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Cowboy Carter Tour

2025 concert tour by Beyoncé From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cowboy Carter Tour
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The Cowboy Carter Tour (full title Cowboy Carter and the Rodeo Chitlin' Circuit Tour) is the ongoing tenth concert tour by American singer and songwriter Beyoncé, in support of her eighth studio album, Cowboy Carter (2024).[2][3] An all-stadium tour, it commenced on April 28, 2025, in Inglewood, California and is scheduled to conclude on July 26, in Paradise, Nevada.

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Background

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Beyoncé embarked on the Renaissance World Tour, her ninth concert tour, in 2023, in support of her seventh studio album, Renaissance (2022), breaking the record for the highest-grossing tour by a black artist in history.[4] In 2024, she released her eighth studio album, Cowboy Carter, which led the 67th Annual Grammy Awards with eleven nominations and three winning categories, including Album of the Year and Best Country Album.[5] To further support the album, Beyoncé headlined a Netflix special dubbed as the "Beyoncé Bowl", capturing the halftime performance at the 2024 NFL on Christmas Day game at Houston's NRG Stadium.[6]

A short video clip was added to the end of the broadcasting with a stated date for January 14, 2025, hinting a possible concert tour.[7] The announcement, however, was postponed to an unspecifed later date due to the havoc caused by the January 2025 Southern California wildfires.[8] On February 1, 2025, about an hour before midnight eastern time, Netflix tweeted the "Sweet Honey Buckiin'" lyric “Look at that horse” with a link to the “Beyoncé Bowl” performance.[9] Fans quickly noticed that "Cowboy Carter Tour" had been added as a title card at the end of the special, and took to social media.[10]

At around midnight on February 2, 2025, Beyoncé posted promotional videos and updated her various social media accounts and website with the title "Cowboy Carter Tour 2025," along with a promotional poster and 22 dates.[10] The additional Chitlin' Circuit in the tour's name refers to a network of US venues where African-American musicians performed due to segregation enforced by Jim Crow laws. According to American historian Mia Bay, the venues were "one of the more successful segregation-era businesses", being pivotal to the careers of Black entertainers and drawing Black communities. Some cities that were part of the Chiltin' Circuit also serve as stops for the tour.[11]

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Production

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Staging and lighting

On April 27, 2025, one day before the opening night of the tour, Beyoncé unveiled a preview of the stage layout via social media.[12] The staging consists of a main stage with a wide structure for both end sides, and a giant, rectangular widescreen featuring a pyramidic void in the middle, which altogether give the optical illusion of a five-pointed star.[13] A triangled platform erected as the secondary stage is connected by three broad ramps: one straight-directed in the middle equipated with LED technology, while the remaining two on a pattern similar to a zigzag line.[14] The robotic arms used during the Renaissance World Tour are once again wielded along with mechanical bulls, pyrotechnics and multiple levitating platforms, including a red Cadillac Eldorado and a horseshoe-shaped swing.[15][16]

Fashion and styling

The tour's wardrobe was mostly custom-made by fashion houses such as Dsquared2, Alexander McQueen, Oscar de la Renta and Diesel.[17][18] Stylized by Shiona Turini, Ty Hunter, and Karen Langley, the costume design followed the flair of country music and Western wear.[19] Beyoncé donned a tailored green checked bodysuit by Burberry, paired with fringed suede leggings with Swarovski crystals and Loch Green boots also embellished with gemstones.[17] A blinged-out denim was designed by Roberto Cavalli, while a white bodysuit, cowboy hat, and chaps that Thierry Mugler's house customized featured over 1740 laser-cut bonded fringes.[20] Moschino fashioned a red and white western shirt-printed catsuit for the show, besides an Anrealage custom LED dress that projected digital images on itself also worn by Beyoncé.[19] Donatella Versace revealed she spent 1,100 hours creating two looks the London concerts; the first was an all-white, Western-inspired chaps look, which was "covered in hand-cut and hand-sewn white fringe and a crystal-covered bodysuit". The second was a "quilted ball gown covered" with Versace's "signature barocco print".[21]

