Pakistan seems to have caught the geopolitical winds just right. Last month, Pakistan signed a defence agreement with Saudi Arabia. Under this bold pact, an attack on one will be regarded as an attack on both, a dramatic escalation of security guarantees in a region already crowded with rivalries. At the same time, Islamabad has quietly dispatched rare earth mineral samples to the United States and is exploring deeper export agreements. Washington, for its part, appears newly interested in treating Pakistan as more than a peripheral irritant.
These moves suggest momentum. Commentators in Islamabad and Riyadh call it a renaissance of Pakistani foreign policy, a belated recognition of the country’s strategic indispensability. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s presence at the Gaza peace summit only reinforced the impression of a nation returning to centre stage in the Muslim world.
But this is no overnight miracle. It is the product of necessity, pressure and shifting alignments in a volatile region. Behind the optics lie harder realities.
The first driver of Pakistan’s foreign policy push is the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Washington’s abrupt exit left a vacuum it still struggles to fill. With a hostile Iran and an entrenched Taliban, the US needs a counterweight in the region. Pakistan, with its geography, intelligence networks and long entanglement in Afghan affairs, suddenly matters again.
US President Donald Trump’s demand that the Taliban hand over the Bagram airbase, five years after signing the deal that paved the way for the US withdrawal, underscores America’s search for leverage. If that gambit fails, Pakistan becomes the obvious fallback: the only state with both logistical capacity and political connections to help Washington maintain a presence in the region.
The second factor is the uneasy US-India relationship. Over the past decade, Washington has drawn New Delhi deeper into its Indo-Pacific strategy, strengthening its global profile in ways Pakistan sees as threatening. Yet US-India friction has grown. Disputes over visas and tariffs have festered. India’s embrace of Moscow has raised eyebrows in Washington.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s August visit to Beijing sent a clear signal that India is willing to hedge its bets with China. Economically, his “Make in India” programme, modelled on East Asia’s low-cost export strategies, could undercut US manufacturing. For Trump, eager to maintain balance in Asia, Pakistan appears useful again as a counterweight to India’s flirtations with Beijing.
The third and most precarious driver is mineral diplomacy. Islamabad’s outreach to Washington centres on promises of access to rare earth minerals, many of which are located in the restive region of Balochistan. On paper, this looks like a win-win: Pakistan gains investment, and the US secures critical resources. But the reality is darker. Balochistan remains Pakistan’s poorest province despite decades of extraction. Infrastructure projects stand underused, airports lie empty and unemployment remains stubbornly high.
The Balochistan Mines and Minerals Act 2025, passed by the provincial legislature in March, has only deepened discontent. Under the act, Islamabad is formally empowered to recommend mining policies and licensing decisions in Balochistan, a move that has provoked opposition across the political spectrum. Critics argue it undermines provincial autonomy and recentralises control in Islamabad. Even right-wing religious parties, such as the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F), seldom aligned with nationalist groups, have expressed opposition, portraying the law as yet another attempt to dispossess local communities of their rightful stake in the province’s resources.
This backlash underscores a dangerous trend. Resource exploitation without local participation fuels resentment and insurgency. By opening mineral wealth to foreign investors without social safeguards, Islamabad risks deepening the alienation of a province already scarred by conflict and militarisation. What looks like salvation in Islamabad can look like dispossession in Quetta.
Taken together, these drivers show that Pakistan’s foreign policy shift is less a renaissance than a calculated pivot under pressure. The Afghan vacuum, the recalibration of US-India ties and the lure of mineral diplomacy all explain Islamabad’s newfound prominence. But none erases underlying fragilities. Washington may once again treat Pakistan as disposable when its priorities change. India’s weight in US strategy is not going away. And Balochistan’s grievances will only deepen if resource deals remain extractive and exclusionary.
The applause in Riyadh, the visibility at the Gaza summit and the polite handshakes in Washington should not be mistaken for a strategic rebirth. Pakistan is manoeuvring carefully, improvising under pressure and seeking to turn vulnerabilities into opportunities. But the real test lies at home. Unless Islamabad can confront governance failures, regional inequalities and political mistrust, foreign policy gains will remain fragile.
In the end, no defence pact or minerals deal can substitute for a stable social contract within Pakistan itself. That is the true renaissance Pakistan still awaits.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
The sun had just begun its descent when the Mane Street Band took the stage for their weekly Honky Tonk Sunday set at Pioneertown’s Red Dog Saloon. Young adults in hiking gear sipped beers beneath chandeliers shaped like wagon wheels as old timers with gray ponytails and cowboy hats chatted with a tattooed bartender. Outside, a group of parents sat around long picnic tables, ignoring their kids who were messing around in the dirt.
It wasn’t easy to tell who was local and who was just visiting the high desert town founded nearly 80 years ago as a permanent movie set for western films. The warm, neighborly scene felt like further proof of what locals had been telling me all weekend: The fake western town that Hollywood built has finally morphed into an actual western town with an identity of its own.
The Red Dog Saloon in Pioneertown serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and is a gathering place for locals and visitors alike.
(Simone Lueck / For Time Times)
“This is not Knott’s Berry Farm,” said JoAnne Gosen, a local shopkeeper and goat farmer who moved to the area 21 years ago. “This is a real town and it’s our town.”
