Beyoncs Netflix Halftime Set: A Stunning Cowboy Carter Showcase

Shortly before the release of her sprawling, musically pedagogical album “Cowboy Carter” in March, Beyoncé issued a statement about the project: “It was born,” she wrote, “out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed … and it was very clear that I wasn’t.”Many speculated that she was referring to her performance with the Chicks in 2016 at the Country Music Association Awards, though that is now just one of many times that the Texas-born superstar’s forays into the Nashville establishment have been met with resistance from closed-minded gatekeepers.In September, “Cowboy Carter” received zero C.M.A.

Award nominations; two months later, it earned 11 Grammy nods, leading all artists.But Beyoncé’s jubilant and expertly staged performance, during halftime of an N.F.L.game in Houston on Christmas, sent the opposite message: In her big-tent reimagining of country music and Southern culture, everyone is welcome.

The event was not only part of Netflix’s first foray into the crowded field of N.F.L.broadcasting, but the live debut of material from “Cowboy Carter,” an album that examines the history of country music, spotlights Black performers vital to its past and present, and ponders larger questions about the confining nature of genre.The impressive production, announced at the top as Beyoncé Bowl, seemed to employ a supporting cast that rivaled a cinematic blockbuster.

For most of its 13 minutes, the field teemed with musicians, dancers and a procession of extras, every one clad in dazzling white.That abundance sent a message.

Though known for her monolithic singularity as a solo artist — and for striking power poses in the spotlight — Beyoncé put a version of herself on display during this show that felt especially generous, eager to share the moment.During an excerpt from her cover of the Beatles’ “Blackbird,” she was flanked by the quartet of young Black country artists from the album recording, T...