Thousands of people gathered outside of NRG Stadium Saturday afternoon ahead of the first night of Beyoncé’s long-awaited “Cowboy Carter” tour.’

In its Grammy-winning exploration and illumination of the oft-obfuscated Black roots of American country music (and early rock ‘n' roll), Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter LP found the music icon squaring her personal catharsis (the album was largely made in response to her negative experience at the 2016 CMA Awards) with a look at how the recording industry mirrors the exploitation and discardment of Black minds and lives in America at large.