After years of upheaval that included skyrocketing home prices, a pandemic-fueled Airbnb boom, a failed proposal for a multi-use event space and a false claim by a reality TV star that she singlehandedly owned the town, residents of this small unincorporated community say Pioneertown is settling into a new equilibrium. The tumultuous era at the town’s landmark roadhouse and concert venue Pappy and Harriet’s appears to have ended as new management repairs relations with the surrounding community. Established businesses like the Red Dog Saloon and the Pioneertown Motel are offering stable employment to locals and transplants alike and more buildings on Pioneertown’s western-themed “Mane St.” are being converted to small, locally run shops.
Locals dance at the Red Dog Saloon in Pioneertown.
(Simone Lueck / For The Times)
Pioneer Bowl in Pioneertown, California.(Simone Lueck / For The Times)
Visitors will also find there’s much more to do than wait two hours for a table at Pappy and Harriet’s. Weekend tourists can grab a taco at the Red Dog Saloon, browse locally made natural bath products at Xeba Botanica, bowl in a historic bowling alley or explore the Berber-meets-cowboy store Soukie Modern. If you’re there on a Sunday morning, you can even pick up a dozen hand-boiled New York-style bagels if you order ahead.
“It can be difficult for us old-timers to see all the changes,” said Gosen, who spins goat fiber into yarn outside her soap shop on Mane Street most weekends. “I don’t love all the Airbnbs and the residents who can’t afford housing. But at the same time, we’re here on the farm by ourselves most of the week and on the weekend we’re fortunate enough to go into town and meet the most amazing people from all over the world.”
Hey bales are scattered on the main street in Pioneertown, cheekily known as “Mane Street.”
(Simone Lueck / For The Times)
Developers, beware of the ‘Curtis Curse’
Pioneertown has always been a strange, hybrid place: half fake, half real.
The community was founded in the mid-1940s by a consortium of entertainers that included Roy Rogers, Dale Evans and the Sons of the Pioneers, a popular singing group at the time that lent the town their name. It was conceived and led in its early years by Dick Curtis, a 6-foot-3 actor who appeared in more than 230 movies and television shows in the ‘40s and ‘50s. Curtis dreamed of creating a permanent western movie set against the rugged backdrop of the Sawtooth Mountains that would also function as a working town with businesses that catered to film crews and residents. The Pioneertown Corp. broke ground in 1946. Among its first buildings were a land office, a beauty parlor, a motel, two restaurants and a feed store — all with Old West facades.
Filming in town mostly stopped in the 1950s, but the area continues to offer visitors and residents a unique mix of fantasy and function decades later. Some buildings like the General Store, the Saddlery and the Post Office house businesses. Others, like the jail, the livery and a barber shop are just facades — great for selfies but little else.
Over the years, people with big dreams and limited understanding of the challenges of building in this particular stretch of desert have tried and failed to bring major developments to the town, which today has about 600 residents. In the ‘60s, a car salesman from Ohio bought the Pioneertown Corp. and proposed plans to create a massive desert resort with townhomes, apartments, lakes and golf courses. He predicted it would eventually draw a population of 35,000. (The business went bankrupt instead.) During the pandemic, a mountain guide and supervising producer for Red Bull Media scared locals with a plan to convert 350 acres into an event space with residences, a recording studio, and an amphitheater that would hold up to 3,000 people. The project was eventually downgraded to a pricey Airbnb and by the time it was completed, he was no longer part of it.
The Film Museum in Pioneertown offers a curated look at the movies and films shot on the Hollywood set turned Western town.
(Simone Lueck / For The Times)
Curt Sautter, who helps curate Pioneertown’s small film history museum, believes the town has been protected from major development by what he calls the Curtis Curse. “You can be successful in Pioneertown, but if you get greedy or you try to do something that messes with the environment or the community itself you will fail,” he said.
Locals know that growth in Pioneertown is inevitable, but they also point to its limitations: the meager local water supply, the lack of a fire department and that there is only one road into and out of town.
“The community wants slow growth that preserves the western character of the town and is compatible with the desert environment,” said Ben Loescher, an architect and president of Friends of Pioneertown, a nonprofit that supports the community.
Richard Lee of 29 Loaves sells freshly baked bagels outside the Pioneertown Motel on Sunday mornings.
(Simone Lueck / For The Times)
What to do in Pioneertown: Bowling, bagels, bingo and more
Today you’ll find signs of measured growth everywhere you look in Pioneertown, making now a great time to visit. Pioneer Bowl, a perfectly preserved 1946 vintage bowling alley with the original murals by a Hollywood set designer on its walls, has just resurfaced its lanes and extended its hours. It’s now open from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. A game will cost you $25 and is first come, first served. It used to be impossible to find breakfast in town, but now you’ll find breakfast burritos, tacos and quesadillas at the Red Dog Saloon, which opens everyday at 10 a.m. On Sundays from 8:30 am to 9:30 a.m., Richard Lee of 29 Loavesdelivers his fresh baked bagels to those who ordered them in advance outside the Pioneertown Motel. (The cinnamon-date bagels are especially recommended).
Locals at the Red Dog Saloon in Pioneertown, California.(Simone Lueck / For The Times)
Kids and selfie seekers will enjoy the Pioneertown Petting Zoo where $10 will buy you 20 minutes with chickens, turkeys and a small horse. There is also a little history museum to explore and two old western reenactment groups — Mane Street Stampede and Gunfighters for Hire — who seem to be entertaining themselves as much as they are the audience. (Check their websites for up to date show times.) If you plan ahead, you can also book a hike with goats with Yogi Goats Farm for $95 a person.
