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How Independence Day Deepened Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ Message — And Exposed Where It May Fall Short (Critic’s Take)
Here's how the Fourth of July deepened the message of Beyonce's Cowboy Carter Tour — and exposed its shortcomings, just outside of Washington, D.C.
It’s not a moment of pride or patriotism at all; just as Hendrix called on the anguish of the Vietnam War and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination the previous year, Beyoncé funneled the stomach-churning anxiety of the current administration’s Project 2025 rollout into her rendition. After reaching exactly midway through the anthem’s first verse, Beyoncé sings, “You were only waiting for this moment to be free” from “Blackbiird,” signaling the transition to “Freedom,” a Grammy-nominated track from her 2016 Lemonade album that served as the official song for Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign. The same day Beyoncé played Landover, Bad Bunny dropped his “Nuevayol” music video, in which he references the 1977 takeover of the Statue of Liberty by Puerto Rican nationalists and trolls Trump by having an imitator apologize to immigrants in America.
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