Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ tour pushes fans outside the norm

“It has been very busy since the start of this week,” said Marisol, an employee at the Forest Park location, when we talked the day before the concert kicked off.

She expected the crowd surge to continue over the next two days as everyone finalized their outfits. “Everybody is in the store for Beyoncé,” she said.

Prices for cowboy hats, the most sought-after concert accessory, range from about $60 up to $400. But if she senses that someone isn’t likely to wear a cowboy hat again, Marisol steers them to the more affordable styles.

She said there has been so much activity in the store that she has become a de facto personal stylist, helping people find not just the perfect cowboy hat but an entire outfit.

“They overthink it a lot, but it is just the idea of being yourself,” she said.

I thought I was writing a column about the business of Beyoncé and the financial impact her tour might have on the city but after talking to fans, I understood why her arrival brings more than an economic boost to local businesses.

As the concert approached, preparations for the show pushed people out of their comfort zones — into new stores, new communities, a new style of dress, and in some cases, to visit new cities. Whether you are part of the Beyhive or not, you can’t knock that hustle.

When I first talked to Beyoncé fans about their concert attire, I was reminded of the moments in the early 1990s when my friends and I would gear up for Janet Jackson concerts. For the “Rhythm Nation” tour, we wore black caps, ponytails, and earrings with a key hanging from the right hoop.

For the “Janet” tour, the look was black vests and flared pants with bone necklaces and our hair in curls. We were paying homage to Jackson’s artistry and when our efforts were noticed by her then-husband Rene Elizondo Jr., we also got bumped from our affordable seats to the fan circle.

But I quickly got the sense from Beyoncé fans that their desire to dress up goes beyond simple costuming or angling for a better seat. Beyoncé in her cowboy era has orchestrated a full-on culture shift, pushing fans to journey into places they may never have gone without her leading the way.

Tiffany Fick of southwest Atlanta is celebrating her birthday this year with Beyoncé. She doesn’t like going to concerts in costume but she drew on her roots in rural Indiana to create a midwestern translation of country.

Camouflage, Carhartt and a trucker hat are items she would normally wear. She will complete her concert attire with grillz, the decorative gold or silver accessories worn over teeth, that she plans to purchase from a shop on Campbellton Road.

“It is a way that women express themselves. It is another piece of jewelry. Beyoncé is from Texas, where they are popular, and it feels like it fits the vibe of my version of country,” said Fick.

Beyoncé, she said, has mastered something many artists have not. “What I find incredible is Beyoncé speaks to Black America really well. As someone who has roots in the Deep South and can speak to a lot of the historical aspects of our culture, she makes that known through music.”

Beyoncé’s message to Black America also resonated deeply with six women from a small town in Mississippi who planned their first trip to Atlanta to see the singer on tour.

They were afraid to drive to the city, so they pooled their money to rent a private car, a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, that would shuttle them five hours from their hometown. They plan to attend the show and do some sightseeing while they are in Atlanta.

“You would be amazed at the (number of) people who have never left their small towns,” said Yulanda Haddix, the driver for the weekend and owner of Bulldog Mobile Concierge Service, a private car service she founded in 2015 in Starkville, Mississippi.

Haddix is a longtime fan of country music, and she believes that Beyoncé has helped enrich Black communities by inviting people to explore the full range of cowboy and country culture.

“When you change the norm, you change communities, and you change people’s outlook on life,” Haddix said.

Whether fans are rushing to Santa Fe Mall to purchase Western wear, hitting Campbellton Road for new grillz or making their first trip to the Black mecca we call Atlanta, Beyoncé has offered them an opportunity to expand and reach beyond the norm while somehow remaining exactly who they are.

Read more on the Real Life blog (www.ajc.com/opinion/real-life-blog/) and find Nedra on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AJCRealLifeColumn) and X (@nrhoneajc) or email her at nedra.rhone@ajc.com.