Visitors might also consider subscribing to the Pioneertown Gazette, a free weekly newsletter that Pioneertown Motel co-owner Matt French began publishing online in 2023. In it he compiles listings for dozens of concerts, performances, yoga classes and other events happening across the high desert. A personal favorite is Desert Bingo at the Red Dog Saloon 6:30 p.m. on Monday nights, where locals, visitors and transplants gather for a good-natured, foul-mouthed bingo game with a live DJ. One bingo board will cost you $10 and the proceeds benefit a local charity.
Pioneer Bowl in Pioneertown was built in 1946 to entertain film crews. It has recently expanded its hours.
(Simone Lueck / For The Times)
Whether you’re planning to visit for an afternoon or considering moving to the area, you’ll find that this Hollywood movie set, turned ghost town, turned tourist curiosity, turned actual western town offers more to entertain locals and visitors than it has in decades, without sacrificing the western vibe that drew its founders to the area nearly 80 years ago.
“It’s the landscape, and that weird western mythology,” said Loescher. “It’s always been full of individuals who are a little iconoclastic and don’t do things the normal way.”
And no matter how many people come along who dream of changing Pioneertown, the challenging desert environment — and the Curtis Curse — will likely keep it that way.
The city, in the Tuscany region of Italy, is perfect for a relaxing trip during autumn.
The beautiful city is often overlooked(Image: emicristea via Getty Images)
If you want to keep experiencing the sunshine of summer, planning a warm getaway can be just the ticket to lift your spirits.
We’re fortunate enough to be only a short flight away from numerous European destinations that maintain their warmth well into autumn and even winter, providing ample opportunities for sun-soaked escapes without straying too far from home.
And if you’re keen to avoid the crowds while still enjoying a relaxing few days of sightseeing, wine tasting, and cultural immersion, then one “hidden gem” Italian city should be on your radar.
Lauded as Italy’s lesser-known fairy tale city by Conde Nast Traveller, Lucca, nestled in the Tuscany region not far from Florence, is truly enchanting.
Merely glancing at photos of this fortified city transports you to an entirely different realm, with a wealth of attractions to captivate visitors of all ages, reports the Express.
While this quaint city in central Italy may not enjoy the same fame as Rome or Lake Como, its lack of congestion makes it an ideal spot for a leisurely break steeped in culture.
Its fairy tale-like charm is accentuated by the imposing Renaissance-era walls encircling the city.
Lucca is situated along the Serchio river in Italy’s Tuscany region(Image: Getty)
Once a bustling centre for silk production during medieval times, Lucca has managed to preserve its historical allure while adding a contemporary twist.
Despite the city’s growth and modernisation, the walls that once encased the old town have been preserved.
Lucca is home to an impressive collection of stunning Pisan-Romanesque churches, adorned in marbled hues, which never fail to captivate tourists.
Even in October, the weather remains pleasant, reaching up to 21C – not too hot, perfect for sightseeing, shopping and dining.
One of the best ways to explore the city is by bike, as many of the lanes are too narrow for cars. Numerous companies offer bike hire, including Cici Rai near Porta San Gervasio, the San Gervasio Gate.
For architecture enthusiasts, Lucca is ideal; spend time admiring the striking façade of the Cattedrale di San Martino and its large Crucifixion scene inside.
Be sure to climb up the Torre Guinigi for the best views of the city(Image: Getty)
The best views of Lucca are from above, so it’s worth climbing the Torre Guinigi – the city’s last remaining tower-house – for the most breathtaking panoramic vistas.
From the top of this 45-metre-high tower, you can admire rural landscapes and spot the outline of Lucca’s Roman amphitheatre, perfectly framed by medieval townhouses.
And naturally, the cuisine in Lucca is to die for. As per To Tuscany, local delicacies include a unique sweet tart of spinach and chard with pine nuts and, inspired by neighbouring Garfagnana, chestnut flour ravioli.
Sweet lovers will be eager to try some buccellato, a sweet bread made with raisins and aniseed that harks back to Roman times.
And if you’re fond of a glass of wine, some Lucchesi varieties range from the robust red Montecarlo di Lucca to the subtle white Colline Lucchesi.
Art Fein, a Los Angeles music-scene renaissance man who worked as a journalist, publicist, manager and television host over a six-decade career, has died. He was 79.
Fein died of heart failure on July 30 while recovering from surgery for a broken hip, according to Cliff Burnstein, co-founder of Q Prime Management and a longtime friend.
Arthur David Fein was born June 17, 1946. Growing up in Chicago, he was transfixed by a Chuck Berry concert at age 10 and devoted his life to discovering, championing and preserving rock music. After moving to Los Angeles in 1971 to pursue a career in music journalism, he got a job in Capitol Records’ then-nascent college promotion department. There, he befriended John Lennon and Yoko Ono, while coordinating interviews with college radio stations for Ono’s latest album, “Approximately Infinite Universe.”
After leaving Capitol, he wrote music reviews for the Los Angeles Times, Herald-Examiner, Billboard and others before being hired as music editor at Variety. “By the time I got this job, I was sick of the new, aggravating profession of rock criticism,” he recalled in his 2022 memoir “Rock’s in My Head.” “It was about writers, not the music. I wasn’t interested in being terribly critical. I was an advocate. I wanted to help the music along; rock critics wanted to help their sense of superiority.”
He returned to the label world with stints at Elektra/Asylum and Casblanca but pivoted to management, incubating a proto-punk scene that would yield influential L.A. acts like the Cramps, the Blasters and the Heaters. A compilation he assembled, 1983’s “(Art Fein Presents) The Best of L.A. Rockabilly,” became a bible for bands inspired by X and Social Distortion, which drew from vintage rockabilly but amped it up for the punk age.
