Chaotic start, explosive finish. Shakira delivers for Fresno’s first stadium concert

Shakira had one job in the final performance on the North American leg of her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran tour Thursday night.

Live up to the hype.

The global superstar announced Fresno as late-addition to what was already a record-breaking tour; ranking just behind Coldplay on Billboard’s midyear boxscore report with $130 million in gross tickets sales. It was a coup for the city’s entertainment landscape, and a test of Fresno State’s ambition to expand the scope of offerings at its Valley Children’s Stadium.

Industry insiders promised it would be an experience unlike anything that’s been seen in the Central San Joaquin Valley.

And for the most part, they were right.

Fresno has had its share of pop-star mega-productions roll through town.

Madonna played a two-night run at the Save Mart Center in 2006. Beyonce was at the arena the following year. Both Justin Beiber and Selena Gomez had shows in Fresno in the mid-2010s and Colombian singer Karol G came through on her Strip Love tour in 2022.

But standing at the main entrance of Valley Children’s Stadium looking down to the field level Thursday night, it was clear Fresno has never seen a concert of this scope.

A video screen, at least 50 feet high and running the full the width of the field, served as backdrop for the show. It was used both to create atmosphere (through a series of CGI images) and offer a kind of real-time play-by play for those in the farthest reaches of the stadium.

Viewed from those screens, the concert came off like an awards show ceremony, or a Super Bowl performance: slick and stunningly well produced.

And Shakira seems to innately understand the space, playing both to the crowd (entering the stadium through a throng of fans, followed by a silver clad entourage) and the cameras (with a quick, coy smile or hip bump).

There were the requisite number of large choreographed sequences (like “Hips Don’t Lie,” obviously), but the performance also seemed organic and natural. Just a performer feeling herself and the music.

And musically, Shakira has broad appeal.

There’s the singing, dancing pop icon with songs like “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” and “She Wolf.”

But she can also handle quiet, acoustic numbers (”Antología”) and big rock tunes. Some of the best moments had her fronting the band, playing guitar like a rock goddess.

All together it made for an engaging two hour set of 20-plus songs.

Not that everything worked. The video montages were obvious CGI and the series of virtual Shakiras (a mermaid, transforming into a she-wolf) were rendered a bit wonky. And from the floor at least, there was a fight for attention between what’s was happening on stage and what was on the screen. At moments, it was difficult to know where to set your attention without feeling like you were missing some of the action.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing and was nothing that seemed to distract diehard fans.

Long lines, wait times to get in

The concert had a listed start time of 7:30, though early on, it was clear the timeframe would get pushed. At 8:45 p.m. people were still in line to get into the stadium and several sections of the venue were fairly empty.

Shakira didn’t take the stage until nearly 9:30 p.m., with no opening act.

Within two songs the stadium appeared full to its sell-out capacity of somewhere near 30,000.

Following the concert, Fresno State appolgized for the delayed start time and long lines. In a message posted on social media the Athletics Department took full responsibility and said it fell short in delivering a world-class experience. “To be clear, this delay was due to our own issues, and not Shakira and her team who were ready to perform right on time.”

Random observations

* While there were some ticket-price fluxuations, floor seats could be purchased for under $200 in the days just before the show. That’s a great value for the experience.

* The concert was loud, ran late and ended with a full on fireworks display. It’s unclear how that played out for those living in the neighborhoods surrounding the stadium, but noise and traffic complaints may be a hurdle for Fresno State moving forward.

* The jangle of hip scarves, which were being hawked in line along with Shakria T-shirts and colorful cowboys hats, may have been the sound of the night.

* The video screen shot of Shakira moving through the crowd during her final number was perfectly framed to include the Valley Children’s Stadium sign. That had to be a happy cooincidence.

* The threat of getting caught on camera at one of these stadium shows is real. Just ask the CEO of Astronomer, who got caught on Kiss Cam at a Coldplay concert with not his wife. It’s palpable, at least for a reporter in the thick of the crowd, who was taking notes on his phone instead of singing along like everyone else.

This story was originally published August 8, 2025 at 12:01 PM with the headline "Chaotic start, explosive finish. Shakira delivers for Fresno’s first stadium concert."