Julian Dakdouk and Greg Noire
On July 10th, 2025, Beyoncé began the Atlanta leg of her Cowboy Carter tour at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Sitting just shy of the Atlanta University Center Consortium,the Mercedes-Benz Stadium exists at the crossroads between the culture rich, black neighborhoods tied to Atlanta’s important past and the city’s attempts at future development. Fans and spectators gather outside at this meeting point, some by foot, others by car, and even some on horseback. While the concert was set to start at 7: 00 pm, the doors opened hours earlier at 5:30 pm, where well dressed fans bustled around with high energy, bedazzled hats and chaps to look for their seats, view the offered merch, and purchase concessions. The time between the building opening to the public and the first song allows for what feels like an infinite amount of time to soak in the atmosphere of what the audience anticipates.
Featuring 40 songs that have amassed Beyoncé’s critically acclaimed album, and the namesake of the show, Cowboy Carter, its equally acclaimed predecessor Renaissance, and selects from her multi-year discography, the show filled a nearly 3 hour run time with a mix of vocals, visual Interludes, and dance performances. Though the show actually started at approximately 8:30 pm, there was a lack of awkwardness in the wait as fan chatter and music filled the space.
Beyoncé begins Cowboy Carter with the song “AMERICAN REQUIEM”, a small vocally stacked section that announces her presence amongst a sea of elegant dancers, which seamlessly transitions to the more acoustic song, “BLACKBIRD”. Dressed in pure white from head to toe, Beyoncé addresses the excited crowd, before briefly dedicating the song to the “blackbirds” who came before her: black women musicians who she acknowledges as the reason for the space for her existence.
One of the highlights of seeing Beyoncé live is not only hearing her consistent but seasoned vocals, but viewing her dedication to displaying the show’s visual thesis, which is presently about Black America’s connection to country music and Southern Iconography through the fashion and the accompanying performances.
The pace of the concert ebbed and flowed and it moved gracefully through its setlist. Songs like “MY HOUSE” or “DIVA” had a palpable high energy, while others such as “FLAMENCO” served the audience a darker and groovier sound bathed in red lights and furs.
Other songs, such as “II HANDS II HEAVEN” and “TYRANT” represent the widespread notoriety of Beyoncé’s discography. Both songs caught a wind of viral popularity online, and this was apparent with the unity in which the audience sang along.
While the view from section 127C of the center of the stage was limited, another highlight of the show’s musicality lies in the live band that sat as the center piece of the majority of stage movement. They provided backing tracks for all of the songs performed that night. As true musicians in their own right, not only did they perform elevated live versions of the songs on the setlist, but they also filled the transitions and in-betweens by making musical key and note connections between Beyoncé’s discography. This made for an immersive and active listening experience, where audiences could deeply hear vestiges of her catalog.
Though there were likely songs that were more widely anticipated, such as “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM”, fans throughout the show seem to each have individualized fan-favorites, and their excitement exponentially peaks when they are mentioned. A group to the left of us shouted as Beyoncé slid from “Daddy Lessons” to “BODYGUARD”. Another behind us nodded their heads as she sang a shortened mix of “Irreplacable” and “If I Were a Boy”.
One of the most powerful elements of the performance was the storytelling that happened off stage. Between acts, Beyoncé used a series of video interludes to add depth and emotional resonance to the live show—transforming moments of transition into intentional, layered narration.
A personal standout was a montage tracing the evolution of her career—from archival clips of her performing with her early ’90s girl group Girl’s Tyme, to her rise to fame when the group transformed into Destiny’s Child. The video also featured footage of a young Beyoncé singing Michael Jackson’s “I Wanna Be Where You Are,” followed by a full-circle moment: her presenting Jackson with the Humanitarian Award at the Radio Music Awards. It was a masterclass in self-mythologizing—an artist narrating her own legacy in real time.
In another striking interlude, the screen played excerpts from Ras Baraka’s Def Poetry Jam performance of “American Poem.” His fiery verses—a tribute to Black resistance—unfolded over flickering images of Black country icons, a visual roll call that expanded the cultural lineage Beyoncé draws from. All the while, the upbeat instrumental of Nina Simone’s “See Line Woman” threaded through the background, linking generations of Black artistic defiance through sound and image. It was less an interlude than a political statement—subtle, intentional, and rooted in history.
Another emotional highlight followed shortly after: a montage centered on her children, who remained a central theme throughout the performance. Immediately after this interlude, she performed “PROTECTOR”—a track anchored in maternal imagery. One poignant lyric, “and there I was tangled up in marigolds,” directly references the floral arrangements from her now-iconic maternity shoot announcing the pregnancy of her twins, Rumi and Sir Carter. It was a quiet yet powerful reminder that her role as a mother is not separate from her art, but interwoven into it—part of her mission and an inspiration for her music.
Cowboy Carter’s show structure highlights a particular emphasis on familial connection, particularly this inclusion seems to flood the sentiments of the audience as well as numerous color-coordinated mother-daughter pairs floated by us before, during, and after the concert.
Beyoncé begins to conclude the show with “16 CARRIAGES” while riding a life sized golden horse that took her through the air, and across the stadium. Notably different from the red Cadillac that unfortunately malfunctioned during night one of the Houston leg of this tour, the velvet vehicle was seemingly retired for a shiny, slow strolling, steady horse that rounded the stadium as she completed the song, and returned to the main stage. “AMEN” and a rain of confetti follows this display, signalling the end of the concert.
Where this opening show served as a warm reception to the weekend filled with fans enjoying Beyoncé’s music and stage presence, this show provided clear evidence that visual art and music are deeply intertwined in the display of Cowboy Carter.