Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter sat gracefully in the front row during the unveiling of a multimillion-dollar housing complex just south-east of Houston’s downtown in the Third Ward.

But there were two reasons why she returned to the Tre.

The other was the Renaissance world tour’s two-day stop in Houston, which, in many ways, was more than just a homecoming: it was a coronation after a seven-year touring hiatus. In an open letter to her fans, Beyoncé paid tribute to her uncle, John Rittenhouse – who helped raise her and her sister, Solange – as a major source of inspiration for exposing the icon to house music and queer culture, which heavily influenced the album and aesthetic flair of the tour. Rittenhouse, lovingly known as “Uncle Johnny” died from Aids-related complications in the 1990s as Beyoncé’s career was beginning. She described his death as one of the “most painful experiences I’ve ever lived”.

“Sometimes people from Houston ‘make it’ and they forget about us – it becomes about the Hollywood glitz and the glamor,” the Houston native Zachary Perkins said outside the tour stop. “But Beyoncé has centered Houston and her roots in everything that she has done.”

It’s no surprise the Renaissance album has not only become a harmonious palladium for music-lovers around the world, but an act of revival, resistance and reckoning for the LBGTQ+ community that has intentionally centered its creativity, experiences and celebration of life.

Across town from Third Ward, energy was rapidly building to a festive crescendo in honour of Queen Bey – Houston’s home-town hero. The event promoter and bar manager Dezmine “Dez” Bell was feverishly putting the finishing touches on his sold-out event “The Queen Bey Ball”, an unforgettable evening of fun, fashion and fanfare to kickstart the Renaissance weekend.

“I’m the big ‘G’ in the middle of LBGTQIA,” Bell, who would soon welcome 500 people to the ball, said with a laugh. “For me the Renaissance tour symbolizes representation. It means that I’m seen and heard, girl. It means that my experience isn’t just my experience – I share not just the same trauma, but the same dream with other people. I can truly be Cozy in my skin, be a Church Girl if I wanted to, and embrace my sexuality. I don’t have to hide anything.”

Outside of the NRG Stadium for the first night of the Renaissance world tour, unbridled joy was the order of the day. The air was thick with excitement as tens of thousands of Beyoncé fans – popularly known as the Beyhive – obeyed the command of their Virgo Queen by incorporating silver into their stylish, celebratory wardrobe.

While glitter, iridescent mesh bodywear, chrome cowboy chaps and 10-gallon metallic hats were overwhelmingly the default fashion trends for the evening, many others opted to pay homage to the Alien Superstar by recreating iconic looks from over the course of her 26-year career. Interestingly, concertgoers became the feature presentation at this home-town show.

“You are the visuals, baby,” Beyoncé told the crowd.

In a mystical way, attendees also came accessorized to reflect the light around them – the uncontainable emotions of happiness, pride and freedom that they wore on their sleeves. It’s a sacrosanct connection that this tour has cultivated between the art and the consumer, especially as it relates to Beyoncé creating safe spaces of joy in conservative environments such as Texas. During those two nights in the Bayou City, rightwing, traditional values took a rare backseat.

For members of the LBGTQ+ community like Jhacori Anderson, the experience brought a moment of relief. “I felt that I needed to go all the way out with my outfit, or not at all. I have to show my appreciation to her; she’s been a big role model to me for my entire childhood, and to be here in person to see her means the world to me,” Anderson said, delicately adjusting his wide-brimmed black hat, complete with floor-length fringe. “I feel safe here. I wouldn’t normally get dressed like this because I’d feel too judged or get called different kinds of names. Bey’s song Listen from Dreamgirls has been a really powerful testimony for me and not being understood at times.”

Ahead of the show, the audience filled the stadium seats in droves: polite greetings in merch queues were punctuated by glowing compliments of the fashion fits from complete strangers who would eventually become family – even if for just one night. Then the moment finally came – as the lights dipped low for the hypnotic opening line: Welcome to the Renaissance, sung a capella by Beyoncé herself. Opening the set with the chart-topping ballads Dangerously In Love and Flaws and All, Beyoncé appeared under the stage spotlight, dressed in classic black and white like a true southern belle, the lyrics taking on new meaning that conveyed her deep endearment for her home town.

For three hours, the concert performance was an ode to where her journey began. Beyoncé used every inch of the stage to command her audience with a love and joy like no other: taking concertgoers on a journey over time back home, which they co-hosted in song, dance and tears. She introduced her extended family of thousands to her own family – namely, her eldest daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, who made a dynamic dance duo with her mother for a live performance of My Power.

In a most fitting twist, the rapper Megan Thee Stallion stunned the audience with a surprise appearance and took to the Renaissance stage for the first-ever live performance of her hit single, Savage (Remix), alongside her fellow Texan Beyoncé. Amidst the deafening cheers of support and cries of shock, the joyous moment was not just a poignant reminder of the star power that Houston wields, but also recognized the power of Black, southern sisterhood and the importance of community.

The tour was expected to generate more than $127m for businesses and service providers throughout Houston. Renaissance has grossed more than $560m over the course of five months and nearly 3 million concertgoers attended the world tour, Billboard reported. The tour is the highest-grossing ever by an R&B artist, replacing Beyonce’s own Formation world tour from 2016. It also has passed Madonna’s 2008-2009 Sticky & Sweet tour to become the highest-grossing tour by a woman, the outlet reported.

The tour will be turned into a film set to be released 1 December, and mixes concert footage and elements of a visual album while trailing it from its launch in Stockholm in May to the final show in Kansas City, Missouri, last Sunday.

For the Houstonian Perkins, seeing Beyoncé for a third time was mandatory. “She inspires something in me to be creative and seeing her live makes me feel like my dreams are attainable, and I get to channel that energy back into me when I see her.”