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Concert synopsis

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The show is structured into eight distinct acts in which Beyoncé performs the track list of Cowboy Carter, interspersed with songs from throughout her catalogue, especially from the first act of the trilogy, Renaissance.[22] Lasting between two and three quarters hours, the screen showcases an American flag test card as the audience enters the stadium.[23][24]

As the screen goes dark and horse galloping is heard, the show begins with the first act. Dancers emerge in red and form a triangle formation at the head of the stage for "Ameriican Requiem". The dancers then retreat and Beyoncé emerges solo, singing as the dancers reappear in white and surround her.[25] She then dedicates the "Blackbiird" to black country pioneers that came before her. The screen changes to a visual of Beyoncé draped in white with an American flag behind and glitches out to all red as she sings Jimi Hendrix’s rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before going into "Freedom", with the screen displaying “Never ask permission for something that already belongs to you”.[26] The stage opens and the band is rolled out on a platform and "Ya Ya" begins, with choreography similar to her Beyoncé Bowl show. The LED floor changes to flashing dots as she interpolates "Why Don't You Love Me”, then returns to a gold-plated piano on stage that immediately bursts into flames, engaging in a call-and-response with the audience. While retreating as "Oh Louisiana" plays, a robotic arm pours a cup of SirDavis.[24]

The second act begins with an interlude that features Beyoncé flipping through news channels and blurred Fox News commentators disparaging Beyoncé with titles alluding to propaganda and conformity.[27] "America Has a Problem" begins with similar stock market ticker visuals as Renaissance, and Beyoncé emerges behind a transparent podium with microphones with dancers. The screen flashes red with a Spaghetti Western intertitle as she begins "Spaghettii" with a thousand-arm dance routine, continuing into "Formation" with cowboy hats. A giant inflatable red house emerges behind her and the dancers for "My House", which promptly collapses in on itself as the song ends. Beyoncé then dances at the end of the runway for "Diva" with her dancers.[28]

A video interlude featuring an old Western town fleeing from Cowboy Carter opens the third act, with Beyoncé go-go dancing and getting into a bar fight, and as multiple identities at a peep show. She then transforms into a golden statue of an alligator, emerging onstage solo for "Alliigator Tears" and with male dancers for "Just For Fun". Female dancers appear in a triangle formation as she sings "Protector" with appearances by Blue Ivy, and later, Rumi.[15] Following an interlude with home video footage of her children, Beyoncé reappears with riverdancers for "Flamenco". The fourth act starts with a western shootout interlude, and "Desert Eagle". With "Riiverdance", she traverses the stage with her dancers, and "II Hands II Heaven" starts at the end of the runway with the stage being framed by passing clouds. "Sweet Honey Buckiin'" features interpolations of "Pure/Honey" and a dance breakdown alike to her 2024 Christmas Bowl show.[29]

After an interlude featuring neon signage for a bar named Jolene’s, the fifth act begins with Beyoncé singing her rendition of "Jolene", where she rides on a flying neon horseshoe above the audience.[16] She leads into "Daddy Lessons" and "Bodyguard", then flying once again on the horseshoe to the B-Stage riser for "Cuff It". Returning to the main stage during the "Wetter Remix", "Tyrant" starts with a golden mechanical bull, going into "Thique", which contains elements of "Bills, Bills, Bills". She is later accompanied by denim-clad male dancers for "Levii's Jeans" and is carried on a red lip-shaped loveseat.[30] A violinist starts off the sixth act and Beyoncé reappears with an LED dress for "Daughter" delivering an opera coda. The visuals change to red curtains and intergalactic travel for a redux of the first act from the Renaissance World Tour, featuring a gold-plated version of the robot dress for "I’m That Girl", golden frames for "Cozy", a golden mattress for "Alien Superstar", and a ballroom dance routine featuring individual dancers with solos on Beyoncé's songs "Countdown", "Top Off" and "Pure/Honey", including Blue Ivy with a "Déjà Vu" dance routine.[31]

