logo
Beyoncé's final 'Cowboy Carter' concert draws A-list celebrities to Las Vegas

Beyoncé's final 'Cowboy Carter' concert draws A-list celebrities to Las Vegas

USA Today27-07-2025
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter concluded her "Cowboy Carter" tour with a final performance in Las Vegas, drawing some of Hollywood's biggest names to Sin City for the occasion.
The Grammy-winning singer kicked off her final concert at Allegiant Stadium in Vegas on July 26. The concert marked her last of two back-to-back shows at the stadium on her Cowboy Carter and the Rodeo Chitlin' Circuit Tour. It also served as the last of her 32 stadium concerts across the U.S. and Europe.
While celebrities have been showing up all tour long, the Las Vegas closer brought out some of the biggest names in one star-studded night. Of course, Beyoncé's core circle, including her husband, Jay-Z, her mom, Tina Knowles, and her dad, Mathew Knowles, were among those to attend the final shows. However, other attendees included some of biggest power players in the industry.
Gayle King, Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Kris Jenner attend Beyoncé's final show
Before the show began, Gayle King shared photos from the venue alongside some famous friends — including Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Kris Jenner and Khloe Kardashian. 'Grand opening, grand closing!' she captioned the post. 'Here in Las Vegas with the cowboy crew to watch Beyoncé close out her historic Cowboy Carter tour!!'
King, Oprah and Perry were amongst those to attend opening night in Los Angeles on April 28.
Kerry Washington, Maya Randolph, Paul Thomas Anderson, more attend night 2 in Vegas
Kerry Washington, who also posed for photos with King's crew, was in attendance for the final show.
Other special guests included Maya Rudolph and director Paul Thomas Anderson. Fans also spotted actor Daniel Kaluuya at the show — to name a few. There were also a number of celebrities who attended the tour and the final show who are not listed or pictured.
Beyoncé also filed the stage with some very special guests. During the show, she reunited with her former Destiny's Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams as they performed some of their classic hits.
'Cowboy Carter' collaborator Shaboozey also joined her to perform their song 'Sweet Honey Buckin'' Adding to the surprises, her husband Jay-Z made joined her once again for one last memorable performance.
Of course, Beyoncé first debuted her tour at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on April 28 with 39 songs on the set list. Her shows have been filled with family, fashion, different music genres, and most notably country music and cultural commentary.
As fans know, she released her eighth studio album, "Cowboy Carter," in March 2024. It has since made history and broken multiple records. As Beyoncé's first country album, she deliberately featured country legends and emerging Black country artists alike.
Follow Caché McClay, the USA TODAY Network's Beyoncé Knowles-Carter reporter, on Instagram, TikTok and X as @cachemcclay.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Review: City Lit offers a challenging and poignant production of ‘Jesus Hopped the ‘A' Train'
Review: City Lit offers a challenging and poignant production of ‘Jesus Hopped the ‘A' Train'

Chicago Tribune

time35 minutes ago

  • Chicago Tribune

Review: City Lit offers a challenging and poignant production of ‘Jesus Hopped the ‘A' Train'

