Concert Review: Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s Grand National Tour
Kendrick Lamar and SZA performing at Super Bowl LIX in February 2025, via azcentral.com
2025 is, without a doubt, Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s year. After years of collaborative projects and a captivating performance at this year’s Super Bowl, the two artists have embarked on their biggest collaboration yet-- The Grand National Tour. Like many of the concert-goers at the show, I had been itching to see these two for a while, and was over the moon when I found out that they were touring together!
I was fortunate to see the show on May 5th at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field-- the city’s biggest stadium. My brother and I arrived at 5 pm, when the doors opened, and the area was packed! We checked out SZA’s Not Beauty pop-up store as soon as we got into the venue. The pop-up was decorated like a campground, with a grassy tarp, tents, and fake tree trunks. The store featured displays of her beauty products, but sold Not Beauty merchandise such as hats, shirts, and tote bags. SZA was inside the pop-up for a bit and then came out to sign autographs for fans. My brother and I just missed her, unfortunately!
A display at SZA’s Not Beauty pop-up store!
The show kicked off around 7:15 with DJ Mustard’s opening set! The crowd enthusiastically sang along to the songs he played, and likewise, Mustard established a good rapport with the crowd by having us put our arms up, our arms around each other, et cetera. At one point, he even called out someone in the crowd for not doing so. Mustard played iconic hits such as Jeremih’s “Don’t Tell ‘Em,” Sheck Wes’ “Mo Bamba,” and Travis Scott’s “FE!N.” Mustard’s set ended with fun.’s “We Are Young,” a lighthearted and nostalgic track to usher in the headliners’ set.
Around an hour after Mustard’s set began, Lamar and SZA hit the stage. The full performance featured 8 acts and an encore (52 songs total), wherein Lamar and SZA rotated between solo performances and duets. Both artists used staple imagery in their set design as well. Lamar’s sets featured political commentary, such as a graphic resembling a newspaper headline that flashed between “money or power” and “money respect power.” SZA’s set design relied on nature, with dancers dressed as bugs and the car emerging from the stage covered in grass. The show used pyrotechnics, which brought extra excitement to big moments in the songs. Clips between acts also featured Lamar and SZA answering questions at an imaginary deposition. It was very humorous and provided good comic relief between songs.
SZA riding an ant at the Grand National Tour
Kendrick Lamar and SZA put on a phenomenal show. My favorite part was when SZA transformed into a butterfly (crazy, I know). After performing her song “Crybaby,” SZA became engulfed in a cocoon, and then the cocoon fell, and she was suspended in the air with wings on her back. She then began performing “Nobody Gets Me,” a melancholy song that hits very close to home for me. It was so beautiful, I could cry.
Overall, the Grand National Tour was a 10/10 for me. I heard more songs that I had hoped to hear live than I ever could have expected. I look forward to catching the two of them next time in Philadelphia.