The penultimate act interlude shows different versions of Beyoncé as a giant across multiple cities, and leads into "Texas Hold 'Em" then the Homecoming: The Live Album version of "Crazy in Love", followed by "Heated (with elements of "Boots on the Ground") and "Before I Let Go" with all her dancers.[23] A final interlude is a retrospective of Beyoncé’s entire life and career from childhood until present day, and "16 Carriages" starts with Beyoncé in an American flag dress, seated in a car flying above the audience.[22] The concert ends as dancers appear in American flag-inspired costumes for "Amen" and a bust of the Statue of Liberty’s face concealed with a bandana.[32]

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Commercial performance

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Ticket sales

Ticket sales for the Cowboy Carter Tour were handled by Ticketmaster, whose website crashed due to "massive demand".[33][34] For the US dates, it was revealed that there would be three different presale events before the public on-sale, where fans could register for a chance to buy tickets in one of two ways: through the Beyhive presale, which ran from February 11, 2025, until the next day, or through the Artist presale, for access to the presale on February 13.[35] The third option was limited to Citi Card Members and Verizon customers only.[36] Mastercard holders were granted access for a special presale on February 12 for the London and Paris shows.[37]

Ten additional dates were added due to the high demand, including fifth and sixth shows in London, a fifth concert each in Inglewood and East Rutherford, third and fourth shows in Atlanta, a third concert each in Paris and Chicago,[38][39][40] and two subsequent shows in Las Vegas.[41] With the added dates, Beyoncé broke the record for the most shows in a single run at MetLife and Mercedes-Benz stadiums in East Rutherford and Atlanta, respectively.[40][42] In preparation for the general sale, fans booked time off work and crowd-sourced data to track ticket prices.[43] In the UK, it was estimated that 6.2 million fans would miss out on tickets.[44] According to Billboard, while some fans criticized high ticket prices, the tour saw "impressive" sales, estimating a gross of over $325 million.[45] All three Paris shows at Stade de France sold out within minutes, totalling 240,000 tickets sold.[46] Some media outlets reported slow sales.[b] Live Nation reported that sales surpassed the million mark by mid-March 2025, with 94% of tickets being sold.[50]

Boxscore

On May 12, 2025, Pollstar reported that $55.7 million had been made from the opening five-show run at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, which had sold over 217,143 tickets. The average attendance was of 43,428 per night, and ticket prices for the concerts ranged from $50 as the cheapest seats to a top price of $801.[51] According to Billboard Boxscore, Beyoncé earned the highest-grossing reported single-venue engagement ever for a female artist, while Cowboy Carter Tour achieved the fifth-highest grossing tour stop in the publication's history, only behind two legs of U2's Sphere residency (2023–2024), fifteen nights of Harry Styles at Madison Square Garden (2022), and eight shows of Take That at Wembley Stadium (2011).[52]

Venue records

† Indicates a former venue record
More information Dates (2025), Venue ...
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Critical reception

The tour received rave reviews from critics, who praised the show's spectacularity and considered it a sequel to the Renaissance World Tour.[c] In a five out of five stars review, Bryan Armen Graham of The Guardian wrote that Beyoncé "brings forth a sweeping, theatrical spectacle that reclaims country music, reframes American identity", stressing that "Beyoncé isn’t circling the globe like she did for Renaissance, but her tenth concert tour is a theatrical, tightly executed masterwork". Graham also praised the political images and messages, including the masked Statue of Liberty head with braided hair, finding it "both symbolic and searing".[61] Melissa Ruggeri of USA Today wrote that the tour "amplified the production" and that "her stylistic whiplash is impressive, how she can so seamlessly swap personas".[62] The New York Times named it a 'Critic's Pick', with Jon Caramanica describing it as a show that "turns reclamation, personal and musical, into joyful extravaganza".[63] Wren Graves of Consequence also praised the tour, writing, "No artist in modern music combines vocal prowess, dance capability, and theatrical vision with such devastating effectiveness."[64]