His public access cable TV show, “Lil Art’s Poker Party,” featured interviews and performances with his favorite musicians and ran in SoCal for 24 years. Rhino Records co-founder Richard Foos recalled that “for years we had a weekly poker game either at his house or mine. I was there the night [music critic] Lester Bangs was playing. We started the first hand, started talking music, and never played another hand.”
In 1990, Fein published “The L.A. Musical History Tour: A Guide to the Rock and Roll Landmarks of Los Angeles,” a compendium of locations guiding readers to grave sites of stars such as Roy Orbison and Ritchie Valens, and sites where Sam Cooke, Janis Joplin, Marvin Gaye, Tim Hardin, Dennis Wilson and Darby Crash died.
Fein also developed a complicated relationship with producer Phil Spector, to whom Lennon had introduced Fein as the man who “knows all about music.” Fein became part of Spector’s inner circle, even into his deeply troubled years when he was convicted of murdering House of Blues hostess Lana Clarkson. Fein maintained contact with Spector even after he was sentenced to life in prison.
The Blasters’ lead guitarist Dave Alvin wrote on Facebook that “Back in the early days of The Blasters, when few outside of Rollin’ Rock Records knew or cared who we were, Art cared deeply. In early 1980, I was a wannabe poet working as a fry cook in Long Beach … Art Fein played ‘Marie Marie’ to a Welsh rock ‘n’ roll singer named Shakin’ Stevens, who quickly recorded my song and made it into a huge international hit. … Thanks to Art Fein, I was soon able to quit my job as a cook and pursue music. I can never, ever thank you enough for all you did for me, Art.”
Singer-songwriter-guitarist Rosie Flores added that “back in ‘94 when I was touring with Butch Hancock in Europe, I took a bad fall, at the end of our month-long tour. I slipped in the rain on a cobblestone street in London and severely broke my wrist. Three months later I was invited to sing at the Elvis [annual birthday] bash at The House of Blues … It was normal protocol to donate all the money from the proceeds of the show and give it to an organization or a charity. This year, Art surprised me and handed me a stack of money to the tune of $1,500 for my medical bills. I didn’t expect that at all [and] it brought tears to my eyes.”
In the closing lines of his memoir, Fein wrote that “I can’t say anything terribly pithy or canny about the state of record sales, or streaming, or new delivery systems. Or how YouTube or TikTok are shaping contemporary music.”
“It turns out I didn’t want to be in the music business; I wanted to be in the music,” he wrote. “There I remain.”
Fein is survived by daughter Jessie and wife Jennifer.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent in any way the editorial position of Euronews.
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There are decades where nothing happens, and then there are weeks where decades happen. The past few weeks have certainly fallen into the latter category, with remarkable intensity.
Since Donald Trump’s Liberation day announcements, stock markets have made a round trip. After an initial collapse we saw one of the strongest and fastest rebounds in recent history.
For the moment, things seem to have calmed down. Still, we are clearly not out of the woods yet. Or to put it in market terms: expect volatility to persist.
This volatility originates from both the geopolitical and economic domains. As Neil Howe so eloquently argues in his book “The Fourth Turning Is Here,” a fourth turning is unfortunately a period marked by wars and geopolitical tensions — an era in which extremist parties, both from the left and the right, gain strength, while the centre becomes smaller, weaker and increasingly powerless to make the decisions that, in the end, everyone knows must be made.
It is also a point in history during which sitting presidents, parties, and governments of any colour, shape or ideology are typically voted out.
The second big source of uncertainty and volatility originates from the economic sphere and is closely related to the first one. In a fourth turning, globalisation is under pressure. In our book “The New World Economy in 5 Trends,” Koen De Leus and I discuss not deglobalisation but multi-globalisation.
China, a pole of economic and military power
We are no longer looking at a unipolar world solely centred around the US. Say hello to the multipolar world in which China is rapidly becoming a pole of economic and military power. Meanwhile, the old continent is struggling to speak with one voice and remain relevant.
Just to say that the economic volatility that we are witnessing is closely related to the geopolitical fragmentation. Not so long ago, when the world was still truly globalised, we had one global business cycle. All the major blocks tended to move together on the waves of global expansion and global contraction.
In this world, central banks’ action would sometimes differ a bit in an amplitude, but generally the direction would be the same. Today, it is not so hard to envision the US and the European economies to grow at a different pace and central banks as a consequence conduct and all together different policy.
Also, China will, depending on the policies conducted, grow at a different speed. Japan is finally exiting more than four decades of deflation and its interest rates are on the rise, while in most other parts of the world they are coming down.
We should look at this new economic reality in terms of tectonic plates. The blocks are no longer moving at the same speed in the same direction. Instead, the plates are shifting unpredictably at different speeds.
It’s no wonder that we’ll see collisions, leading to massive volatility in currency and interest rate markets as a logical consequence.
In this world, volatility will be more the rule than the exception. The main conclusion of our book “The new world economy in 5 trends” is that after the COVID-19 pandemic, we have moved into a new economic paradigm in which both interest rates and inflation will be structurally higher than from 1982 until the pandemic.
It all comes and goes in waves, it always does. And a huge wave is coming. The drivers of this totally new environment are the massive debts, aging of the population, multi-globalisation (including a new arms race) and climate change.
Innovation may play a mitigating role and may in an extreme scenario be even powerful enough to counter the four other forces.
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Investors should focus on real assets
All of this has deep and profound consequences for investors. Even though volatility will be huge, holding too much cash is not an option as inflation will eat up its purchasing power.
