The Chicks (previously known as Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band consisting of lead singer Natalie Maines and multi-instrumentalists/vocalists Martie Maguire (née Erwin) and Emily Strayer (also née Erwin and formerly Robison), the latter two of whom are sisters.
Why did the Chicks rename?
The Chicks officially changed their name in June in wake of the anti-racism and anti-police brutality protests triggered by the killing of George Floyd.
The Tonight the Heartache’s On Me hit-makers made the announcement on June 25 via an official press release. It read: “We want to meet this moment.”
Though it was not acknowledged by the Chicks specifically, multiple news outlets (including Variety), reported that the decision followed discussions around the appropriateness and historical associations with the word “Dixie.”
Dixie was used as a name for the Southern/Confederate states in the U.S. during the American Civil War — it came just before the abolishment of slavery in the U.S. in the late 19th century.
On June 11, the band formerly known as Lady Antebellum announced that it had officially changed its name to Lady A, after being “awakened” to the historical connection to the word “antebellum” — which refers to a period in history pre-dating the Civil War.
The next day, however, Anita White, a Black musician who has gone by the name Lady A for two decades took to Instagram airing her grievances with the Need You Now rockers, suggesting they did not approach her about changing their name. “If it mattered, it would have mattered to them before,” the 61-year-old singer told Rolling Stone on June 12.
After much back-and-forth between the two, the Grammy Award-winning band’s legal filing was submitted to the Nashville U.S. District Court on July 8 after White’s legal team gave them “a draft settlement agreement that included an exorbitant monetary demand” — even though the two parties had already had “heartfelt discussions” about a “peaceful” and “continued coexistence” as Lady A — as seen in a court filing provided to Global News by a representative of the band.
What happened to the Chicks concert in indianapolis?
NOBLESVILLE, Ind. — The Chicks are promising fans they’ll be back after ending their concert at Ruoff Music Center early on Sunday night. “I’m so sorry. I just can’t pull it off,” lead singer Natalie Maines told the audience of thousands, in a video taken by a fan and posted on Twitter.
The Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks) had only played a few songs before they decided to end the concert. On a post on the Noblesville Chatter page, one concertgoer said Maines mentioned her allergies at the beginning of the show. The singer also told the crowd she had received a steroid shot in an attempt to power through and continue with the performance.
The band posted a message to its Indiana fans on social media, saying, “Indianapolis, we are so sorry we could not give you the show you deserved OR the show we wanted to give you. We will be back Indianapolis!! Hold onto your tickets.”
The Chicks say ticket holders will be contacted by the “official point of purchase” with further information. Ruoff Music Center told fans the show will be played at a later date.
“Hold on to your ticket as we are working to reschedule the show,” the venue said in a tweet. Sunday’s abrupt ending came just two days after The Chicks performed at Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee.
What did the Chicks say about the US invasion in Iraq war?
Days before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Maines told a London audience the band did not endorse the war and were ashamed of US President George W. Bush being from Texas. The remarks triggered boycotts in the US and a backlash from fans. After a hiatus, the Chicks tour recorded the album Taking the Long Way in 2006, an album informed by the backlash; “Not Ready to Make Nice” became their biggest crossover single, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100. After another hiatus, Maguire and Robison released an album in 2009 as the duo Court Yard Hounds. The Chicks reunited to tour in the 2010s. In 2020, they dropped “Dixie” from their name, citing negative connotations, and released their first album in 14 years, Gaslighter.
The Chicks have won 13 Grammy Awards, including five in 2007 for Taking the Long Way, which received the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and its single “Not Ready to Make Nice”, which received the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and the Grammy Award for Song of the Year. By July 2020, with 33 million certified albums sold and sales of 27.9 million albums in the US, the Chicks had become the best-selling female band and best-selling country group in the US during the Nielsen SoundScan era (1991–present).
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