The cover of Beyoncé’s new album (Photo by Blair Caldwell)
Cowboy Carter might not be a country album (it’s a “Beyoncé album,” the superstar clarified online), but it certainly features at least one country legend. Willie Nelson appears on the tracklist, which the Houston native shared on Instagram Wednesday.
Stylized like an old school tour poster, the graphic presents “Cowboy Carter and the Rodeo Chitlin’ Circuit” with a series of song titles, including previously released singles “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages.” Willie’s name appears under a track called “Smoke Hour.”
Beyoncé dressed as Willie on the cover of Texas Monthly in 2004 (Courtesy of Texas Monthly)
The image also confirms Dolly Parton’s theory that Bey covered the singer’s classic “Jolene.” The words “Dolly P” appear next to the song title in their own bubble, so it’s unclear whether Parton herself appears on the cover, or if there’s a whole separate song named after the artist.
Cowboy Carter drops Friday. First announced as Act II, the follow-up to 2022’s Renaissance, the album finds Beyoncé trading that project’s house and dance music stylings for a twangier sound. The singer became the first Black woman to top Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart when “Texas Hold ‘Em” hit No. 1 in February.
Beyoncé has dipped her toes into country music before, namely with the Lemonade cut “Daddy Lessons,” which she performed with the Chicks at the 2016 CMA Awards. In a March 19 Instagram post, she alluded to that controversial appearance as the impetus for the new project.
“This album has been over five years in the making,” she wrote. “It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history.”
As for Willie, the artist drops his 152nd! album, The Border, on May 31. Soon after, his annual 4th of July Picnic heads to New Jersey for the first time. To the disappointment of some Texas fans, the July 4 event features a star-studded lineup including Bob Dylan, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Maren Morris, and Mavis Staples at the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden, NJ – billed “in the birthplace of America,” as Philly is across the river. Tickets go on sale Friday.
