Sunday marks the first time Beyoncé has come to Kansas City on a solo tour, and fans are going all out to celebrate.
Multiple Beyoncé-themed parties and events are planned leading up to the final Renaissance World Tour concert at Arrowhead Stadium, keeping fans entertained all weekend long.
Beyoncé came to the city in 2001 when Destiny’s Child performed as part of the TRL Tour and then again in 2003 when she made a surprise appearance during Jay-Z and 50 Cent’s show at Azura Amphitheater.
This time around, fans braved Ticketmaster’s now-infamous wait times and steep ticket fees to score tickets. But that’s only the first step in preparing for the concert. Many went all in on their outfits, putting together silver and black ensembles with glittery accessories.
Some KCUR staffers and I are also going to the show and were curious about how the preparation and money we spent on the concert compared to others.
Welcome to the Beyoncé Money Diaries, where five people attending the Kansas City concert have revealed exactly how much they paid.
Before we dig into what others spent, we thought we should be transparent about our own costs. These answers are a blend of what all three of us spent:
Where do you live? Kansas City, Missouri
What do you do for work? Journalism!
How old are you? Between 23-25
How long have you been a part of the BeyHive? More than 30 years, combined. One of the KCUR staffers going to the concert has been a fan since she bought the “I Am… Sasha Fierce” CD so she could perform to the song “Video Phone” in a horseback gymnastics event.
Favorite Album? “RENAISSANCE,” “Lemonade” and “Homecoming: The Live Album”
Favorite Song? “Naughty Girl,” “Bow Down,” “Don't Hurt Yourself,” “End of Time,” “COZY,” “ENERGY” and “HEATED” between the three of us
Concert total: $194 for two of us, $405 for another
Outfit: $0, we all love shopping from our own closets
Lodging and transportation: $30 for our gracious friends driving us to the show
Ticket cost: Two of us spent $194 each for our tickets, one spent $375 for floor seats
Aaron Lambert
Where do you live? London, England
What do you do for work? Guest Services
How old are you? 41
How long have you been a part of the BeyHive? 26 years
Favorite Album? “RENAISSANCE”
Favorite Song? “AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM”
Concert total: $3,100
Outfit: $200
Lodging and transportation: $1,800 for flight and hotel costs. Will also be paying for rideshares to get around town
Ticket cost: $1,100 for Club Renaissance tickets at both concerts, including $600 for the Kansas City show
Number of Beyoncé concerts before the Kansas City show: One, at the London stop of the Renaissance tour. The Kansas City show will be his second
Craziest expense: Concert ticket and flight costs
Aaron Lambert has been a Beyoncé superfan for her entire career but hasn’t been able to see her on any of her previous tours. Lambert jumped at the chance to see Beyoncé perform at one of her five Renaissance tour dates in London. He got a ticket for Club Renaissance — where fans are directly in the middle of Beyoncé’s circular stage — and decided he had to see the show again. This time, he splurged on tickets for a U.S. date. This show will be his first time visiting the country.
“Originally it was September the 18th,” Lambert said. “And then the next day it got rescheduled. So I just took this as a sign I’m supposed to be at the last show. It makes it even more important.”
Lambert says Beyoncé’s tour is more than a concert, it’s a party. After COVID-19, Lambert felt anti-social and isolated. He says the London show was the first time he felt free to let go. Buying another Club Renaissance ticket, as well as hotels and airfare, was more than worth it for him to see Beyoncé again.
“For me as a Black, gay male, I don't remember the last time I've been in a space where I felt free and comfortable and all brought together for one common cause,” Lambert said. “The power of bringing all these people together from around the globe — because not only am I traveling from London, there's people traveling from all corners of the earth — is such a powerful thing in a time where we've kind of not really been.”
Danielle R.
Where do you live? Kansas City, Missouri
What do you do for work? Banking and finance
How old are you? 43
How long have you been a part of the BeyHive? 26 years
Favorite Album? “RENAISSANCE,” “Beyoncé” and “Lemonade”
Favorite Song?”Hello,” “Ego,” “HEATED” and “VIRGO’S GROOVE”
Concert total: $4,000
Outfit: $200
Lodging and transportation: $1,600 for hotel for the Chicago show.
Ticket cost: $2,200 for three tickets to the Chicago show for Danielle and her daughters. Kansas City tickets were a birthday gift
Number of Beyoncé concerts before the Kansas City show: Four, on four different tours. The Kansas City show will be her second on the Renaissance tour
Craziest expense: Ticketmaster fees
Danielle R., a longtime member of the Beyhive who didn’t want to share her last name, has been a Beyoncé fan since the star was in Destiny’s Child. Her fandom escalated when Beyoncé released “I Am… Sasha Fierce” in 2008. Before then, Danielle was having a hard time choosing who to support in the Destiny’s Child breakup. Since Jay-Z has been her favorite rapper, she stuck with Beyoncé because they were together. Now, her feelings have changed.
“At this point, if something were to happen with her and Jay, I don't know if I'm going with Jay,” Danielle said. “I feel like I'm just here for Beyoncé now.”
Danielle loves sharing Beyoncé with her family, who all love the superstar. She’s been to see Beyoncé on four different tours, most of them with her daughters, who she says are Beyoncé superfans. Danielle went all out to take her daughters to the Chicago stop of her Renaissance tour and was shocked when her husband gave her tickets to the Kansas City show as a birthday present.
