Linda C. Mims and her daughters at the Renaissance World Tour in Chicago.

Editor’s Note: See Jane Write now publishes articles and personal essays by writers who identify as women, non-binary folks, and our allies. Learn more here.

By: Linda C. Mims

The first time I played Beyoncé’s Renaissance, I was cleaning the kitchen. “Cozy” came on and had me and the broom bopping and twirling under the disco ball. I half expected Donna Summer to bust out in song. Renaissance sounded like my youth and it paid homage to both House and Disco music, which my generation is very familiar.

I expected the Renaissance World Tour to feel like a family reunion, and it didn’t surprise me to see people aged 60 and older in the stadium. Crowds poured into Chicago’s Soldier Field through 20 gates, and while my daughters bought merch, I people watched. Stylish older ladies, with beautiful gray hair and faces beat to perfection, lifted their canes to me in salute. I, sporting a neon purple cane, lifted back. Mature ladies were a novelty in this venue, and tonight we were here to cuff it, cuff it, cuff it for you, baby!

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