There’s no live show quite like a Ye show. His first U.S. performance since 2022 was no different. In fact, it debuted one of the best stages we’ve ever seen.
This is just the latest in an long line of immersive stage designs that Ye has performed on throughout his career. As far back as 2008 with the Glow in the Dark tour, which featured elaborate setups and visuals that turned Ye into a space explorer for two hours, he has been tapping in with creators to turn his concerts into full-blown spectacles.
One of the key figures responsible for numerous stage designs over the years is the English artist Es Devlin, who has worked with Ye since 2005. While some assumed that the Bully stage was the duo’s latest creation, the globe-like stage was actually a collaboration between Ye and Aus Taylor, who has been working closely with the artist throughout this Bully rollout.
We were in awe of all of the images of the Bully show at SoFi, so we decided to take a trip through the archive and rank our 10 picks for Kanye West's Best Stage Designs of All Time.
10. ‘Kids See Ghosts’
When: 2018
Designed by: Trask House
For their headlining Camp Flog Gnaw set in 2018, Ye and Cudi did their finest David Blaine impression. They performed their entire set while maneuvering around a rectangular glass box suspended from the stage. To add to the Fear Factor of it all, flames periodically shot up behind them. The one-night-only set was fairly minimal, but the spectacle made it memorable.
9. ‘Donda’ Listening Event in Atlanta
When: 2021
Designed by: Demna and Trask House
The first official Donda listening event at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta is remembered for a masked Ye truly going “one on no one” in a bright red fit. The second one was much more involved. With the help of then-Balenciaga creative director Demna, Ye constructed an exposed living area in the center of the floor. Throughout the event, druid-like figures occupied his perimeter. Sometimes they almost looked like zombies. When high energy tracks like “Off the Grid” kicked in, they ran in circles. The crescendo came when Ye levitated to the ceiling as if he was ascending to heaven.
8. ‘Donda’ Listening Event in Chicago
When: 2021
Designed by: Demna
The third and final listening event for Donda took place in Ye’s home city. He nodded to the location further by building a full replica of his childhood home in the center of Soldier Field. There was also a staged wedding with Kim Kardashian and cameo by disgraced rockstar Marilyn Manson, but the real lasting image is that small blue house where the legend of Ye all started.
7. ‘Watch the Throne’
When: 2011-2012
Designed by: Es Devlin and Trask House
The Watch the Throne era is defined by leather kilts and Riccardo Tisci merch, but the stage design for the tour was also incredibly memorable. For various segments throughout the show, Ye and Hov stood atop three-dimensional cubes outfitted with screens that cycled between images of great white sharks, rottweilers, and song lyrics. It was the perfect setting to see the duo peform “Paris” 18 times straight.
6. ‘The Life of Pablo’ Listening Event/Yeezy Season 3
When: 2016
Designed by: Vanessa Beecroft and Trask House
Back in 2016, Ye merged his loves for music and fashion on a greater scale than he ever had before. He invited fans into Madison Square Garden to premier The Life of Pablo. While he was controlling the AUX and jumping around to tracks with Kid Cudi, an entire fashion show was happening right next to him. Hundreds of models, Lil Yachty and Naomi Campbell among them, stood atop cubes dressed in Yeezy Season 3 gear. This year marked the 10th anniversary of the massive cultural event. It has lived on as one of the most definitive moments of Ye’s career.
5. Coachella 2011
When: 2011
Designed by: Es Devlin and Trask House
Unfortunately, Ye never went on a proper tour for what many fans consider his best album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. But at least we got this headlining set from Coachella 2011. Ye cycled through iconic fits like his red suit and Celine blouse surrounded by ballet dancers, one of the signature symbols of the MBDTF era. It all unfolded in front of a giant screen that was made to resemble an ancient stone carving of a scene from Greek mythology.
4. ‘Bully’
When: 2026
Designed by: Ye and Aus Taylor
For his first live show in the United States in two years, Ye returned to form. He ran through his catalog of hits standing atop a half sphere that transitioned between numerous visuals. The most striking made it look like Ye was standing on top of the world. Other scenes saw smoke billow from the orb and had many fans speculating it was Ye’s latest homage to the iconic anime film Akira. Once again, he proved to be one of hip-hop’s greatest showmen of all time.
3. Glow in the Dark Tour
When: 2007-2008
Designed by: Es Devlin, Martin Phillips, and John McGuire
Like most of the Graduation visuals, Ye went fully futuristic for the Glow in the Dark tour set. It all looked like a scene out of 2001: A Space Odyssey, complete with a spaceship-like platform, landscapes resembling the surface of the moon, imagery like meteor showers that would populate the giant LED screen, and, of course, a healthy dose of glow-in-the-dark elements. As the show unfolded, you were taken on a journey of an astronaut fighting to find his way home. It was the first time a Ye stage design got truly experimental, but has stood the test of time as one of the best.
2. Saint Pablo Tour
When: 2016
Designed by: Es Devlin, Trask House, and Eli Russel Linnetz
Sometimes the simplest ideas are the ones that live on forever. The Saint Pablo tour featured one of the most minimal set designs, but it led to images that will be shared and referenced for years to come. For each show, Ye performed from a stage at the center of the venue that was suspended above the fans. Underneath, controlled chaos ensued. The shows were a precursor for the mosh pits and raging that define modern rap shows from acts like Playboi Carti and Travis Scott.
1. ‘Yeezus’
When: 2014
Designed by: Es Devlin, Family+, and Trask House
Years before the first Sunday Service show, Ye was already taking his fans to church. No, not just because “Jesus” came out halfway through the show to interact with the rapper. The main reason that this stage design takes the crown is “Mount Yeezus,” the 50-foot mountain that was erected inside of arenas around the country every single night. Overhead, a massive circular LED screen shifted between religious iconography and live footage of Ye rapping through his catalog in his bejeweled Margiela masks. For those lucky enough to experience it, the Yeezus tour was nothing short of a biblical experience.
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