Early on in 'Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train,' a sadistic corrections officer in Rikers Island prison compares himself to a cowboy in charge of cattle earmarked for the slaughterhouse. His grim comment sums up the central metaphor of this 2000 drama by Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Adly Guirgis, which examines the dehumanization inherent in our criminal justice system, particularly for Latino and Black men. As directed by Esteban Andres Cruz at City Lit Theater, the play's livestock imagery runs deep, from the piteous to the disgusting to the macabre. But there are more layers to Guirgis' play than this effective, if sometimes on-the-nose, symbolism. The script also probes the meaning of justice, the limits of the law in morally gray situations and the role of religious faith in an institution not conducive to redemption. With City Lit's production drawing clear parallels to today's headlines, especially through projections designed by Andres Fiz, this 25-year-old play feels disturbingly relevant. Recent University of Michigan graduate and Chicago native Lenin Izquierdo stars as Angel Cruz, a 30-year-old Puerto Rican man charged with the murder of Reverend Kim, the wealthy leader of a cult-like religious movement who claims to be the son of God. Desperate after his unsuccessful attempts to extricate his best friend from the church's influence, Angel resorts to shooting Kim in what he claims was intended as a non-lethal attack. When Kim later dies in a follow-up surgery, Angel's charges are escalated, and he faces a potential life sentence. Mary Jane Hanrahan (Maria Stephens), a plucky Irish Italian New Yorker, is Angel's public defender, motivated by a genuine belief in her client's cause and a competitive drive to win a difficult case. In a role reminiscent of Alfieri, the lawyer in Arthur Miller's 'A View from the Bridge,' Mary Jane narrates most of the play's legal procedures, as well as several traumatic events that occur during Angel's incarceration. Filtering key offstage developments through a secondhand narrator has mixed results; this dramatic choice adds some distance between audience and protagonist, but it also avoids the pitfalls of staging overt violence and keeps Angel's scenes focused on a more internal character arc. When Angel isn't consulting with Mary Jane, he spends his daily hour-long breaks from solitary confinement in conversation with Lucius Jenkins (Bradford Stevens), a Black man on death row for murdering eight people. Under the menacing surveillance of Officer Valdez (Manny Tamayo), the upbeat and chatty Lucius, who has converted to Christianity in prison, tries to comfort the shattered younger man and persistently proselytizes about his faith. In their interactions, the show really hits its stride in terms of dialogue and pacing, with sharp banter punctuating serious discussions of existential questions. Without attempting to exonerate Lucius, who shares some gruesome details about his crimes, the play encourages audience members to look beyond the orange jumpsuit and consider the complicated man and the circumstances that led to his horrific actions. This nuanced perspective is amplified by two scenes featuring another corrections officer, Charlie D'Amico (Michael Dailey), who grows close to Lucius during their time together in Rikers. The proverbial good cop to Valdez's bad cop, D'Amico narrates one of Lucius' most significant offstage moments, similarly to Mary Jane's monologues about Angel. In both cases, we hear about the pain of men of color through the voices of their white allies, a structural decision perhaps intended to protect actors and audience members from unnecessary trauma. Regardless of how the script reaches their characters' respective crises, Izquierdo and Stevens both give moving performances as Angel and Lucius try to connect over the physical bonds and the spiritual differences that separate them. Angel's tenderness and vulnerability also come through in his conversations with Mary Jane, especially when he tells the childhood story that inspires the play's name, and in his solitary moments, when he stumbles through fragments of the Lord's Prayer and the Hail Mary. 'Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train' occasionally loses steam in its extensive ethical debates, but when the play focuses on the humanity of its characters, City Lit's production is both challenging and poignant. Despite the distraction of a noisy fog machine, the livestock motif comes full circle in the end, when Tianxuan Chen's seemingly simple set, draped in a piecemeal collection of off-white canvases, gives way to a powerful final 'Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train' (3 stars) When: Through Sept. 7 Where: City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes Tickets: $15-$38 at 773-293-3682 and

Watch brown water gush out of the ceiling at Atlanta airport
Watch brown water gush out of the ceiling at Atlanta airport

