ (@iLissaNJ) Could 5, 2025
For Peterson, the one glimpses of Beyoncé’s masterful stage presence and flawless choreography have been seen between the obstructions, making the expertise much more painful.
“I’ve seen nearly each pop star from Beyonce’s technology in live performance— Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Britney, JLo, Justin, Miley, Pink, Christina— and this was by far the worst live performance expertise I’ve ever had,” Peterson declared, lamenting that the singer’s exceptional expertise solely heightened the frustration of getting the evening ruined by seating points.
