Apparently I had more to say than I thought I did? The last post was focused on a year of Renaissance and the lessons that I’ve learned this year. Thank you, Beyonce. This post will really serve as a visual companion with a play by play of the Renaissance associated events I attended this year.
July 15, 2023. Nashville, TN Concert
Overall, the show was great. I didn’t really enjoy it due to my seat and also a few personal issues, but ya know.. We live to fight another day and drive to see another show! Saul good!
Stop 1: Shopping and Dining at the Assembly Food Hall in Nashville, TN Before the Show
Stop 2: Napping in the hotel room and getting ready for the show. Glitter. Everywhere. We stayed at the Sheraton Grand Nashville, but it just felt like a regular hotel stay. I had heard of other hotels having a more Renaissance themed lobby with cocktails for the occasion, so I assumed that maybe our hotel wasn’t down for the experience? The hotel was technically four minutes away via car and twenty minutes walking. Due to the traffic and poor cell phone service, we ended up walking back from Nissan Stadium to the hotel. womp.
Stop 3: The show! Okay so my view wasn’t the best and I definitely think this impacted my view. My section was seated for the first half of the show. Why are people sitting down during this show? They sat during Church Girl, of all songs. I was shocked and annoyed, to say the least. But here we are. For reference, here’s a video of my view for Break My Soul.
My first Beyonce Show was in the books, but I didn’t feel as empowered as I thought. So I started planning the next go round. I had excess money left in my Renaissance budget and thought that I could honestly trim down on other things and save up again to go back. Initially, I thought I’d conduct photoshoots or social media marketing plans to make the money but I didn’t want to deal with the stress or extra work. I literally have so much on my plate at work already, why would I add another line of work when I haven’t even been present for my lifestyle brand. (Water Your Dreams is gearing up for 2024 so take note of that. Thanks)
August 21,2023. St. Louis, MO
Overall vibe: TEN TEN TENS ACROSS THE BOARD.
Stop 1: Shopping, eating, Targeting, before the show. I arrived to St. Louis a day before the show vs. driving up the same day for Nashville. I had more time to exist, eat, shop, and just breathe.
My hotel experience was SO different. In Kaeyla fashion, I was lost. So I called the hotel and they helped guide me. Before I booked this hotel, I called in advance to see realistically how far they were from the venue. The staff was so accommodating and helpful. When I arrived, the lobby was full of life and ENERGY. On the screens, there were promotions of a special Renaissance themed cocktail. THIS IS WHAT I WANNA SEE!
Somehow between getting dressed in my hotel room to going downstairs, I hit a ton of humidity and my hair was done for before I made it inside. But I truly didn’t care because the vibes were perfect. There was a group walk from the hotel to the venue and back. I didn’t even know these people but we all came together through this shared experience.
When I arrived at the show, my view was decent. I’m a whopping 5’3.5 so my view was a little obstructed, but I was able to see the screens. When I used my phone to see the concert, I had a much better view of the stage. I actually saw Beyonce, the dancers, the crew, Les Twins. On top of that, the St. Louis show had a Blue Ivy appearance. We didn’t get the big three, but we got to see her bloodline on the frontline!
After the show ended, I ended up making a new friend (shoutout to Lauren for taking my photos! she’s theeee best and we even took a photo of our anklets below). I walked in the crowd a whopping two blocks to get back to my hotel, and I’m really glad I went.
[Fun fact: when I was checking out of my hotel, I saw members of the crew leaving. I’ve affectionately dubbed them as “the pink tag crew” due to the tags and numbers on each of their luggage/pelicans/ etc. ]
Let’s peek at a side by side comparison of my view in Nashville and St. Louis. I’m not saying this made the experience but it surely helped. Also, I felt 10x cuter. Moral of the story, being myself is the greatest decision I ever made. I’m a shorts girl at heart and that’s all folks. <3
I’ve been heavy into bingewatching financial podcasts so I figured, why not be transparent with how much this actually costs? Here’s a peek at the costs and expenses associated with my trip.
Disclaimer: I did not spend $2k out of my budget two months in a row LOL. For the Nashville show, I started saving in February for the hotel, outfit, and logistics (food/merch/travel). I didn’t spend all of my money in those buckets, so I used that money + the extra $800 I allocate to my car note to cover the St. Louis concert (and outfits for a work trip).
Item | Nashville (1 night / split) | St. Louis (2 nights) |
Hotel + Valet | $250 ($500 total) | $498.67 |
Ticket Price + Insurance | $374.68 | $526.51 |
Food | $78.93 | $62.88 |
Outfit | $487.23 | 0 (modified outfit) |
Merchandise | $171 | 0 (kept same merch haha) |
Total | $1,361.85 | $1,088.06 |
November 30, 2023. Memphis, TN
Seeing Renaissance live was great but truthfully, I wished I could have seen it live in my hometown. If you’ve ever been to a concert in Memphis, you know that our vocals at concerts are unmatched. When artists tell the crowd to sing, we sang. It’s a fact. Ask PJ Morton. We come prepared with an alto, tenor 1 and 2, soprano, and bass section.
Every. single. time.
Seeing the documentary was nostalgic for me because I recalled the moments I shared with people I met (and knew) this summer. But it was a moment for us to stop and appreciate the thought and ingenuity that went into the show we saw. I also met my Twitter friend IRL!
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