Above all, investors should focus on real assets like equities, real estate, wine and gold and silver, for which the bull market has only just has begun. The same goes for the commodity space. We are only in the very first inning of the largest commodity bull market in time due to massive supply shortages that we foresee.
For companies, it means that they should put in place hedging techniques for navigating a world of higher interest rates, higher inflation and higher and more volatile commodity prices.
Countries have a unique opportunity to outperform in a fourth turning, at least for those who understand the rules of the new game. Those who don’t will have a hard time keeping the bond vigilantes off their backs.
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Maybe in 30 years’ time we will look back on today as both the start of the European Renaissance and the end of US Exceptionalism. This would bode well for both the euro and European equities.
However, it will not be a walk in the park. The road that the old continent will have to travel to be once again a voice on the world stage will be long, hard and winding.
Philippe Gijsels is Chief Strategy Officer at BNP Paribas Fortis.
Beyoncé kicked off her highly anticipated “Cowboy Carter” tour this week in Los Angeles at the SoFi Stadium, where she’ll be gracing the stage five times through May 9.
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As expected, the Beyhive (a.k.a. her most dedicated fans) showed out with their western-inspired outfits, which were heavily influenced by the Grammy Award-winning country album. Attendees wore bedazzled cowboy boots and hats; chaps; fringe and leather; red, white and blue; outfits inspired by Beyoncé’s past tours and video looks; and, of course, denim on denim on denim.
Before the second show on Thursday night, we caught up with some of Beyoncé’s fans to ask them about their outfit inspiration, why “Cowboy Carter” resonates with them and what cowboy culture means today. Here’s what they had to say. Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Kylia and Kyana Harrison, 24, of Santa Barbara
Tell us about your outfits.
Kylia: She actually bought our tickets Monday night and surprised me while I was at work and was like, “Are you down?” I was like, “OK, I’m so down.” And then we kind of just put this together.
Kyana: She had everything already. We do Stagecoach and Coachella, so we already had those pieces. So then we kind of just put everything together.
What is your favorite part of your look?
Kylia: Mine is definitely my cowboy hat. I’ve had it for two-ish years. I go to NFR [National Finals Rodeo] every year, so I wore it. I feel like it’s just kind of my thing.
Kyana: My body chain.
What song are you most excited to hear tonight?
Kylia: I want to hear “I’m That Girl.” It’s very sensual and just like that moment.
Kyana: I want to hear “Tyrant.” I feel like it puts me in a “bad girl” energy, like real boss. I love that song.
Cowboy and western culture have evolved significantly over the years, and it feels like Beyoncé is showcasing what it means to her and it’s history. What does cowboy culture mean to you?
Kyana: Personally, I love it because … I know that cowboys first were African American, so I think that she’s taking control of that and putting her twang on it.
Hope Smith, 31, of Vancouver, Wash.
Tell us about your outfits.
I love DIYing and I never learned my lesson on taking too big of a project, so I redid her Dolce & Gabbana outfit [from] “Renaissance.” I went for the hardest option. This is my favorite outfit that Beyoncé wore during “Renaissance.” She had a blue and a red [version]. It was hours and hours of rhinestoning, multiple seasons of “Love Is Blind” and a lot of podcasts. I was rhinestoning last night, actually, and there is glue in my purse and rhinestones just in case. I’m hoping it holds it together. So, yes, I loved “Renaissance” and I am overjoyed to be here. I turned 30 with Beyoncé at “Renaissance,” and it was like my my coming of age. Hopefully, [my outfit] makes it to D.C. in a few weeks.
What is your favorite part of your look?
This fan came to two “Renaissance” shows with me. It’s really cheesy. She’s inspired me as an artist. I’m a teacher and I’ve been pursuing art outside of teaching, and it’s, like, brought me into the person that I am. So this is designed after her opening screen for “Renaissance,” and she later sold a version of it online, so Beyoncé has copied me. Thank you, Beyoncé. You can credit me later with tickets, and so, yes, it is being held together with tape because I was clacking it too much in Vegas and Seattle.
What song are you most excited to hear tonight?
I feel like “II Hands II Heaven” is going to just kill it live, but I’m going to cry the whole time. I had to buy tissues on the way over because I will sob.
What does cowboy culture mean to you?
I feel like she’s tapping into the original cowboy culture. Like, as a white woman, I’ve learned a lot from this album, like Beyoncé has really tapped into the history. The origin of the word “cowboy” was used to be derogatory towards Black men and these are things that, like, we didn’t learn in school, especially growing up in Oklahoma, and I just have loved the history and the commentary through it. I have loved watching people’s responses and I’m really excited to see them respond more to this show certain parts of it on Monday were just amazing and I love her pushing against the norms and the white narrative that we tend to fall into. She’s forcing us to think — if you stop and think — but then a lot of people are coming to judgments without doing their research.
Johnathan Rojas, 34, and Oscar Saucedo, 32, of Orange County
Tell us about your outfits.
Rojas: My inspiration is like Amazon, but make it look like not Amazon. I love to sparkle. Cheap but not cheap. Expensive.
Saucedo: For me, I just went with the red, white and blue with the boots.
What is your favorite part of your look today?
Rojas: Definitely the shirt. Can’t get enough, and the pink Cubans on the wrist like get into it.
Saucedo: For me, definitely my hat with the rhinestones, and my boots have the American flag.
What song are you most excited to hear tonight?
Rojas: I love a good ol’ classic like “Diva.” You know, “female version of a hustler.” I love to hear the classics and then anything from “Renaissance.”
