Here's your guide to all of Beyoncé's 'Cowboy Carter' collaborators, from Miley Cyrus and Post Malone to Dolly Parton and Tanner Adell, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, and more.
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From Miley to Dolly to Willie, here are all of Beyoncé's collaborators on Cowboy Carter
It's a grand ole country party!
By
Lester Fabian Brathwaite
Published on March 29, 2024
For
Beyoncé's grand ole country party, she invited a carriage-full of collaborators — from household names and country legends to young Black artists shaking up the genre. Here, your guide to Bey's
Cowboy Carter impressive posse.
Tanner Adell
Tanner Adell.
DANIELLE DEL VALLE/GETTY
Born in Lexington, Ky., and raised in Manhattan Beach, Calif., Tanner Adell garnered a significant following on social media before putting out her debut album,
Buckle Bunny, in 2023. On
Cowboy Carter she shows up on "Blackbiird," Bey's cover of the Beatles classic
White Album track "Blackbird."
Brittney Spencer
Brittney Spencer.
RICK KERN/WIREIMAGE
A Baltimore native, Brittney Spencer released a cover of the Highwomen's "Crowded Table" in 2020 that went viral, leading to her first EP,
Compassion, which came out later that year, and her debut studio album,
My Stupid Life, which dropped earlier this year. She also sings on "Blackbiird."
Tiera Kennedy
Tiera Kennedy.
BRETT CARLSEN/GETTY
Alabama native Tiera Kennedy released her first EP,
Tiera, in 2021 and will unveil her debut studio album,
I Ain't a Cowgirl, in April. She also sings on "Blackbiird."
Reyna Roberts
Reyna Roberts.
LEAH PUTTKAMMER/FILMMAGIC
Born in Alaska and raised in Alabama and California, Reyna Roberts turned heads when she covered
Carrie Underwood's "Drinking Alone," earning kudos from Underwood and country singer Mickey Guyton. She released her debut studio album,
Bad Girl Bible, Vol. 1, last September. She also joins Bey on "Blackbiird."
Rumi Carter
Rumi Carter.
ETHAN MILLER/GETTY
One of Bey and her husband
Jay-Z's dynamic twins, Rumi Carter makes her professional musical debut on the
Cowboy Carter track "Protector," asking the singer, "Mom, can I hear the lullaby, please?" Kids, they grow up so fast. Next thing you know, she'll be
demanding that "Diva" remain on a setlist.
Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson.
SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP/GETTY
Redheaded stranger, and perhaps the only person alive who can smoke
Snoop Dogg under the table,
Willie Nelson lends his distinctive drawl as a DJ on
Cowboy Carter's fictional KNTRY radio station on two interludes, appropriately titled "Smoke Hour" and "Smoke Hour II."
Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton. DANIEL BOCZARSKI/GETTY IMAGES
Certified national treasure
Dolly Parton needs no introduction, but she
introduces Bey's update of her classic song "Jolene" on the interlude "Dolly P" and later shows up on the opening of the track "Tyrant," insisting, "Cowboy Carter, time to strike a match and light up this juke joint!"
Linda Martell
Linda Martell.
MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/GETTY
Country pioneer
Linda Martell — who was the first Black woman to score multiple hits on the country charts and the first to perform at the Grand Ole Opry — gets a
Cowboy Carter interlude, "The Linda Martell Show," and waxes on the limitations of musical genres on the track "Spaghettii."
Shaboozey
Shaboozey.
AMY SUSSMAN/GETTY
The Virginian-born Nigerian American alt-country artist guests on two tracks: "Spaghettii" and the Patsy Cline–channeling "Sweet Honey Buckin'." Shaboozey will release his next album,
Where I’ve Been Isn’t Where I’m Going, in May.
Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus.
GILBERT FLORES/BILLBOARD VIA GETTY IMAGES
A lot of
speculation circulated about
Taylor Swift appearing on
Cowboy Carter, and later
Lady Gaga entered the conversation as
a possible collab. But
Miley Cyrus is the pop star belting her face off with Bey on the standout track "II Most Wanted."
Post Malone
Post Malone.
PERRY KNOTTS/GETTY
Rapper, singer, and professional sad boy
Post Malone hops on the breezy, summer-ready bop "Levii's Jeans." Suddenly, him
introducing his mom to Bey, a work friend, makes all the sense in the world.
Rhiannon Giddens
Rhiannon Giddens.
DOUGLAS MASON/GETTY
North Carolina native Rhiannon Giddens plays the banjo on the
Cowboy Carter single "Texas Hold 'Em," and in 2023 she and Michael Abels won the Pulitzer Prize in Music for the opera
Omar. She released her third solo studio album,
You're the One, last August.
Justin Schipper
Justin Schipper.
JEREMY COWART
Multi-instrumentalist Justin Schipper has collaborated with country artists including
Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood, Little Big Town, and
Chris Stapleton. He plays pedal steel guitar on "16 Carriages."
Robert Randolph
Robert Randolph.
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP VIA GETTY
New Jersey native and steel pedal guitarist Robert Randolph and his group, the Family Band, started releasing albums in 2003, inspired by the likes of Earth, Wind & Fire and Sly and the Family Stone. Randolph plays pedal steel guitar on "16 Carriages."
Raphael Saadiq
Raphael Saadiq.
JOHN SALANGSANG/VARIETY VIA GETTY
A music legend,
Raphael Saadiq has been making hits since he was the frontman of New Jack Swing group Tony! Toni! Toné!. He segued into writing and producing songs for everyone from
Whitney Houston to Bey's sister
Solange, and he composed the score for HBO's
Insecure. He's a writer and producer on the
Cowboy Carter tracks "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages."