‘We’re in our country era’

This ain’t Texas, but we can sure dress like it is.

Beyoncé’s country renaissance has spurred a widespread revival of Western style after releasing two country songs, “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages,” earlier this month and announcing an entire upcoming country album to be released in March.

The “Daddy Lessons” singer — who just became the first Black woman artist with a number one song on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart — has been leaning into the western aesthetic, sporting diamond-encrusted bolo ties and cowboy hats, inspiring her Beyhive to follow suit.

Isha Nicole, the creative director and senior vice president of marketing for the western wear company, Boot Barn, told Women’s Wear Daily that Queen Bey will “catapult Western influence into the limelight” by “inviting the masses to participate in the romanticism of the American spirit.”

“With this, we’ll see a spike in traditional felt cowboy hats in colors such as stark white or red, donned recently by the queen herself,” she said.

But “the iconic American cowboy” is ingrained in our society, she continued, and the style has been used as inspiration for modern-day fashion as a “tribute to Americana.” (See: the “coastal cowgirl” trend of 2023 or Pharrell Williams’ latest Louis Vuitton men’s collection brimming with denim, ten-gallon hats and bootcut jeans.)

“The cowboy’s distinct style is emulated across all genres of fashion as a celebration of our shared history,” Nicole said.

“While the cowboy is so inherently American, there is a mystery about the cowboy, a novelty engrained in our culture that has left a global imprint.”

But she insisted that the newfound obsession with the country aesthetic is not a fleeting fad — it’s here to stay.

“Western is not a trend,” she said. “Western is an iconic American culture.”

On TikTok, proud Beyhive members are flaunting their new Western pieces, boasting that their music icon influenced them to test new fashion waters not long after they retired their chrome cowboy hats following the Renaissance tour.

“POV: Beyoncé said we’re in our country era,” one fan wrote on a TikTok video of herself trying on cowboy boots at Target, adding in the caption that “only queen Bey can influence me like this.”

“Styling cowboy boots because Beyoncé,” another wrote on a TikTok clip of himself wearing the western kicks and high-waisted denim.

“Bey says country, we go country!” one TikToker captioned footage of her dancing to “Texas Hold ‘Em.”

Despite Beyoncé’s rapid success with her latest hit, one Oklahoma country station, KYKC has refused to play her track “because it just came out,” despite being a chart-topper.

“We do not play Beyoncé on KYKC as we are a country music station,” reads a screenshot of an email from Southern Central Oklahoma Radio Enterprises Broadcasting, which operates KYKC. The image, posted to X, was in response to a fan’s request to play “Texas Hold ‘Em.”

The viral post elicited outrage from a swarm of fans who accused the station of “blatant racism and discrimination.”

“We are a small market station. We’re not in a position to break an artist or help it that much, so it has to chart a little bit higher for us to add it,” Roger Harris, the general manager of S.C.O.R.E., said in a statement, insisting that the initial refusal to play Beyoncé’s song would be the same if any non-country artist was requested.

“But we love Beyoncé here. We play her on our [other top 40 and adult hits stations] but we’re not playing her on our country station yet because it just came out.”

Beyoncé isn’t the only artist entering country music territory; this month, Lana Del Rey, known for her melancholy tunes like “Born to Die” and “Videogames,” announced she would soon be releasing her own country LP titled “Lasso.”