How long has it been since Beyoncé played a Kansas City area concert? Take a look back
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When superstar singer Beyoncé closes her “Renaissance” tour at Arrowhead on Sunday, it will be the first time she has performed in the Kansas City area in years.
But how long has it been exactly?
Of course, she has made stops in Missouri several times. In 2007 she performed in St. Louis as part of “The Beyoncé Experience.“ She returned to that city in 2013 for “The Mrs. Carter Show” tour and again in 2016 for “The Formation” tour. She was just in St. Louis again Aug. 21 for the current “Renaissance” tour.
Her “On the Run” tour with husband Jay-Z skipped over the Midwest entirely in 2014, save for one stop in Chicago. The same is true for the couple’s “On The Run II” tour in 2018.
In fact, Beyoncé has not headlined a show in the Kansas City area since 2001. But she has made a surprise appearance since then, too. Here is a look back at those performances.
Destiny’s Child performs at Sandstone Amphitheater
On Aug. 3 of that year, the singer came to Azura Amphitheater — then called Sandstone — in Bonner Springs as part of the the TRL Tour with her former R&B group, Destiny’s Child as headliners.
They shared the tour with St. Louis native Nelly and opening acts 3LW, Dream, Jessica Simpson, Dream and Eve.
In her review of the show, then-Star staffer Jeneé Osterheldt wrote: “Destiny’s Child put on an explosive Michael Jackson-influenced performance of ‘Bootylicious’ and went straight into ‘Nasty Girl.’ When DC ended with ‘Happy Face,’ they might have received a standing ovation if the crowd had not already been on its feet.”
That was the last time for more than 20 years Beyoncé would be billed as performer in the Kansas City area. But she did take the stage one other time, just a couple of years later.
2003 surprise appearance
In July 2003, Jay-Z and rapper 50 Cent performed at Azura Amphitheater — at the time called Verizon Wireless Amphitheater — with Snoop Dogg, Fabolous, Sean Paul and Obie Trice as opening acts.
Osterheldt reviewed this show too, and noted a surprise appearance by Beyoncé.
“Things got particularly crunk during ‘Me & My Girlfriend,’ which turned out to be a surprise visit from the beautiful Beyoncé Knowles, who treated the crowd to an explosive performance of her and Jay’s summer anthem, ‘Crazy in Love.’ The fans went bananas and didn’t calm down for the remainder of the night,” she wrote.
“It was unbelievable”
Shani Tate Ross was at the show and remembers Beyoncé taking the stage.
“It was unbelievable,” said Ross, now vice president of sales and marketing with the T-Mobile Center.
“She had the success of Destiny’s Child at that point. The song (“Crazy in Love”) had been out already; it was just not something we expected on a hot summer July day to see her come out with Jay-Z.”
Concertgoer Kyle Oliver also recalls the show.
“I was sitting in the grass, so I didn’t get a good, good view, but from what I remember, she had on something similar to what she had on in the “Crazy in Love” video,” Oliver said. “She came out, did her song and left and I feel like the crowd kind of went crazy.”
Set list for 2001 Destiny’s Child show in Bonner Springs
In her 2001 review, Osterheldt wrote that Destiny’s Child performed these songs, not in this order:
“Independent Women, Pt. 1”
“No, No, No (Part 2)“
“Bug a Boo”
“Bills, Bills, Bills”
“Emotion” (Samantha Sang cover)
“The Story of Beauty” (Kelly Rowland solo)
“O-o-h Child” (Five Stairsteps cover) (Michelle Williams solo)
“Dangerously in Love” (Beyoncé solo)
“Thank You Lord” / “You’ve Been So Good” / “Jesus Love Me” / “Total Praise” medley
“Bootylicious”
“Say My Name”
“Nasty Girl”
“Proud Mary” (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover)
“Jumpin’, Jumpin’”
“Survivor”
“Happy Face” (encore)
