Beyoncé closed out her final London performance of the Cowboy Carter Tour on June 17th with a heartfelt tribute to Paul McCartney and a nod to his daughter, designer Stella McCartney, while performing The Beatles’ civil rights-era anthem “Blackbird.”
The Grammy-winning artist delivered the track to a packed crowd at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, then took to Instagram to express her gratitude. The elder McCartney previously commended Beyoncé’s rendition of his iconic song, which is included on “Cowboy Carter” under the slightly revised title “Blackbiird” and is amplified by the voices of four up-and-coming Black female country artists featured on the track: Tiera Kennedy, Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer and Reyna Roberts.
Paul McCartney originally wrote “Blackbird” amid the 1960s civil rights movement in the United States. It was inspired by the Little Rock Nine, a group of Black students who were the first to desegregate schools in late 1950s Arkansas.
