Now that Coachella is in the rearview, Indio, California is bracing itself for the OTHER major festival that takes over the Empire Polo Club in the spring, Stagecoach. The country music festival has a wide-ranging lineup this year that not only includes country mainstays like Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, Morgan Wallen, and Willie Nelson but also has neophytes and unusual additions like Jelly Roll, Post Malone, and even Wiz Khalifa.
There’s one more star fans expect to see even though her name isn’t on the flyer: Beyoncé. But why?
Well, for one thing, last month, Beyoncé released her Great American Songbook-influenced album, Cowboy Carter, which spans genres from blues to hip-hop to yes, country music. While it was thought to be a country album by many fans ahead of its release, it takes influences from across the spectrum of American music; with that said, there’s enough Americana, folk, and country music on it that Beyoncé wouldn’t be out of place at Stagecoach (at least, not any more than Diplo and Nickelback, who are also on the bill somehow).
Meanwhile, plenty of the folks on the lineup directly contributed to Cowboy Carter, including Post Malone, Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, and Willie Nelson. But mainly, people think one name, Backwoods Barbie, might be a secret reference to a surprise Beyoncé pop-in.
According to Billboard, the only info on this mysterious act is an equally mysterious Instagram profile, birthed the same day that Cowboy Carter hit DSPs — and incidentally, it’s a Stagecoach lineup for Diplo’s Saturday night Honky Tonk set. Most of the account’s post contain references to Cowboy Carter, either overt (album art, song quotes) or oblique (photos of contributors like Dolly Parton). Also, there’s a “disco ball crossed with country Western” theme that just SCREAMS “Renaissance Trilogy.” At the very least, it seems likely to be someone at least affiliated with Bey (my money, were I a betting man, would be on a surprise Solange set).
Obviously, if Backwoods Barbie is Beyoncé, she’s not going to say anything beforehand (the crowd crush would be insane, for one thing). I guess the only way to know for sure is to show up at the spot marked on the map at 7pm on Saturday, April 27 (or wait for the inevitable deluge of social posts if it is her).