“Spurs, spurs, boots” Beyoncé sings on her late-winter hit “Texas Hold ‘Em” and it seems like everyone agrees. With Cowboy Carter making waves this spring, pop culture enthusiasts, stylists, and celebrities everywhere have had their sights set on Americana and country attire. This comes after the blindingly silver phenomenon that was last summer’s Renaissance World Tour, and it seems we’re all ready to attend our first hoedown. Beyoncé’s swift transition from KNTY to KNTRY not only invites her audience to a rodeo of her own, but also sheds light on where modern country music has let its roots down. 

Country music has always been a popular yet divisive genre. It’s seen huge commercial success on the Billboard charts recently with artists like Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, and Kacey Musgraves topping the charts. Despite the commercial popularity, country music’s sounds and aesthetics have struggled to be liked by mainstream audiences, especially those whose interests are steeped in pop culture. Regardless, country music’s influences have found their way into mainstream pop spaces in the past. Miley Cyrus, for instance, has always teetered between her country roots and her pop stardom. Take her 2013 LP Bangerz where pop hits such as “We Can’t Stop” and “Wrecking Ball” sit side-by-side with country banger “4×4” and a Fleetwood Mac-esque ballad “Rooting for My Baby.” Taylor Swift started her career as a country singer and garnered success from that before her transition to pop, Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” is a karaoke classic in bars nationwide, and Beyoncé herself took a stab a country single eight years prior to “Texas Hold ‘Em” with 2016’s “Daddy Lessons.” Country music has always found a way to enter the pop music scene, but in recent years it’s been stuck with an image of being a conservative, white, pro-USA culture, making many look down upon it. The truth is, country music’s origins couldn’t be further from that. Country music found its beginnings in working-class America, pulling influences from Black folk music to tell stories over fiddles, banjos, and harmonicas. Cowboy Carter invites her pop fans to explore what authentic country has to offer while working to reframe the country narrative back to its roots, sonically and visually. 

Since its release in late March, Cowboy Carter has already been met with praise from fans and critics alike. While its unique blend of genres and themes makes it the “Beyoncé” album she claimed it is, the country in it is hard to miss with the twangy heartfelt ballad “II MOST WANTED” and the cinematic “YA YA” that throws you right into a wild west saloon shindig (that also somehow takes place in the 1950s). In such a short amount of time Beyoncé has Mississippi mothers and Bushwick bachelors uniting over her sound, with creatives in fashion and music taking note.

In Margret Zhang’s final Vogue China issue we saw Rihanna adorned in an embroidered cowgirl get up from Pharrell’s Louis Vuitton’s collection. Last January we saw that collection debut as Pharrell went ultra-western in Louis Vuitton’s FW24 men’s show. Even Schiaparelli featured “cowboy-inspired” mules in their SS24 haute couture collection. While the fashion houses and ateliers are certainly paying attention, consumers are on the same page too. A study done by Dalston Mill Fabrics and Journo Research reported that there was a significant boost in searches for country and cowboy aesthetics with nothing denim, flared, and spurred spared. 

Is the country renaissance here to stay in fashion? If we’re talking strictly business and trendwise, no clue. I don’t think Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter prerogative was to get more Shein polyester denim-print on the market. The bigger and more culturally relevant conversation here is the reclamation of the country music narrative. The cold shoulder she received after her 2016 CMAs performance was a grim catalyst for the much needed change in inclusivity within the country music industry. Eight years later we’re finally hearing the voices that weren’t given a spotlight before and seeing the cowboy uniform in new spaces with a big thanks to Beyoncé “BEEN COUNTRY” Knowles-Carter. 

Reach column writer Jackson Simonsmeier at musemediauw@gmail.com
Instagram @jackson.sim