What I Learned from Madonna & Jay-Z Shutting Down New York City With ‘Club Confessions’ & ‘Extra Innings’ This Summer
Categoria: Musica
Club Confessions and Extra Innings will go down as landmark moments for an iconic NYC summer.
Por Billboard | 15/07/2026
When Madonna shared an unassuming Club Confessions poster to her Instagram Story early last week (July 8), I knew I was in for what would undoubtedly be a once-in-a-lifetime NYC weekend. Because I wouldn’t just be experiencing Madge and superproducer Stuart Price bringing Confessions II to life at Knockdown Center on the border of Queens and Brooklyn, the following night, just a borough away in the Bronx, I’d also bear witness to the highly anticipated finale of Jay-Z’s historic, three-night Yankee Stadium residency. Related Madonna, Stuart Price & Honey Dijon Knock Out New York City With Club Confessions Jay-Z Concludes Epic Yankee Stadium Run With Rihanna, Beyoncé, Usher & a Tease of New Music: 8 Best Moments JAŸ-Z’s Yankee Stadium Night Three Setlist: Every Song Played at ‘Extra Innings’ As an early Gen Z Flatbush boy, I was practically born into Hov’s legion of Brooklyn-bred die-hards; growing up, I’d look up from whatever fantasy novel I’d be lost in, only to be met with a portrait of Shawn Carter staring back at me in the Brooklyn Public Library’s central branch. The summer I got my first three-month Spotify prescription, Madonna was one of the artists I plunged into a deep dive of, nearly instantly activating what had to be a dormant allegiance to the undisputed Queen of Pop. Though both Madonna, 67, and Jay-Z, 56, are more than double my age, they’re two of my favorite artists of all time — and I promise, dear reader, both of them being New York icons has nothing to do with it! I simply couldn’t help but feel that I would learn something very special from the one-two punch of Club Confessions and Extra Innings. My hunch was that my lesson would have something to do with community. But part of me also hoped that I’d be able to see if two of NYC’s greatest musical mythologies still hold up — and figure out how my peers and I could harness the city’s magic for the next few decades, just as they did. Alongside two dear, homegrown friends, I entered Club Confessions through Madonna’s legs — a fitting gateway considering the “It’s mutha! It’s mutha!” chants that would announce the beginning of her set. But that wouldn’t be for another few hours, and after slyly maneuvering through a blocks-long line that brought a kaleidoscope of queerness to Maspeth, Queens, it was time to enter Madge’s hot pink fantasia. Once we made our way through a corridor straight out of the “Good for the Soul” visual, we were handed several drink tickets by a smoldering, latex-adorned doll, good for all things Absolut Vodka, which sponsored the event in partnership with free PrEP medication provider Mistr. Sectioned off from the main dance floor was the Absolut Icon Room, complete with specialty cocktails inspired by the Queen of Pop, like the citrus-forward Absolut Madonna and the much-needed Absolut Ex-Presso Yourself Martini. After all, what’s pop music without a little commercialism? (And what’s an invite-only, NYC press event with