With its peak performance in 2018, Beyoncé has already dominated Coachella and essentially remade the iconic festival in her image. Could Stagecoach be next? The fans believe it!
As Coachella's sister event, this year's Stagecoach festival will be held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, April 26-28, the weekend after Coachella ends. This year marks the 16th edition of the festival (the COVID-19 pandemic put it on hiatus in 2020) and headliners include country music superstars Miranda Lambert, Eric Church and Morgan Wallen.
Of course, Queen Bey recently dropped her Billboard 200-topping Cowboy Carter album (March 29), which drew heavily from country and Americana, propelling it to a simultaneous No. 1 debut on Top Country Albums and Top Americana/Folk Albums. Introduced by the historic Billboard Hot 100 hit “Texas Hold'Em,” the album features appearances from a myriad of country music icons and rising stars, several of whom are currently scheduled to appear at Stagecoach this weekend.
A quick browse through the lineup tab at official Stagecoach website reveals upcoming sets from Cowboy Carter partners like Brittney Spencer, Post Malone (performing a special set of country covers), Tanner Adell, Willie Jones and Willie Nelson. Even Brandi Cyrus, his sister Miley Cyruswhich is displayed Cowboy Carter's Latest radio single 'II Most Wanted' is about to hit the stage. But there is one particular performer that has piqued the curiosity of fans: the Backwoods Barbie.
Every artist listed on the Stagecoach website has been given a feature that links all their social media accounts. For Backwoods Barbie, only one Instagram account is connected. On this Instagram account (@djbackwoodsbarbie) is currently home to 15 photos — many of which refer directly to Beyoncé and Cowboy Carter.
The account's first post — a graphic of the Stagecoach line-up captioned “Giddy Up,” a possible reference to “Tyrant” — arrived on the same day that Cowboy Carter hit DSP. Later publications put a lot of emphasis on disco balls and sequins (after all, Cowboy Carter and 2022 Renaissance linked), images of Beyoncé in her most western attire, images of Dolly Parton and Grace Jones (which appeared in Cowboy Carter and Renaissance, respectively), and a post cheekily captioned “Disco cowgirls report duty.” The Backwoods Barbie Instagram account also follows just six people: Beyoncé, Parton, Wallen, Diplothe Stagecoach festival and, curiously, restaurateur and TV personality Guy Fieri.
The Backwoods Barbie moniker appears to be derived from the title of Parton's self-titled solo studio album, which peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 in 2008 and marked both her first release on her own label and her first mainstream country a decade. Coincidentally, Beyoncé celebrated her 42nd birthday last fall (Sept. 4) during her record-breaking Renaissance World tour.
Backwoods Barbie's latest post features a map of the Stagecoach festival Grounds with the caption, “Catch me Saturday night at 7pm out at Diplo's Honky Tonk!” If Queen Bey appears during Diplo's set, it would make sense since the two Grammy-winning artists have collaborated several times in the past, including 2012's “End of Time” and “Hold Up” and “All Night.” of 2016.
With Cowboy Carter advertising banner flying above the Coachella grounds during the 1st weekend and a huge promotional transport vehicle on the ground during the 2nd weekend, the coincidences definitely start to pile up.
All of the Beyhive's questions will be answered on Saturday (April 27), but for now, check out some more reactions to the Backwoods Barbie theory.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/beyonce-fans-think-shes-performing-stagecoach-1235664775/
