Now that she has concluded her five-night opener of her prolific Cowboy Carter Tour in Los Angeles, Beyoncé is taking her Rodeo Chitlin’ Circuit show on the road; highlighting our history while making more of her own.
More than 217,000 fans have already witnessed the incredible spectacle and on Friday night, Beyoncé broke the record for most overall performances at SoFi Stadium by any artist or band. The 32-date tour is set to reach over 1 million fans, and millions more are devouring every social media clip they can get.
Ever since Bey kicked off the tour on April 28, the internet has been flooded with magical moments, surprise songs, and of course, her darling daughters; Rumi and Blue Ivy, who have been lighting up the stage each night and melting hearts across the globe.
What can’t be captured in those clips, however, is the power that pulses through that space when Beyoncé bares her soul on that stage, reclaiming this country genre, and this country we live in for us all; her contagious, courageous energy enveloping each and every soul in that stadium.
In the face of these turbulent times when our nation’s history is being erased, re-written, and so many of our fellow citizens are being gaslit into submission; Beyoncé’s art is a bold presentation of our truth; of our history; and of our rightful place in these United States.
The American Flag set the stage at SoFi Stadium hours before Beyoncé made her epic entrance. As I walked through the stadium with my daughter and son in tow, it was the first time in recent memory the symbol of our nation felt familiar, not suspicious. I didn’t question its motives, or wonder who it was there for.
Old Glory is prominent throughout the sprawling show at one point being picked at by crows while messaging about not asking permission for something we already possess flashes on the screen. Somewhere between “American Requiem” and “Amen” the symbol and its meaning evolve and by the end of the show, she has taken it back. She is wearing it. The flag and the freedom it symbolizes. She’s giving us permission to take it back. She’s reminding us we never lost it.
Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter is a Revolution
The images of dark, dusty roads that come to mind when the guitars twang transport us to harder times when grit and resilience were a regular requirement. The music conjures the people who soldiered through the Jim Crow era and all of its atrocities; simultaneously planting seeds of wisdom, art, and beauty.
Beyoncé highlights our history throughout the nearly three-hour production, honoring culture-shifting trailblazers like Sister Rosetta Tharp, Bessie Smith, Elizabeth Cotton, Linda Martel, Little Rock 9, Little Richard, Tina Turner, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Bobby Rush, Nina Simone, James Brown, Lena Horne, Fats Domino, and Roy Hamilton with their photos emblazoned in the background.
My 10-year-daughter wanted to know more about the people whose faces flashed onto the screen. Were they heroes? Performers? Ancestors? YES.
‘Cowboy Carter’ isn’t just a return to Beyonce’s country roots, it is a rallying cry for us to remember. Who we are, where we’ve been; that we’ve done this before.
That is the message I felt pulsing through my veins the first time I heard “Ya Ya” and again when I watched my kids see it live, fully captivated by the music that ignited a fire inside of them on first listen.
It hit me then that this music was special, long before I realized what a monumental shift would take place just mere months later. I didn’t know that we would need a rallying cry, or a reminder that this flag is still ours.
But here we are, and here she is, looking back to push us forward, arming us with the legacies of those who came before.
As many videos you watch of Rumi waving or Blue Ivy getting down, nothing compares to the feeling of being in that room. It’s an escape, something to get excited about, something to dress up for, something worth the ache in your feet from dancing in cowboy boots all night.
Joy is the rebellion and B is serving it in spades.
Soaring above from a horseshoe, a convertible car, and riding a bull with ease as she belts out every word of “Tyrant,” Beyoncé continues her reign of excellence.
The astounding vocals are at times, unfathomable, but it’s the subtler ways she delivers powerful messages throughout the enrapturing experience that are the real marvel.
Blue Ivy and her show-stopping dance solos, Rumi and her heart-melting excitement on the stage, the sprinkling of Bey’s classics and big doses of “Renaissance” result in a creative concoction of unadulterated bliss.
It’s a reminder that despite what often feels like insurmountable opposition, we can fight and we can win, and we can do it while indulging in joy, in love, in beauty, in family; the things that make life worth living and that no one can take away.
“Protector” perfectly captures the precise point where the pain and passion of parenting collide and leaves a mark on the heart unlike any other. It exudes the all-encompassing ache that comes with knowing you are raising them up to let them go, savoring each fleeting moment. Sharing that moment and this tour with my children felt like I was arming them, preparing them, for the uncertain days ahead.
To experience Cowboy Carter live is a salve for the soul. Its message is as healing and invigorating and empowering as it gets. We will remember. We will gather. We will share and we will love and we will fight and we will dance.
After all, this ain’t our first rodeo.