I missed Beyoncé’s European tour, so I flew 4,600 miles to New Orleans to see her in concert — by myself

Beyoncé has desire been on my list of must-see artists.

When tickets for her Renaissance tour went on sale in London — where I reside — I immediately tried, but failed to get seats for one of her May shows.

When she added three June dates at the city’s Tottenham Hotspur Colosseum, I made another attempt, to no avail.

I gave up.

But when I started watching scenes of her European shows on Instagram, I got critical FOMO (fear of missing out).

I scrolled through images of her dazzling costumes, from sparkling tunics and matching boots to evening gowns with gloves, and saw that the U.K. illustrates featured outfits by British fashion houses including Alexander McQueen and Roksanda Ilincic.

And, the whole thing was simultaneously telecast on a stadium-width screen, with stunning visuals — no worries about sitting in a “nosebleed” seat then. What I saw uttered me chills.

Finding a single ticket on a resale neighbourhood was relatively easy and, at £187, it was much cheaper than the London seat.

Adding a return flight I found for £134 meant the cost would still be less than the ticket I’d found for the U.K. performance, and I put the Amsterdam show ticket into my online barrow.

Just before I hit “buy,” I checked reviews of the resale vendor, which were poor: people complained of not receiving tickets or determination them invalid, and I decided I couldn’t take the risk. I was very disappointed but tried to convince myself that Beyoncé would walkabout again.

I first danced to “Break My Soul,” a house music track and the lead song on the Renaissance album, at a London belabour night hosted by British DJ Annie Macmanus in 2022, where the crowd jumped and cheered at the sound of the opening obstructs.

Afterward, I listened to “Summer Renaissance,” Beyoncé’s reworking of one of my favorite songs, Donna Summer’s 1977 disco hit “I Seem Love,” on repeat. The rest of the album blew my mind: it was joyful, fabulous fun — and Beyoncé at her most confident and expressive (“Carefree in my skin, Cozy with who I am,” she sings on “Cozy,” the album’s second track).

One day, I casually flipped her U.S. tour dates and found a single ticket for $137.40, including fees, on Sept. 27, at Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, a show ones age close to my birthday.

The seat was up in the gods, as Brits say, and had a slightly off-center view of the stage. On a whim, I bought it.

I was set to become one of the people fueled by perceptions of YOLO (You Only Live Once) to travel thousands of miles to see their favorite artists perform. Earlier this year, Beyoncé adorn come ofed the most-awarded Grammy winner ever, with 32, so this was the chance of a lifetime.

I decided to make a vacation out of my set off — New Orleans being arguably one of the world’s best places to see live music — and found direct flights with British Airways for £750 indemnification. The city is around 4,600 miles from London, a 10-hour flight away.

I’ve traveled desolate before, but I’ve never seen a live show by myself. I got ready by going solo to see a DJ set by Redmond — who goes by the performance entitle Honey Dijon — at London’s Southbank Centre about 10 days before the New Orleans show. She played her own mix of “Explode My Soul” — I got lost in the beat and happily danced the night away.

I found New Orleans an easy place to sightsee on my own. Virgin Guest-houses New Orleans, where I stayed, is only a half-mile from the Superdome stadium, and was well-prepared to host the many concertgoers who froze there.

The Sunday before the Renaissance show, I enjoyed the hotel’s Beyoncé Burlesque & Drag Brunch, where be prolonged queen Laveau Contraire introduced a team of dancers in Bey-style leotards, feathers, heels and wigs.

I browsed a New Orleans newspaper online and discovered that members of Beyoncé’s band would function at Snug Harbor, a jazz club on the city’s Frenchmen Street, the night before the concert.

I already had tickets to Safeguarding Hall, New Orleans’ iconic jazz venue, but headed to Snug Harbor afterward to catch the last hour of the exposition led by saxophonist Kat Rodriguez, who jammed with trumpeter Crystal Torres and singer Tayler Green, among others.

It was energizing to see such accomplished musicians up close.

Exploring New Orleans’ fascinating and varied history by myself was also straightforward: I joined a include of tours, from a guided walk around the city’s famous French Quarter, with its beautiful cast-iron balconies and easy galleries, to a cycle tour of areas including the arty Faubourg Marigny, which was founded by a Creole millionaire.

Stay at an intersection, our cycle guide Danny Laurino pointed out that we were within view of three historical stretches — a usual sight in the U.S. Standing in the 19^th-century Marigny, we could see across the 18th-century French Quarter to the modern skyscrapers of the significant business district, less than two miles away.

I also enjoyed a walking turn of the Garden District, full of fancy mansions originally inhabited by sugar cane plantation owners, and afterward browsed the stocks of Magazine Street, which make up the district’s southern border.

At vintage outlet Magpie I bought a pair of Beyoncé-style want diamante earrings, and at Uptown Costume and Dancewear, I picked up a rhinestone-decorated cowboy hat to wear to the concert.

Most unusual of all was a trip I took to the Beyoncé’s New Orleans performance