Through The Rain, Beyoncé Poured Light Into Black Girlhood At The Cowboy Carter Tour

Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter Tour has given us so many beautiful reminders to celebrate and honor Black girlhood. Even if you haven’t or don’t plan on going to a show, you’ve most likely seen Blue Ivy Carter serving as a dancer beside her mom or Rumi Carter adorably stealing the crowd’s heart and, as the internet puts it, clocking into work. 

Knowing this, I was prepared for my own waterworks, but when I saw that the forecast for the May 28 show at MetLife Stadium, I was not ready for the impending, very real, relentless showers. I admittedly got irritated. I had been excited about this tour since it was announced in February and reading Editor Dontaira Terrell’s piece about her experience at the show the first night had me even more hype. But as I put my cowboy hat over my poncho and trekked my boots through the parking lot puddles, I had to remind myself that seeing Beyoncé perform (my eighth time!) was the reward — even if it did rain during the entire concert.

I couldn’t have imagined the emotional baptism I was about to experience. From “American Requiem” to “Amen,” Bey sang with the passion, depth and vocal athleticism that can only be achieved with God’s touch and more than three decades of hard work. The churchy call-and-response during “Why Don’t You Love Me,” the combined nod to the “Bills, Bills, Bills” video and her haircare line Cecred, and the Renaissance medley were more than enough to prove she’s one of one.

And though the Cowboy Carter World Tour is a reflection on Beyoncé’s work, there are significant moments that pay homage to the youth, joy and tenderness of Black girlhood. Most notably while singing “Protector” with wet-n-wavy hair and singing to a crowd, a cold and drenched Bey professes her love for her girls surrounded by a pyramid of her dancers. Blue Ivy— who’s all up and down this tour — hovers right above her, enveloping her mom and little sister in an embrace. 

“I feel proud of who I am because you need me,” Beyoncé croons right before Rumi, 7, comes on stage, joyful, light and fearless. These are some of the purest qualities of childhood that the world tries to rob Black girls of from an early age. Seeing the most powerful performing artist in the world give us a visual representation of what it looks like to revere and protect that light was significant. And it felt even more potent as the rain continued.

Even moments when Bey wasn’t on stage felt femininity persevering. Violinist Ezinma shared on her Instagram that she had never played in the rain. Yet she killed it while self-proclaimed “Trap Ballerina” Trinity Joy and movement artist Jahaira Myers gave a contemporary dance performance of a lifetime on a slippery stage. The crowd was mesmerized watching tap dancer Kaitlyn Sardin riverdance to “Flamenco.” 

While “16 Carriages” mourns the childhood Bey sacrificed for her career, she uses Cowboy Carter to honor the child that’s still inside of her, giving us glimpses of little Bey and paying homage to her country roots the way that she wants to. And she prompts us as an audience to do the same while lifting up the next generation.

The messaging of this tour, and this Act II era Beyoncé is in, has been incredibly potent. But there was something uniquely beautiful about watching it all take place in the rain. In Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon, she wrote, “You wanna fly, you got to give up the s**t that weighs you down.” Watching Beyoncé dance in the rain with her daughters — along with my seven girlfriends — felt like the weight of the world was washed away and I could fly. Funny enough, the rain stopped at the very end, right before Bey sang “Amen.” 

Witnessing Bey, her girls, and the rest of the performers proffer a declaration to our liberation felt like a spiritual awakening. It felt like they were imploring us to be carefree and color outside of the lines. And it was a reminder that we don’t have to work to earn the ease and joy it takes to dance in the rain.

Beyoncé takes her Cowboy Carter Tour to London next where she’ll be from June 5 to 16.