CNN

timean hour ago

  • CNN

Watch brown water gush out of the ceiling at Atlanta airport

Watch brown water gush out of the ceiling at Atlanta airport A ceiling leak at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday has been contained and the source of the leak is being investigated, according to a spokesperson for the airport. The leak did not impact overall airport operations, the spokesperson said. 00:37 - Source: CNN Vertical Trending Now 13 videos Watch brown water gush out of the ceiling at Atlanta airport A ceiling leak at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday has been contained and the source of the leak is being investigated, according to a spokesperson for the airport. The leak did not impact overall airport operations, the spokesperson said. 00:37 - Source: CNN Sean 'Diddy' Combs' ex petitions judge for his release Virginia Huynh, who goes by 'Gina,' is an ex-girlfriend of Sean 'Diddy' Combs. The prosecution planned to have her testify against him in his criminal case, but she mysteriously dropped out days before the trial began. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister reports on Huynh's past comments alleging assault by Combs and the details in her letter to the judge. 02:15 - Source: CNN AI puts pressure on recent college grads' first job search From resume bots to automated hiring systems, AI is complicating the job search for recent college grads. The Wall Street Journal's Lindsay Ellis tells CNN's Audie Cornish about the challenges young professionals are facing. 02:01 - Source: CNN Justin Trudeau sings 'Firework' at Katy Perry concert Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was seen singing and dancing at a Katy Perry concert in Montreal in late July. Two days earlier, Trudeau and Perry were seen having dinner together, sparking dating rumors across social media. 00:59 - Source: CNN New research reveals origin of potatoes Scientists traced the lineage of potatoes to a wild genetic fusion about 9 million years ago between a tomato ancestor and a tuberless plant. 01:04 - Source: CNN Blake Lively to be deposed against Justin Baldoni Blake Lively is set to be deposed Thursday in her legal battle against Justin Baldoni. 00:24 - Source: CNN Amusement park ride splits in half in Saudi Arabia At least 23 people were injured, three of them critically, when a fairground ride buckled in Saudi Arabia, sending passengers crashing to the ground, according to state media. 00:33 - Source: CNN Jet2 holiday singer speaks out after White House uses meme British singer Jess Glynne responded to the White House's decision to use the viral TikTok sound, which includes her 2015 song "Hold My Hand" and Jet2's commercial. Glynne criticized the White House for using the audio to show the ongoing mass deportations in the United States. 01:10 - Source: CNN Fans pay tribute as emotional Sharon Osbourne lays flowers at Ozzy memorial Thousands of fans paid their respects to Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne as his hearse made its way through the streets of Birmingham, the English city where he grew up and where the band was formed in 1968. Osbourne died last Tuesday at the age of 76. 00:46 - Source: CNN Crocodile gets caught underneath moving truck A bystander captured video of a crocodile caught underneath a truck driving through high water in Australia at Kakadu National Park. 00:25 - Source: CNN Beyoncé brings out Destiny's Child during final show Beyoncé reunited Destiny's Child during her concert at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, with Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland joining her on stage to perform a medley of the group's biggest hits, as part of her final Cowboy Carter show. 00:45 - Source: CNN Gwyneth Paltrow joins Astronomer as temporary spokesperson Actress and Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow appeared in a new ad for Astronomer, the tech firm whose former CEO and human resources chief were caught in an awkward moment on a Jumbotron at a Coldplay concert last week. Paltrow is the ex-wife of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. 00:51 - Source: CNN 'South Park' skewers Trump after signing new Paramount deal In their first episode of the season, the creators of "South Park" mocked President Donald Trump and Paramount after they just signed a new $1.5 billion contract. Paramount is looking to merge with Skydance Media and needs the Trump-influenced FCC to approve the deal. 01:24 - Source: CNN

Is an AI backlash brewing? What 'clanker' says about growing frustrations with emerging tech
Is an AI backlash brewing? What 'clanker' says about growing frustrations with emerging tech

NBC News

time2 hours ago

  • NBC News

Is an AI backlash brewing? What 'clanker' says about growing frustrations with emerging tech