“I had older parents, so this was not something that my parents or my mom did with me,” Danielle said. “It was nice to be able to take them to see Beyoncé. My girls were like eight and six when we went to see that first show. It's been very rewarding for me just as a parent to get to share this with them.”
Ken Tran
Where do you live? Jersey City, New Jersey
What do you do for work? Healthcare marketing
How old are you? 34
How long have you been a part of the BeyHive? 26 years
Favorite Album? “RENAISSANCE” or “4”
Favorite Song? “Green Light”
Concert total: $2,400
Outfit: About $600 for three different concert outfits
Lodging and transportation: He’s staying with friends and paid for flights with miles, so will only be paying for rideshares to get around
Ticket cost: About $1,800, including $300 for the Kansas City show
Number of Beyoncé concerts before the Kansas City show: 10 shows, including three this tour. The Kansas City show will be his fourth on the Renaissance tour
Craziest expense: Ticket costs
Ken Tran has seen Beyoncé three times already on the Renaissance tour. But Kansas City’s rescheduled date worked out well for him and his boyfriend, who wanted to see the show again. Tran said he didn’t “have to twist my arm to go see another Beyoncé show.” Seeing four shows on the tour — Beyoncé’s favorite number — adds extra sentimentality to the experience for Tran.
“My friends and I all have a joke about it, you always save money for Beyoncé,” Tran said. “That's been something we've learned through the years, especially since her self-titled album. There's always going to be some surprise Beyoncé thing that's going to come up. It's a matter of, in that moment when that happens, are we going to have the funds available to do it?”
Tran has loved putting his outfits together for the shows and even bought a Telfar jumpsuit similar to the one Beyoncé and her backup dancers wear on the tour. He’s looking forward to seeing what the star might add during her last stop on the U.S. run of the tour.
“There's always something new and unexpected,” Tran said. “Even going into this last one, I'm not sure what she'll pull out because I feel like it's gonna be the last show, whatever she wants to do at this endpoint is going to happen. That makes it really exciting.”
Brandon Woodard
Where do you live? Lenexa, Kansas
What do you do for work? Representative in the Kansas House of Representatives
How old are you? 33
How long have you been a part of the BeyHive? 26 years
Favorite Album? “RENAISSANCE”
Favorite Song? “Love On Top”
Concert total: $420
Outfit: $20
Lodging and transportation: $50 for a party bus to the concert
Ticket cost: $350
Number of Beyoncé concerts before the Kansas City show: Six. Sunday’s show will be his seventh
Craziest expense: No crazy expense, just in awe that Beyoncé is finally coming to Kansas City
This is the first time Brandon Woodard, a Kansas House representative, scored presale status for a Beyoncé tour. He wasn’t going to let anything — not even a legislative session in which he was questioning a university chancellor — stand in his way of getting tickets.
“I had pre-warned the chancellor and his staff that I had presale for Beyoncé,” Woodard said. “So if I looked distracted I was just buying my tickets, but I was still there. Naturally, as soon as I got to first in line of presale was also in the middle of questioning him. It's been a running joke with his staff that while I was there to support higher education, I also had my priorities in line to make sure I had my Beyoncé tickets as well.”
Woodard has been a fan since Beyoncé’s days in Destiny’s Child, and has vowed he’ll go to see her shows whenever she’s near the Kansas City area. This is the first time that he’ll be able to see her in Kansas City, though, which makes this show more exciting.
“I was one of the many people that when Beyoncé went solo, we were all like, ‘What are you doing? This is our favorite band,’” Woodard said. “But her music is uplifting, exciting and it's always been one of those things as I've gone into this crazy world of politics that has kept me upbeat and feeling optimistic.”
Areiona King
Where do you live? Kansas City, Kansas
What do you do for work? Freelance photographer, doula and co-host of the “Radical Alignment” podcast
How old are you? 31
How long have you been a part of the BeyHive? 26 years
Favorite Album? “Dangerously in Love” and “Beyoncé”
Favorite Song? “PLASTIC OF THE SOFA,” “VIRGO’S GROOVE,” “CHURCH GIRL” and “Signs”
Concert total: $650
Outfit: $200, including $80 to get her makeup done
Lodging and transportation: $50
Ticket cost: $400
Number of Beyoncé concerts before the Kansas City show: One, when she saw Beyoncé on the “On the Run” tour with Jay-Z. Sunday’s show will be her first time seeing Beyoncé headline a solo tour
Craziest expense: Ticket costs
Areiona King has loved Beyoncé since her Destiny’s Child days, but Beyoncé wasn’t actually her favorite member of the group. King says watching her music career evolve and grow is what made her a Beyoncé superfan.
“We’ve grown with her and vice versa,” King said. “I have road trip memories with Beyoncé’s self-titled album. I remember “I Am… Sasha Fierce” came out right when I got my first car. Every album is a time stamp.”
King has loved sharing in the camaraderie of getting ready for the Beyoncé show. She’s been shopping all week putting her outfit together and says it’s been special to shop alongside other women getting their outfits for the concert and encouraging each other. Every time she thought she should scale back her preparation or excitement for the concert, King kept saying “but it’s Beyoncé.”
“This is the conclusion, the finale,” King said. “That puts so much more energy behind what this moment is going to be and what she's going to deliver. That's a really big thing. Just the energy behind this, the last stop. We're not just somewhere in the middle. This is the finale. I can't say it enough.”
This story used interviews sourced through KCUR's texting services. If you have questions about texting with KCUR, you can find more information here.
