Beyoncé and the Revival of Southern Style: Reclaiming Heritage and Influence

Beyoncé turns country culture on its head, making cowboy cool—and inclusive—again.

by Cian Moss

Graphic by Catarina Koehler

Last April, Beyoncé embarked on the Cowboy Carter World Tour, a followup to her acclaimed country album. The project received widespread critical praise, earning the Grammy for Album of the Year, even as it faced significant criticism. 

As a Black woman entering a traditionally all-white genre, Beyoncé sought to reclaim country music’s Black roots and honor the Black musicians who helped shape southern sound. Her efforts, however, sparked backlash among some who argued the project was not necessarily a country album. As a result, she was notably excluded from the Country Music Awards, despite her mainstream success and record-breaking achievements. Many critics called this exclusion anti-Black, noting that a white woman producing the same album likely would not have faced such scrutiny.

Unsurprisingly, a predominantly white and conservative genre attempted to reject a Black woman’s presence, but Beyoncé persisted. The Cowboy Carter World Tour sold out every night, drawing tens of thousands of fans dressed head to toe in cowboy hats, boots, and chaps. Beyond the music, the tour became a cultural statement in an ongoing nationwide culture war.

Much like country music, western and cowboy attire has long been associated with conservatism, reinforcing the stereotype that wearing cowboy boots signals a certain political ideology. For decades, progressive communities, often Black, queer, and Hispanic individuals, distanced themselves from such imagery. 

Yet Beyoncé’s largely progressive fanbase embraced the western aesthetic, matching the album’s visuals with pride. This moment broke long-standing cultural barriers, reimagining southern fashion through a new lens. Suddenly, cowboy hats and boots appeared on young Black, brown, and queer people across the country, marking a cultural shift that brought the western aesthetic into a more inclusive, mainstream spotlight.