It's a slur for the AI age. 'Clanker,' a word that traces back to a Star Wars video game, has emerged in recent weeks as the internet's favorite epithet for any kind of technology looking to replace humans. On TikTok, people harass robots in stores and on sidewalks with it. Search interest for the term has spiked. On X, Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., used the term last week to tout a new piece of legislation. 'Sick of yelling 'REPRESENTATIVE' into the phone 10 times just to talk to a human being?,' he posted on X. 'My new bill makes sure you don't have to talk to a clanker if you don't want to.' In one video, which has more than 6 million views on TikTok, a small, four-wheeled delivery robot gets berated with the word. 'It makes me sick just seeing a...' Nic, a 19-year-old student and aspiring content creator in Miami Beach who posted the video, says as it approached, adding: 'Clanker!' A slur is generally defined as a word or phrase meant to denigrate a person based on their membership to a particular group such as a race, gender or religion — one that goes beyond rudeness into overt bigotry. They are almost always directed at people. 'Clanker' appears to have peeked into the internet's lexicon starting in early June, with Google Trends data showing a sudden uptick in search interest. An entry on a website dedicated to documenting the varied weirdness of the internet, traced the term back to the 2010s, when Star Wars communities adopted it from its use in various Star Wars shows to refer to battle robots. Other pieces of science fiction also predicted the rise of slurs for machines, most notably 'Blade Runner,' with 'skinjob' to refer to highly advanced, humanlike robots. But there's a catch. By using a slur in a way that would typically apply to a human, people are also elevating the technology, offering some sense that people both want to put down the machines and recognize their ascension in society. Adam Aleksic, a linguist who is also a content creator focused on how the internet is shaping language, said he first noticed the emergence of 'clanker' a couple of weeks ago. Its use mirrored classic slurs related to racial tropes and appeared to emerge out of a growing 'cultural need' related to growing unease with where advanced technology is heading. In one video — somewhat ironically appearing to have been created by AI — a man berates his daughter during a family dinner for dating 'a goddamned clanker,' before his wife steps in and apologizes to the robot. 'What we're doing is we're anthropomorphizing and personifying and simplifying the concept of an AI, reducing it into an analogy of a human and kind of playing into the same tropes,' Aleksic said. 'Naturally, when we trend in that direction, it does play into those tropes of how people have treated marginalized communities before.' The use of 'clanker' is rising as people are more often encountering AI and robots in their daily lives, something that is only expected to continue in the coming years. The steady expansion of Waymo's driverless cars across U.S. cities has also come with some human-inflicted bumps and bruises for the vehicles along the way. Food delivery bots are an increasingly common sight on sidewalks. In the virtual world, cybersecurity firms continue to warn about the proliferation of bots on the web that comprise a growing share of all web traffic — including as many as one in five social media accounts. The anti-machine backlash has long been simmering but is now seemingly breaking to the surface. A global report by Gartner research group found that 64% of customers would prefer that companies didn't use AI for customer service — with another 53% stating they would consider switching to a competitor if they found out a company was doing so. People are becoming more worried about AI taking their job s, even though evidence of actual AI-related job losses is relatively scant. 'Clanker' is also not the first pejorative term for something related to AI to have spread across the internet. 'Slop' as a catchall term for AI-generated content that is of low quality or obviously created by AI — such as 'shrimp Jesus' — entered internet parlance last year and has since become widely used. Other anti-AI terms that have emerged include 'tin skin' and 'toaster,' a term that traces back to the science fiction show Battlestar Galactica. And there's even some pushback — joking and serious — about whether such slurs should be used. In a Reddit community for Black women, a post about 'clanker' offered some sense of the tension: 'And I know it's probably a joke in all from social media, but I can't help but feel like it's incredibly tasteless.' Others have noted that some of the enthusiastic embrace of 'clanker' feels more about being able to throw around a slur rather than any deeper issue with technology. Nic, whose TikTok video helped spark the 'clanker' phenomenon, said he sees both why people have taken to the phrase as well as why some find it problematic. Nic, who asked to withhold his last name out of privacy concerns, said he did sense some people were using the word as a stand-in for a racial epithet. Still, Nic, who is Black, said he saw the term more broadly as a lighthearted way to express a growing anxiety with where technology is headed, particularly as it pertains to the future of employment. 'I see it as being a push back against AI,' he said. 'A lot of lives are being changed because of robots ... and me personally I see it as a stupid way of fighting, but there's a little truth to it, as well.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store