Rojas: It’s cool that Beyoncé, like, took it over, because it’s become more of like a mainstream and less conservative. We can all kind of can put our twist and our spin on it and really be creative with it.
Saucedo: Being Mexican, it comes from my culture. I’m glad that she’s making it part of it, that she’s making it more mainstream so everyone can see just other cultures and not just whatever is popular at the moment.
Ronny G., 28, of Salt Lake City
Tell us about your outfit.
I want to do a real country one, so I got the boots from Mexico, got the Levi bootcuts, fringe on the top and the back. I had to show off for Beyoncé. I love [her].
Which part of your outfit are you most proud of?
It took me 20 minutes to get these [bootcuts] on and I did it.
What song are you most excited to hear tonight?
All of them. I just don’t want her to point to me and say, “She ain’t no diva.” That’s all I am concerned about, honestly.
What does cowboy culture mean to you?
Just getting down and dirty.
Chris Golson, 32, of West Adams; Marquis Phifer, 36, of Houston; Jason Richardson, 39, of Los Angeles
Tell us about your outfits.
Richardson: As much of my personality is upbeat, I’m actually pretty severe with my look, so I love all black. [I have] an Ottolinger vest. I like a high, low [moment]. Cargos. The boots — I don’t know the actual brand, but I do know they hurt, so pray for me.
Golson: My look is giving “Renaissance” meets “Cowboy Carter.” I’m a little bit of cowboy on top, little bit of disco on the bottom, a little bit ghetto country on the bottom, on my feet.
Phifer: I’m giving rich plantation owner. I’m sorry, but in the terms of, like, “I’m from Texas,” so owning a farm, that’s kind of what you do. So it’s giving ownership.
Which part of your outfit are you most proud of?
Phifer: The jacket. It was flown in from Pakistan. I’m from Texas, so there’s like synergy, but I just wanted, like, a little bit of shimmy. [I planned my outfit] for only two weeks. I don’t think too much. Not too much thought. Just execution.
Richardson: My favorite part will probably be the cowboy hat. I mean, I know everybody’s going to have a cowboy hat, but, you know, sometimes you gotta lean into the theme. But I will say I’m a Texan as well. Born in Houston, then moved to Dallas, so we just need to let everybody know that Destiny’s Child has been wearing cowboy hats. They’ve been wearing the denim, been having the nod to country. So I will enjoy this tour because I am Black, I am country, I am from Texas, born and raised. So I’m super excited to enjoy the show.
Golson: My favorite part of my look is honestly the glow. It’s time for Beyoncé to shine. I’m here for it.
What song are you most excited to hear?
Richardson: It’s not even a full song but something about “Flamenco.” Ugh, [it] does something in my spirit. I love the the vocal acrobatics, you know, just reminding people that even though it’s a country genre, she could still skate on the track and get the vocals that she needs. If it’s a full song — let me stick to the theme — I’ma say “Texas Hold ’Em.”
Richardson: What I’ll say about cowboy culture is that she is democratizing the access to cowboys and that cowboy culture. More of a [reminder] that it has its roots across all the demographics, primarily in the South. And so for all those that have grown up in the South, that are fully acquainted with that cowboy culture, but don’t necessarily look the part of mainstream cowboy country music, we’re excited to lean into it. I’ve been called country for a large part of my life. I wish I didn’t lose some of the twang, but I’m super excited that she reminded people about the history of the genre, reminded of the roots and some of the complexions and different colors of country. So I’m excited to see the greatest artist of our living time do what she does best.
Phifer: I’m from Houston, Texas, and we still ride horses in the middle of the street, and that’s just the culture of Houston. I love that she’s able to take the culture and put it on a massive stage to be received. But we’ve been country. We’re gonna live country, die country, and that’s the country culture.
Golson: Honestly, as someone from Philly, I think, this tour, this album, and the magnitude that she’s been able to hit with this has spoken volumes to the amount that we have contributed to music in general, and there is no genre that could define us. It’s just music and it’s just love.
Camilo Aldrete, 21, of Pomona
Tell us about your outfit.
The inspiration was obviously “Cowboy Carter,” but I also pulled from “Renaissance.” I just wanted to be sparkly. I was like, “Silver, why not?” I still wanted to have that cowboy-ness and like a little belt buckle.
What is your favorite part of your look?
I think my shirt. I had to bedazzle it myself. It was fun. It was rewarding to see the outcome. It took me a few days, but I had help too, so it was easier.
I’m Mexican, so I view it from the Mexican point of view, and I think it’s about just being confident, being yourself, standing your ground, knowing what you want to do [and] living in your own vibe.
Maddison Walker, 9, of Carson
Tell us about your outfit.
My mom helped me pick it out, and I was able pick out my pants. I really like my heart pants, and they’re pretty.
What is your favorite part of your look?
I really like my purse. It’s the Marc Jacobs Tote Bag.
My outfit is all about animal prints. I love zebras, so you can tell I have the coat, the boots with the fringe, all with the black skirt and the blouse. This is a western-style blouse as you can see with the fringe, the lace and the buttons. What I love about this blouse is the lace. It’s showing a little skin. It’s sexy but at the same time very classy.
What is your favorite part of your look?
I love my boots. These are authentic western boots. There’s zebra print with the fringe, and if you look around, you really won’t see anybody else with the boots on, so I like to be an original person.
What song are you most excited to hear?
“16 Carriages” and, most importantly, “Blackbiird.” It really resonates with me because it was written by the Beatles regarding the Little Rock Nine, and my parents are from Little Rock, Arkansas, and so they lived through that moment and they actually know some of the Little Rock Nine. So it’s very personal for me, and I’m very inspired by that song.
