{"id":1436989,"date":"2025-06-07T12:17:58","date_gmt":"2025-06-07T11:17:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/?p=1436989"},"modified":"2025-07-04T16:07:23","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T15:07:23","slug":"beyonce-cowboy-carter-tour-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/music\/beyonce-cowboy-carter-tour-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Cowboy Carter Tour: Beyonc\u00e9, once again, proves she\u2019s one of one"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beyonc\u00e9. Queen Bey\u2026 Mother<\/em><\/a>, whatever you want to call the 35-time Grammy winner, we can all agree that nobody is doing it like she is. And just when you think Beyonc\u00e9 can’t get any better, she raises the bar.<\/p>\n

In her hotly anticipated return to the UK, Queen Bey brought the Cowboy Carter Tour<\/em> to the nation\u2019s capital on 5 June, opening her record-breaking six-show run at London\u2019s 62,850-capacity Tottenham Hotspur Stadium \u2013 becoming the first act to schedule six shows at the venue on a single tour.<\/p>\n

Whilst it\u2019s no secret that I am an absolutely humungous Beyonc\u00e9 fan (I was in her top 0.05% of listeners worldwide on Spotify in 2024), even I wasn\u2019t ready for just how transformative this show would be. The Cowboy Carter Tour<\/em> feels as enormous as it does intimate \u2013 a reclamation of country music\u2019s deep ties to Blackness and its place within the fabric of American culture. If Renaissance<\/em> was joy as resistance, Cowboy Carter<\/em> is legacy as persistence.<\/p>\n

The 40-song seven-act show runs to almost three hours, but never drags or feels ill-paced, and will keep you on your feet the whole time. Opening with \u2018Ameriican Requiem\u2019 and closing with ‘Amen’, the set mostly runs to Cowboy Carter<\/em>\u2019s tracklist (it is the Cowboy Carter Tour<\/em>, after all), with a few nods to previous eras, most notably Renaissance<\/em>, along the way.<\/p>\n

Beyonc\u00e9 somehow has a way of improving upon the perfection of her studio recordings in a live setting \u2013 a feat not many artists can accomplish \u2013 and she\u2019s done it again, turning high-energy tracks like \u2018Sweet Honey Buckiin\u2019\u2019, \u2018Ya Ya\u2019 and \u2018Texas Hold \u2018Em\u2019 into even bigger, stadium-shaking bangers. Not to mention the criminally underrated \u2018Flamenco\u2019, which was rightfully given more time to shine. And we can\u2019t forget when the entire stadium ascended during the crescendo of \u2018II Hands II Heaven\u2019 (which received the extended CD version treatment) \u2013 a collective out-of-body experience we felt like we\u2019d been waiting our whole lives<\/em> for.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This tour \u2013 as we\u2019ve come to expect \u2013 is also a visual spectacle. Everything from the lights to the pyro to the giant screens is perfectly choreographed. There\u2019s an LED dress, a piano that sets on fire, a robot bartender, a flying horseshoe, and even a golden mechanical bull. When Beyonc\u00e9 isn\u2019t onstage, fans are even treated to finely crafted mini-films that have us all asking \u201cWHERE ARE THE VISUALS<\/a>?!\u201d The most exciting of the bunch sees the 30-time VMA winner reaching new heights (literally!) as a 400-foot glamazon interacting with some of her tour stops\u2019 most iconic landmarks, followed later in the show by an incredibly heartwarming look back at the megastar\u2019s almost three-decade-long career.<\/p>\n

She may be one of one, but Beyonc\u00e9 has some serious competition right now in the shape of her daughter (and manager) Blue Ivy Carter. After a handful of cameos during the Renaissance Tour<\/em>, Blue is now a permanent fixture in Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s dance troupe, and rightly so. She\u2019s grown into an assured, capable performer who doesn\u2019t look out of place amongst the pros she\u2019s sharing the stage with, and more than holds her own in a tribute to her mother\u2019s 2006 hit \u2018D\u00e9j\u00e0 Vu\u2019. (Blue remains the only nepo baby I will ever root for.)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And if that wasn\u2019t enough, the internet\u2019s favourite IDGAF seven-year-old<\/a>, Rumi Carter, joined her big sister and mum onstage once again for a heartfelt rendition of \u2018Protector\u2019 \u2013 a moment that had the entire stadium welling up.<\/p>\n

That sense of legacy extended beyond family, too, in what was surely a highlight for many queer fans in the stadium. Towards the end of the show, Beyonc\u00e9 delivered a powerful tribute to her critically acclaimed Renaissance<\/em> album. Inspired by ballroom culture, house music, and her late Uncle Johnny, Renaissance<\/em> holds deep significance within the LGBTQ+ community<\/a>. This penultimate act of the show \u2013 featuring archival footage of the 20th-century US ballroom scene, the Pride flag and a photo of Uncle Johnny himself \u2013 made one thing clear: Beyonc\u00e9 hasn\u2019t left Renaissance<\/em> behind. Cowboy Carter<\/em> continues the story, building on its themes of identity, resilience and the radical act of reclaiming space.<\/p>\n

But the show wasn\u2019t over yet. We even got our first \u201cmute challenge\u201d of the tour, with Beyonc\u00e9 incorporating \u2018Energy\u2019 to the setlist. Sadly, the crowd \u2013 undoubtedly overwhelmed at the prospect of this new addition \u2013 was not mute.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

After failing her, Beyonc\u00e9 would\u2019ve been well within her rights to stop the show right there, but she graciously took us to a higher plane with a finale that saw her soar above the crowd in a red Cadillac Eldorado, belting out \u201816 Carriages\u2019, before closing the show with a transcendent, almost spiritual performance of \u2018Amen\u2019.<\/p>\n

Whilst there’s no improving on the queer euphoria of the Renaissance Tour<\/em>, the Cowboy Carter and the Rodeo Chitlin’ Circuit Tour<\/em> doesn\u2019t need to \u2013 it\u2019s its own chaps-wearing, rhinestoned, boots-the-house-down beast, in a lane of its very own. The setlist is seamless, the vocals are flawless and the visuals are marvellous. Yeehaw!<\/p>\n

GAY TIMES rating: \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/p>\n

Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s Cowboy Carter Tour is in London until 16 June, before heading to Paris and back to the US later this summer. Find out more and grab your tickets here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Beyonc\u00e9. Queen Bey\u2026 Mother, whatever you want to call the 35-time Grammy winner, we can all agree that nobody is doing it like she is. And just when you think\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7297,"featured_media":1437026,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[205,620,531],"tags":[2357,19594],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCowboy Carter Tour: Beyonc\u00e9, once again, proves she\u2019s one of one<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Beyonc\u00e9, Queen Bey, Mother. 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