Beyoncés Cowboy Carter Tour arrives at Soldier Field, inspiring Western-themed fan outfits and deep album dives

Chicago Tribune

13-05-2025

Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter Tour gallops into Chicago this week, for concerts May 15, 17 and 18, a performance-packed three days worth of boots, spurs and Beyoncé classics. The superstar's arrival in the Midwest will close a two-week, five-concert showcase at Los Angeles's SoFi stadium that began on April 28.
Fans can anticipate the tour will arrive in Chicago with an immersive journey into the album's inspirations. The 'Cowboy Carter' album recounts stories of American history between bars of Western tales and horse-gaited rhythms. The Southern-influenced work spurred a surge in Western wear and an interest in Black American history among fans.
According to Shiona Turini, Beyoncé's stylist and Cowboy Carter costume designer, representing Western fashion and Beyoncé's cultural identity authentically required intentional collaboration.
'For the most part, (Beyoncé) knows what she wants. She will pull her own references. We go back and forth on references, so it's very, very collaborative, but she's pretty direct and knows exactly how she wants to look on a day, whether it's for an event or for a performance,' the stylist said in an interview with Harper's Bazaar.
Brands such as Stetson and Levi's are prominent fashion statements throughout the Cowboy Carter shows, as is Beyoncé's personalized take on Southern country style, history and music.
Local Chicago fans say both their own roots and the 'Cowboy Carter' album served as their outfit inspiration for the upcoming Soldier Field shows.
Jo Caynon, 25, of Chicago is a fan formerly from Oregon. Her preparation for the Cowboy Carter tour was a six-hour project consisting of denim and a lot of patience. She cut and sewed her own chaps to complete a Western-bred look that also has remnants of her home state.
'I made the cowboy chaps out of recycled jeans, and the sash was from leftover fabric from a recent cosplay I made. My hat is Pendleton Wool Company from Oregon … and I got it at my first rodeo (the Sisters Rodeo). The boots are from Texas (Boot Barn),' Caynon said.
The deer bone necklace that completes her look is a Salem, Oregon, keepsake.
Aesthetics and visuals complete the look of the album, too. Many Chicago fans are exploring creativity through American fashion while also peeling back the deeper meaning of 'Cowboy Carter.' Local listeners consider the album a turning point in their knowledge of Black American history. And the studio release served not only as an atypical textbook lesson but as evidence of a return to oral history. History is being discovered and remembered in the traditional way — through art, music and word of mouth.
Ivan Adorno, 33, of Chicago says, 'To me, cowboy culture … felt distant. But now? I see it as something much deeper, multifaceted, and ours, too. American cowboy culture is layered with survival, independence, and identity.'
The outfit Adorno chose for the upcoming concert is a fusion of cowboy culture and the heritage of his family.
'The truth is, a lot of what we think of as 'cowboy' was shaped by Black and brown folks. … There were also Afro-Mexican vaqueros, Native trailblazers, Puerto Rican jíbaros — all with their own take on the cowboy spirit. That discovery changed everything for me. (The album) definitely sparked the interest in me to dive deeper into the cowboy lore ever since.'
Ronda Joubert, a Chicagoan of some 20 years and a Dallas native, says the album is like a 'reclaiming.' Similar to 'Cowboy Carter,' Joubert has Texas roots and the album is a capsule of the Black rodeos and history that were commonplace in her hometown.
'Growing up in Texas, it has always been part of my background.'
For Joubert, the album is changing a narrative and 'giving us permission to expand what we thought we knew about ourselves, our music, our history.'
Black cowboys and cowgirls carry on traditions brought to northwest Indiana, Greater Chicago from the South
Fans spent weeks sewing, ordering clothes and drafting ideas long before dates or a tour were announced to the public. If the clothing pieces weren't sewn by hand or hand-delivered, the pieces are second-hand or vintage threads from family and friends.
Matthew Serafin, 30, of Chicago says, 'I plan to wear a Resistol cowboy hat — I have to admit, it's my dad's —a pink and brown cow print jacket … and some brown boots.'
Serafin lived his youth in Arizona.
'Cowboy Carter has certainly piqued my interest in … so much of the history that she references; for example, I had heard the phrase 'chitlin' circuit' before, but had never looked it up or understood what it was referencing. I now understand this was a phrase used for venues that were safe for Black people to perform in during Jim Crow.'
Pedro Guerrero, 33, of Chicago says he appreciates the new 'dimension to the American cowboy.' The outfit he will wear is denim-themed, inspired by Western culture and also Chicago's wildcard weather that could make for a chilly concert day.
The homegrown history lessons within Cowboy Carter are 'a visual love letter to Black cowboys, country-music icons, Texas legends, and Black culture,' said Shinona Turini. Fans should expect the Chicago Cowboy Carter tour to showcase country music elements, opening up a space for Western and Beyoncé admirers.