Beyoncé’s 2024 album exploring country and Americana traditions is Cowboy Carter.
Cowboy Carter was released on March 29, 2024, as Beyoncé’s eighth studio album and the second act of her planned trilogy. She described the project as a Beyoncé album rather than a narrowly defined country record, using country, Americana, rock, blues, folk, soul, and pop to examine American musical history.
The album grew partly from Beyoncé’s experience of not feeling welcomed in country-music spaces after her 2016 Country Music Association Awards performance with the Chicks. It includes “Texas Hold ’Em,” “16 Carriages,” and “Jolene,” a new interpretation of Dolly Parton’s classic. Willie Nelson appears as a radio host on interludes, while Linda Martell receives prominent recognition.
Cowboy Carter is sometimes called Act II: Cowboy Carter because of its place in the trilogy. Its official album title is Cowboy Carter, and it followed Renaissance, which was Act I.