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Cultural impact

The Cowboy Carter Tour shows in the UK triggered a cowboy fashion craze that set a "new national dress code", according to The Guardian.[65] At PrettyLittleThing, demand for "cowboy jackets" surged by more than 600%, while demand for cowboy hats and boots increased by 85% and 53% respectively.[65] Candace Baldassarre, senior analyst at market research firm Mintel, said that the tour has caused Western aesthetics to experience a revival in fashion.[65] Additionally, the tour triggered a surge in hotel prices in concert locations.[66]

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Set list

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This set list is from the April 28, 2025, concert in Inglewood.[31][67][68]

Act I

  1. "Ameriican Requiem"
  2. "Blackbiird"
  3. "The Star-Spangled Banner" (contains elements of Jimi Hendrix's arrangement)
  4. "Freedom"
  5. "Ya Ya" / "Why Don't You Love Me"
  6. "Oh Louisiana"

Act II

  1. "America Has a Problem"
  2. "Spaghettii" (contains elements of "Flawless", "Run the World (Girls)", and "My Power")
  3. "Formation"
  4. "My House" (contains elements of "Bow Down")
  5. "Diva" (contains elements of "Crank That" and "TGIF")

Act III

  1. "Alliigator Tears"
  2. "Just for Fun"
  3. "Protector" (with Blue Ivy and Rumi Carter; contains elements of "Dangerously in Love")
  4. "Flamenco"

Act IV

  1. "Desert Eagle"
  2. "Riiverdance"
  3. "II Hands II Heaven" (contains elements of "Tyrant")
  4. "Sweet Honey Buckiin'" / "Pure/Honey" (contains elements of "Summer Renaissance")

Act V

  1. "Jolene"
  2. "Daddy Lessons"
  3. "Bodyguard" (contains elements of "Blow" and "II Most Wanted")
  4. "Cuff It" (contains elements of "Wetter" remix, "Dance for You", and "Smoke Hour II")
  5. "Tyrant" (contains elements of "Haunted")
  6. "Thique" (contains elements of "Say My Name" and "Bills, Bills, Bills")
  7. "Levii's Jeans"

Act VI

  1. "Daughter"

Act VII

  1. "I'm That Girl" (contains elements of "Apeshit")
  2. "Cozy"
  3. "Alien Superstar"

Ballroom Dance Battle (contains elements of "Top Off", "Pure/Honey", and "Déjà Vu")

Act VIII

  1. "Texas Hold 'Em" (contains elements of "Pony Up" remix and "Church Girl")
  2. "Crazy in Love" (contains elements of "I'm a Hustla" and "Freakum Dress")
  3. "Heated" (contains elements of "Boots on the Ground")
  4. "Before I Let Go"

Act IX

  1. "16 Carriages"
  2. "Amen"

Alterations

  • Beginning with the May 1 concert in Inglewood:[69]
  • During the May 24 concert in East Rutherford, a small portion of "That's Why You're Beautiful" was performed between "16 Carriages" and "Amen".[71]
  • Beginning with the June 5 concert in London, "Energy" was added to the set list after "Alien Superstar"; "Before I Let Go" was removed.[72][73]
  • During the June 7 concert in London, "Break My Soul" was performed.[73]
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Tour dates

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Notes

  1. Based on the first 13 reported dates.
  2. As discussed by the Los Angeles Times' August Brown,[47] The Times' Katie Gatens,[48] NewsNation's Paula Froelich,[49] and Billboard's Dave Brooks.[45]
  3. Per multiple references:[32][58][59][60]

Cities

  1. Labeled as Los Angeles in promotional material.
  2. Labeled as New York City in promotional material.
  3. Labeled as Paris in promotional material.
  4. Labeled as Washington, D.C. in promotional material.
  5. Labeled as Las Vegas in promotional material.

References

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