Lauren Daigle, a singer-songwriter from Lafayette, Louisiana, is set to take the field at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans to sing “America the Beautiful” before the Kansas City Chiefs face off against the Philadelphia Eagles during Sunday’s Big Game.
Daigle, 33, will be joined by Troy Andrews, a 39-year-old jazz musician known by the moniker Trombone Shorty, who grew up in the soulful Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans.
Together, the musical duo will perform a moving rendition of the patriotic song that pays homage to their home state as well as the rich heritage of the Big Easy.
Poet Katharine Lee Bates, who served as an English literature professor at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, penned the lyrics to “America the Beautiful” in 1893.
Two years later, the poem was published in the newspaper “The Congregationalist” before being set to an 1882 melody written by Samuel Ward, a church organist and choirmaster at Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New Jersey.
According to Daigle, Andrews’ jazzy adaptation of “America the Beautiful” will retain the song’s religious roots.
“He came up with this arrangement that rhythmically suits both places,” she said.
“So not only are the lyrics and the potency of it coming from that church background, right—that I feel like I'll be able to sing with my heart and soul—but it also represents Louisiana, which is just so pure. It’s authentic, that’s the best thing.”
A portion of the song’s lyrics go: “O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain; For purple mountain majesties, above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed His grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea!”
Daigle, a contemporary Christian singer, said the line, “God shed His grace on thee,” was particularly meaningful to her and that she looks forward to singing the song “with a true conviction.”
“It just really gripped me to the core,” she said.
“I’ve [sung] songs all over talking about God, right? But when you see a song that is meant for something else and it still includes the power of God in it ... there’s something unique about this.”
For Love of Country
On Thursday, Andrews took to Instagram to express his excitement about the upcoming show.“We first collaborated in 2022 on [my song] ‘What It Takes,’ and we’re excited to team up again for the big game.”
Daigle’s Super Bowl performance in New Orleans will mark a full-circle moment for the artist.
In December 2020, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell called for her to be removed from performing at Dick Clark’s annual “New Year’s Rockin' Eve” celebration.
A month earlier, Daigle joined a “Let Us Worship” rally hosted by missionary musician Sean Feucht in the French Quarter for an impromptu performance.
Daigle subsequently received support from Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, who was the state’s attorney general at the time.
The Grammy Award-winning artist hopes her upcoming “America the Beautiful” performance will help bridge the political divide in the country.
“The political climate that we’re living in right now—how can I use this song to cut through to people who might be jaded toward our country, or might not love what we have in this country, or what we’ve built in this country?” she told Arroyo.
Daigle recently discussed her pre-performance routine ahead of her appearance at one of the most-watched sports events of the year.
“And then two, is just to remind myself like, ‘Hey, you’re called to do this.’ Just think about whoever in the room that needs to hear some element of encouragement, some element of hope,” she added.
“Because you never know what will come out of your voice or out of your performance.”
