Trading verses: Kendrick and SZA’s Detroit marathon

Kendrick Lamar and SZA brought energy and perseverance to Ford Field during their nearly three-hour show Tuesday, part of the artists’ co-headlined “Grand National Tour.”

Emerging from the ground inside a Buick Grand National Experimental (GNX), Lamar stepped out of the car singing “Wacced Out Murals,” which was perfectly fitting for his show in Motor City. He sang a few more songs like “Squabble Up” and “TV Off” from “GNX,” his album that motivated the tour, before SZA rose from the stage on top of the same GNX, but this time covered in vines.

Detroit was their 18th stop on the tour, following Chicago, which makes its last stop in Stockholm in late August. While some shows have seen special guests such as Doja Cat, Lizzo, Justin Bieber, Kaytranada and Baby Keem, the duo kept the Detroit show to the setlist, with opener DJ Mustard.

The stage backdrop was a massive screen on which interview clips of Lamar and SZA were shown routinely throughout the show. Among these were clips from an imagined series of depositions with Lamar fielding a lawyer’s questions, which drew laughs from the crowd between musical segments. The screen was foregrounded by a diamond-shaped stage that wrapped around the pit, shared by both performers.

The pair is used to sharing the stage and collaborating, as they performed together at the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show and have released more than seven songs together. During the show, they performed their collaborations including “Doves in the Wind,” “All the Stars,” “30 for 30” and closed the show with “Luther” and “Gloria.” Their song “Luther” just entered its 24-week streak at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs Chart and remains within the top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 for its 14th week.

SZA and Lamar tag-teamed the stage, alternating acts and performing songs of their own, while sometimes singing songs together as they switched. Each act brought vastly different visuals from shooting flames behind the singers and entourages of background dancers to SZA being suspended from the ceiling and taking the stage alongside giant dancers in praying mantis costumes.

SZA’s most recent release, “SOS Deluxe: Lana,” was her reason behind co-headlining the tour, which follows her “SOS Tour” that began in 2023. Similarly to her last tour, she performed both songs from “SOS” and her first studio album, “Ctrl.” 

The alternating sets accompanied an impressive number of costume changes, with both artists treating each segment like a different act in a stage production. SZA appeared in everything from a jersey to fairy wings tailored to her ethereal aesthetic, while Lamar cycled through streetwear, with a leather jacket at one point and custom pieces that reflected the visual themes of each segment.

The packed crowd got especially excited when SZA performed “BMF” from her recent deluxe album, which contains lyrics that say “The boy from South Detroit.” Outside of that song and the occasional mention of Detroit from both artists when addressing the crowd, the duo kept their between-song speeches pretty short.

“You said Detroit was gonna have so much energy and you were right,” SZA said to Lamar at one point. “I did,” Lamar replied.

Though they covered 54 songs in their 160-minute performance, their frequent exits and entrances throughout the show sometimes sacrificed the deeper connection that comes with complete, uninterrupted sets. Instead of experiencing each artist’s full individual journey before witnessing their collaboration, the audience got fragments — impressive in scope, but occasionally lacking the emotional build that sustained performances would create.

Despite the format’s occasional pacing issues, both artists delivered vocally throughout the marathon show. SZA’s runs soared over the crowd during tracks like “Good Days,” while Lamar’s rapid-fire delivery on songs like “DNA” demonstrated his exceptional live performance skills. The long runtime tested endurance for both performers and the audience, but the energy rarely flagged thanks to the constantly shifting visuals and musical styles.

For both artists, the “Grand National Tour” serves as a bridge between their individual artistic identities and their collaborative future. Whether this format becomes a template for other major artists or remains a unique experiment, it certainly pushes the boundaries of what a co-headlined tour can be.

They wrapped the marathon performance together, winding down with a final act that culminated in “Gloria” before Lamar and SZA retreated to the onstage Buick Grand National, thanking Detroit and disappearing into the floor.

bdolata@detroitnews.com