What does cowboy culture mean to you?
When I think about cowboys, I even go back to the Lone Ranger. Bass Reeves was actually a Black man from Arkansas. As you can tell, that’s my roots. However, coming to Hollywood, it was kind of … he looked different. The Lone Ranger is actually a true story about Bass Reeves. When you think about the culture of cowboys, they were actually Black men, but they would not refer to them as men, so they called them “boys” — “cowboys.” However, it has just evolved into a culture that has always been a part of my family. I have relatives who were cowboys and actually worked with cattle in Texas, so it’s a culture that never left. It’s just coming back on the scene.
Josh Krantz, 40, of Long Beach
Tell us about your outfit.
What’s funny about the inspiration is that I had a whole ’nother outfit planned, and with the help of a friend, she’s stoning some things for me, but that didn’t come through today. So this is all random s— from my closet that I just pulled together for “Cowboy Carter.” I did not plan this months in advance. However, I did plan the other outfit months in advance, but it may happen on Sunday. I’m coming back for another show.
What is your favorite part of your look?
I did stone this sash myself. This is Beyoncé merch. I’m proud of that because that was a lot of hard work. It took a couple hours, maybe three. I love this fringy rhinestone madness. I love any kind of fringe, so I’m feeling it.
I love that. Beyoncé is bringing back that cowboy culture and really making all the white people in America realize it actually started with Black people, especially the house music too, with the “Renaissance” tour. She’s killing it. It’s so rad. I love that we’re all learning a whole new thing through her.
Anthony Pittman, 32, and Jose Mascorro, 32, of Compton
Tell us about your outfits.
Pittman: I painted this jacket when the album came out last year at the end of March. I painted another jacket for this tour as well, but I wore that to opening day, so I wore this one today. My look is basically vintage, mustard kind of vibes. I’ve been an artist for 15 years now. I started painting jackets for Beyoncé during the “On the Run” [tour] and then the Hive started commissioning me to paint jackets for them, so I’ve been doing that as well. I was featured in Vogue, Essence [and] USA Today last year for the “Renaissance” tour, so that’s why I’m back here at the “Cowboy Carter” tour to give you more looks.
Mascorro: For my look, I really just wanted to match with him, so I’m just wearing a Levi’s jacket and jeans, but I wanted to switch it up with the cream.
Pittman: My bandana. This was Grandma’s. It’s been around from like the 1970s, maybe, and it was in her drawer. She passed five years ago, so I’m wearing it just kind of as a token for my grandma.
Mascorro: My boots. I think is the first time I’ve ever really owned boots, so Beyoncé got us all buying boots. Kind of like how my family used to wear boots back in the day, so it’s kind of important to honor that.
What song are you most excited to hear?
Pittman: “Ameriican Requiem.” I love that that’s the opener. I was hoping it would be the opener, and it really sets the tone for the rest of the show. It’s just beautiful.
Mascorro: I think I’d have to agree with that. It’s a powerful song.
What does cowboy culture mean to you?
Pittman: I was born and raised in Compton, so we have the Compton farms. Not a lot of people know about it, but I basically grew up watching the cowboys ride down the block on their horses, and I still do every single day, so it reminds me of being home, and there’s also this ancestral memory that I have to it because my family is from the South, so I kind of feel more connected to my family’s background and where they came from.
Mascorro: My family is Mexican and a lot of them are from farms, and so it was really nice to kind of wear the same outfits that they wore back home but kind of make it my own vibe with my own twist on it.
Manny Bueno of West Hollywood and Quentin Smith, 30-something, San Diego
Smith: The inspiration for my outfit were the Compton Cowboys, so I wanted to do the flannel, I’ve got the cargos, the Margiela work boots and the cowboy hat.
Bueno: I was here opening night like a true fan [laughs]. I was giving trade the first night, but this is my distressed Y2K meets my version of rustic cowboy. It’s giving roadhouse.
What is your favorite part of your look?
Smith: I love this shirt. It drapes right, keeps me warm. And I love the hat. It’s by a [Latino] designer, René Mantilla. It’s my first time wearing this hat, so if not now, when?
Bueno: I love distressed leather.
What song are you most excited to hear today?
Bueno: I love “Diva.” It’s my favorite and “My House.”
Smith: I missed the “Renaissance” tour, so I’m kind of excited to hear those [songs] live, but of course “Texas Hold ’Em,” all the ones off “Cowboy Carter,” “Ameriican Requirem.” I love that one. Anything she wants to sing to me, I’m here to receive it.
What does cowboy culture means to you?
Bueno: Not to politicize, but [to] politicize, I think we need to take ownership of America and what truly is America. And it’s not Trump’s America. It’s not what’s being played out in the news.
Smith: To add on to that a little bit, a reclamation of not just America but, like, Black America and where our influence lies, and so many difference places that we don’t always think about. So I love see this subtle, quiet reclamation of not only what it means to be an American but what it means to be a Black American. So it’s interesting to see how she kind of plays around with that.
Peter Crawford, 54 and Pieter van Meeuwen, 52, of Santa Barbara
Tell us about your outfits.
Crawford: Obiviously, [the] “Lemonade” [album] inspired it, and I made this dress out of shower curtains, actually, and fishing line, which I made as a tribute to her. I also sewed two wigs together to make this.
