Beyoncé’s daughters Blue Ivy and Rumi take on the Cowboy Carter tour

Beyonce and Blue Ivy Carter at The 67th Annual Grammy Awards. Photo / Francis Specker, CBS via Getty Images

As her Cowboy Carter Tour hit the road, Beyoncé put her two daughters front and centre, turning the country-infused concert into a celebration of their mother-daughter bond.

During the sold-out Monday night show in Los Angeles, all eyes were on 13-year-old Blue Ivy, who has taken on more dancing since she wowed crowds during the Renaissance Tour, and 7-year-old Rumi, who very excitedly made her stage debut. The Beyhive may have watched Beyoncé daughters grow up from afar, but fans at SoFi Stadium and online gushed with pride as they watched the sisters come into their own on stage.

The crowd roared as the girls – whose father is Beyoncé’s husband, Jay-Z – huddled together with their mum in a heartwarming moment during the song Protector, which features Rumi.

“And I will lead you down that road if you lose your way/ Born to be a protector,” Beyoncé sang, as Rumi wrapped her in a hug and Blue Ivy embraced them both. “Even though I know, someday, you’re gonna shine on your own / I will be your projector.”

As the song was ending and the three walked forward, Rumi, unable to contain her joy, started to bounce in her sparkly cowboy boots and waved to the audience while grinning ear-to-ear. Bey held it together, but she eventually stopped mid-song when Rumi turned around to hug her. The interaction seems very on-brand for Rumi, who waved at her mom from the audience during the last tour. (Beyoncé was in the zone and didn’t react.)

Blue Ivy increased her stage time during the Cowboy Carter Tour, making it clear just how quickly she’s improved as an entertainer since her debut as an 11-year-old during a May 2023 Renaissance show in Paris.

Blue had looked nervous during that performance, and seemed to lack energy during the My Power and Black Parade choreography, which led to online criticism. But she kept dancing and became a highlight of the show, as her comfort on stage grew and her moves kept getting cleaner and more energetic.

This time around, with the Renaissance Tour and Bey’s Cowboy Carter NFL halftime show under Blue’s belt, video clips went viral of her strutting on stage in a maroon outfit for Deja Vu and dancing front and centre in a newspaper-print costume during America Has a Problem. Some commenters were awestruck, comparing Blue to Sasha Fierce (Beyoncé’s alter ego from her third album) and Destiny’s Child-era Beyoncé.

The end of the concert tied Bey’s “bloodline on the front line” motif together, with a video montage chock-full of family photos. One especially eye-catching moment that flashed on the screen: Beyoncé in her purple jacket at the 2011 Video Music Awards, revealing she was pregnant with Blue.