Yee-haw! The Dixie Chicks covered “Daddy Lessons” off of Beyoncé’s latest visual album, Lemonade, during a Manchester, England, concert on Saturday, April 30, despite criticism of the blues-inspired track from the country music community.
“All right, hold the phone. I already messed this whole thing up,” lead singer Natalie Maines joked when she missed her cue to start singing. But the rest of the song was a pretty amazing take on Queen Bey’s track, and the crowd seemed to love it.
The Dixie Chicks are currently touring in Europe and will kick off the North American leg of their DCX MMXVI Tour in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 1, while Beyoncé is touring in the U.S. for the next several months.
Last week, Alison Bonaguro, a columnist for CMT, wrote, “Sure, Beyoncé’s new album has a song with some yee-haws, a little harmonica and mentions of classic vinyl, rifles and whiskey. But all of the sudden, everyone’s acting like she’s moved to Nashville and announced that she’s country now. Just because of this song ‘Daddy Lessons.’” Several other critics shared the same opinion that the superstar’s venture into country music wasn’t authentic enough, but the Dixie Chicks cover certainly helped turn the track into a full-on country jam.
On Friday, April 29, Beyoncé canceled the Nashville stop, scheduled May 5, on her Formation tour. An unofficial Twitter account cited the main reason for the cancelation as “stadium construction,” but the venue responded saying, “Nissan Stadium was ready and able to host the May 5 Beyoncé show, and we look forward to the rescheduled event.”
Regardless, Lemonade — which dropped on April 23 with an HBO special — has been massively successful and has topped the charts since its release. The visual album is even being submitted for Emmy consideration by HBO for its television debut.