Van Meeuwen: We saw the show on Monday, and this is a reference to one of the video looks that is on the background. I fell in love with it that night, and I knew I had to do it. Weirdly, I actually had the supplies ready to go. [laughs] We’ve been to every tour since “B’Day.” We met her at “B’Day” and got to do a meet-and-greet. We saw “Sasha Fierece,” we were in the second row, and she reached through and took my hand when she walked through the audience, so ever since that happened, I just can’t get enough Beyoncé.
What is your favorite part of your look?
Van Meeuwen: I love the sparkle [on my shirt]. I had it made by a young lady named Glittah Gal.
Crawford: The little fringe [on my dress] is made out of fishing line, and I wove every single one of them into the hem of this, so I’d have to say that’s my most special part of this outfit.
Van Meeuwen: I love when she does “Ameriican Requiem.” It’s great so I want to see it again.
What does cowboy culture mean to you?
Crawford: Chaps! Chaps! Chaps! Chaps are going to be everywhere. Chaps already are. There’s going to be short chaps. You’re going to see them on runways. That is what’s happening.
Van Meeuwen: I think cowboy culture is complicated. Whether it’s about Indigenous people and what they had to go through under cowboys, or reclaiming the cowboy spirit of what America was built on — this kind of rough-and-tumble existence. I think Beyoncé has done a beautiful job reclaiming it, making it her own and standing strong in the face of the current administration.
Crawford: And also reclaiming the American flag or reclaiming red, white and blue. Like it doesn’t below just Trumpers; it belongs to everybody. It belongs to the United States of America, and I love that she’s making it chic again.
Neil Torrefiel, 41, and Blake Keng, 38, of San Francisco
Tell us about your outfits.
Keng: I love denim on denim, so I wanted to do something that was flowy, and we love to complement looks with each other.
Torrefiel: Absolutely. And I love black on black, and I wanted to do a fulsome look that was really reminiscent of Beyoncé.
Keng: I’ve been planning [my outfit] for months, and I have a mood board [where] I put all these different outfits together. I come up with it kind of last minute, and then he will kind of vibe with whatever I have.
Torrefiel: I’m laughing cause it literally took me an hour.
Keng: We cannot be more opposite.
What song are you most excited to hear?
Torrefiel: I would really scream like a child if she did the Charlie’s Angels song [“Independent Women, Part 1”].
Keng: It’s like reclaiming what’s ours, and I think that’s what really drew me to her album was reclaiming what is [in] the communities and where it originated from. That spoke to me a lot.
Torrefiel: I think she’s doing a lot to redefine the genre and I deeply appreciate all the work that she’s doing around it. I’m just here to experience all of it.
Teauna Baker, 31, of San Diego and Jeanisha Rose, 34, of Houston
Tell us about your outfits.
Rose: It’s inspired by the song “My Rose” from the CD. It doesn’t say that on the digital version, but I like a rose and my favorite color is pink, so I adjusted it to my liking. It’s one of my favorite songs. It’s so tender. I [rhinestoned] my dress. This outfit was a b— to put together. It took forever.
Baker: I think my outfit is giving “America Has a Problem” … still has a problem. [laughs] I really liked the chaps. As soon as she dropped her picture with the plain white tee and the chaps, from there I was like I definitely need to have chaps. I just wanted to give “high fashion in a plain white tee.”
What is your favorite part of your look?
Baker: It’s the belt. I was a little bit chaotic trying to put this together, and I was on the internet last night looking up horse belts at like 11 p.m., and I was like, “I gotta find a belt to put this together,” and I found this [one] this morning at like 9 a.m. and it was the last one. There was this store in DTLA that had one, and I was like “We have to go first thing in the morning.”
Rose: My favorite part of my outfit are my boots. I got these Cavender’s [Boot City] in Texas. I’m from Texas. She got her boots from Texas too.
What song are you most excited to hear?
Baker: “Spaghettii,” “Ya Ya” or “Heated.” All of ’em to be honest. I’m ready to jam.
Rose: I’m ready to hear “Tyrant.” It’s my jam. I put that on repeat regularly — daily probably.
What does cowboy culture mean to you?
Rose: For me, it represents home. I’m used to going on trail rides and things like that since I was a kid, and it’s just a real good time. It just feels like a connection.
Baker: We’ve been here. We do this. This is where we kind of came from, and I feel like she’s taking the time to share what was ours with other people. But really it’s just freedom. I feel a sense of pride. I feel freedom. I feel happiness inside, so it’s really about enjoying African American culture and being able to share it other people, but other people respect it and enjoy it.
Zuri McPhail, 37, of Stockton
Tell us about your outfit.
I love the color pink, so I was like I want to do a pink theme, but I also don’t want to be like everybody else. I pieced this outfit together, and it’s pretty in pink. I like the rodeo. I have a pink horse.
What is your favorite part of your outfit?
My horse.
What song are you most excited to hear?
I looked at the setlist beforehand, and I’m not going to lie, I’m excited to hear the older songs that she’s going to play. I’ve been a Beyoncé fan since I was 13 or 14 so I’m looking forward to the older s— because I’m nostalgic. That’s my s—.
What does cowboy culture mean to you?
You can’t reclaim what is already yours. We were doing the s— before the s— was the s—. I have family who were Black cowboys. We are always the trendsetters. Black women. Black people. We started the s— and it kept getting built on. And I’m just grateful to be here and to see a Black woman do the s— bigger than anybody has ever done it. You can hate on it as much as you want to, but if Beyoncé is doing your genre, you made it. And Beyoncé is from Texas, so if you’re ever going to question like, “She can’t do a country album?” She’s f— country. That is who she is. She is from Texas. She can’t be mad that a Texas woman is tapping into her roots and showing you who she is and who were are.
