After the heartbreak of not getting to perform back in 2020 due to COVID-19, Lizzo finally got her chance to perform this year for Black Heritage Night at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. With around 70,000 people in attendance, the stadium was packed for this sold-out show. Despite all the pressure she must have felt, it was obvious that she put a lot of care and love into curating this performance.
To start off, she had TSU’s Ocean of Soul marching band playing “Ridin’” by Chamillionaire while multiple SLABs rode in, circling the star-shaped stage. She also had TSU’s Motion of the Ocean dance team performing throughout the show. As the very last SLAB drove in, we finally saw Lizzo. Cutting through the sound, we heard her sing “Anyways,” the first lyric from her Grammy Award-winning hit song “About Damn Time.” This song was a very fitting intro for the concert considering the delay to her Rodeo debut. It’s also a beautiful song about finally healing and feeling good after a drought of positivity.
After the song ended, she asked the audience, “Are y’all ready to have some fun?” and blasted right into “Juice.” Through this song you could see her beaming and feeling herself; her excitement was so infectious and palpable. As she sang “2 Be Loved (Am I Ready),” she was raised on a platform situated in one of the star points on the stage. This gave those of us at the top a slightly closer glimpse of her. Once the song ended and the platform came down, she rejoined her band and dancers on their side of the stage.
As you hear the intro instrumentals of Juvenile’s “Back That Azz Up,” she asks, “You ready to dance with me?” Not going to lie, I expected her to sing “Back That Azz Up,” but instead she sang “Soulmate” over its beat. Surprisingly, it fit well together, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Since this show is relatively short, she did not have much time to speak. However, she did give a brief speech about how many years this show took to create and how Houston raised her. She then said, “The woman that I am today is because of you, Houston, so this song is dedicated to you!” The song she chose to dedicate to Houston was one of my absolute favorite Lizzo songs, “Cuz I Love You.” The intro to the song features her belting “I’m crying ’cause I love you,” with the band coming in hot on her heels. This song also serves as the intro and title track to her third album. If you have never heard it, please listen to it! Hearing this song live with a band and a marching band is something I will never forget. Feeling the brass in my bones while her belting hit my soul—there’s really nothing I could compare it to.
After all that excitement, she toned it down for a moment. Suddenly we heard the beautiful voices of Houston’s own The Walls Group singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which is often referred to as “The Black National Anthem.” Hearing their uplifting vocal harmonies flood the stadium felt truly transcendent. We got to hear them for a few more songs, including Lizzo’s “Special,” as well as a cover of “Total Praise” by Donnie McClurkin.
To transition back into her more lively songs, she asked, “H-Town, tonight are we doing it for the culture?” She then started singing her 2021 single with Cardi B, “Rumors.” During what would have been Cardi’s verse, she rapped new lyrics referring to the hate she has received from more recent rumors about herself. She then performed another collaboration she did with Cardi B, “What’s Going On” from Cardi’s latest album, which interpolates the melody and several lyrics from 4 Non-Blondes’ “What’s Up.”
In another tribute to Houston’s music scene, we heard the voice of DJ Michael “5000” Watts, who recently passed away. He was a beloved Houston-based DJ and producer who popularized the chopped-and-screwed genre and was the founder of Swishahouse Records. We then heard Lil’ Keke’s hit “Southside,” which transitioned into Lizzo’s song “CRASHOUT” from her mixtape My Face Still Hurts From Smiling.
To get the girlies moving, she performed “Tempo” and mixed it with V.I.C.’s “Wobble.” Then, to get the boys moving, she performed “Boys,” with the marching band returning in full swing. This section highlighted not only the marching band but her own band as well, ending the instrumental with a masterful electric guitar solo.
After that, she did a short cover of “Mo City Don” by Houston’s own Z-Ro. This transitioned into her song “Yitty on Yo Tittys,” during which she brought out a life-size Labubu since the song references how her haters “can’t even outdress my Labubu.” It genuinely made me laugh because I did not expect to see a dancing Labubu during her show, but the crowd absolutely loved it.
In an effort to highlight the band again, she had TSU’s Ocean of Soul play their rendition of DJ Screw’s “June 27th Freestyle,” which was incredibly impressive. Seriously, Ocean of Soul’s additions to the show were perfectly executed and never felt like an afterthought. I loved every moment and every sound I heard from them.
After this, Lizzo came out playing a classical melody on her flute that transitioned into the signature melodic line from Houston’s unofficial anthem “Still Tippin’.” Suddenly we heard Slim Thug’s voice, and the crowd went wild realizing he was actually there performing with her. It only got better from there when another surprise guest appeared: Mike Jones himself. The screams were so loud they almost drowned him out.
Then sure enough, Paul Wall also appeared and performed his verse. The stadium erupted; the sound was deafening. I cannot overstate how loud it was in there. I thought it was loud for Mike Jones, but once the audience realized that all three Houston legends were performing right in front of us, they simply could not hold it in. The energy was amazing, and this was easily the biggest highlight of the night.
In some ways it overshadowed Lizzo herself, but I feel like that was intentional. This whole show felt like her own love letter to Houston and how it shaped her music. It was so well thought out, and it felt like she really wanted to drive home how influential and beautiful Houston truly is. You could feel Houston oozing out of every tribute, every song, and every dance.
To begin the closing stretch, Lizzo sang “Truth Hurts,” which, after that electrifying performance, kept the audience’s energy high while pulling the focus back to her. She even changed the lyrics to “new man on the Houston Texans,” replacing the original line about the Minnesota Vikings.
Before her very last song, she gave one final speech about how much this night meant to her and how grateful she was to Houston for holding her down and lifting her up. She ended the speech by saying, “At the end of the day, I just want Houston to feel good as hell,” which launched her into her hit song “Good as Hell.”
As she exited, her band and the marching band continued to vamp, which was incredibly fun to listen to and served as such a beautiful ending to a great concert.
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