MUMBAI: Beyoncé brought the spirit of the Rodeo Chitlin Circuit to London on Thursday as she kicked off the European leg of her Cowboy Carter tour with a powerful, genre-spanning performance that paid tribute to Black pioneers in country music.
Titled “Cowboy Carter and the Rodeo Chitlin Circuit,” the tour honors the Black artists who have shaped the genre — many of whom appear on Beyoncé’s latest album — and the historic venues of the Chitlin Circuit that gave them stages during the era of racial segregation in America.
Dressed in a dazzling white bodysuit with fringe-lined chaps, Beyoncé opened the nearly three-hour show with “Ameriican Requiem,” a song that reflects on America’s legacy of racism in country music and her journey to carve a new path forward. She followed with a moving cover of “Blackbird,” the Beatles classic inspired by the U.S. civil rights movement, spotlighting emerging Black female country artists in the performance.
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Despite her Texas roots, Beyoncé has spoken openly about not feeling accepted by the country music establishment. That changed this year when she became the first Black woman to win Best Country Album at the 2025 Grammy Awards for Cowboy Carter.
According to Naila Keleta-Mae, Canada Research Chair in race, gender, and performance, Beyoncé is intentionally presenting “a very specific aspect of American culture” to Europe. By limiting the European tour to London and Paris, she chose two cities with rich ties to Black cultural history — from London’s Notting Hill Carnival to Paris’s role in the Harlem Renaissance.
The performance at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was both bold and theatrical, featuring Beyoncé riding a mechanical bull, soaring through the venue in a car and a giant horseshoe, and performing a medley of songs that spanned her discography. The crowd, united across generations and backgrounds, filled the stadium dressed in Western-inspired looks to celebrate opening night of what will be a record-breaking six-show run in London.
Fans had traveled from around the world. Carlos, 28, from Mexico, said he chose to attend the London show due to the current political climate in the U.S., while Ashley Brown, 36, from Dallas, Texas, shared that Beyoncé is the first artist she’s ever traveled out of state to see.
The tour has already made waves beyond music — Shopify reported a 288% year-over-year increase in cowboy hat sales in May, driven by Beyoncé-related merchandise.
The superstar was joined onstage by her daughters. Blue Ivy, 13, performed dance routines on several songs, while Rumi Carter, 7, appeared during a touching performance of the lullaby “Protector.”
After wrapping up her London shows, the 43-year-old icon heads to Paris for three performances, one of which will fall on Juneteenth, the American holiday commemorating the end of slavery.
Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour isn’t just a concert — it’s a cultural statement, reclaiming space and rewriting the story of country music with every note.
