After a long year of patiently waiting, it happened: The Beyhive was finally able to see their queen perform at Coachella. On Saturday night, Beyoncé took the main stage at the music festival in Indio, California to perform her long-anticipated set. It had initially been planned for last year’s festival but was called off due to the artist’s second pregnancy.
In a performance that lasted two hours, the singer made history as the first woman of color to ever headline the popular music festival. Naturally, she did so in true Beyoncé style—and with an epic surprise in store for the audience.
The livestream continues with @Beyonce on https://t.co/gW7w2kc8pG pic.twitter.com/JnOQneMdlF
— Coachella (@coachella) April 15, 2018
Beginning with a rendition of her 2003 hit “Crazy In Love,” the singer pulled out surprise after surprise throughout her performance—from bringing out a New Orleans-style marching band and step dancers to accompany her while she sang hits from her former albums to performing “Deja Vu” with husband Jay-Z and showing off her trademark moves with sister Solange.
In a nod, perhaps, to her history-making performance, she also sang a rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a song often referred to as the “Black American national anthem.”
But what arguably turned out to be the most epic part of the night was when the artist brought former Destiny’s Child bandmates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams onstage to join her for a surprise reunion. After months of rumors that the trio would reunite at the music festival, the ladies performed their hits “Lose My Breath,” “Say My Name,” and “Soldier” from their ’90s and early aughts albums.
Naturally, the audience (and everyone live-streaming at home) went into a frenzy, acknowledging how iconic the performance truly was. Even Cara Delevingne, who attended the festival, took to Instagram to share her sweet thoughts on the experience: “I am speechless. That performance made me burst into tears and sent shivers down my spine. Especially the Destiny’s child reunion. ICONIC is an understatement. Thank you for inspiring so many and for lifting each other up. #GirlPower @michellewilliams @beyonce @kellyrowland”
The video of their performance is predictably insane:
Destiny’s Child reunion full #Beychella pic.twitter.com/QtAGo8qRdM
— TheHippyera (@TheHippyera) April 15, 2018
In all, the performance proved to be truly historic—and fans seem to agree, with many calling for the music festival to be renamed “Beychella.” And honestly, we can’t argue with that.
— Coachella (@coachella) April 15, 2018
