Dixie Chicks Are Back And Bolder Than Ever
No one seems to have heard much from the Dixie Chicks since around 2006, after their album Taking the Long Way hit music stores everywhere. The album was deemed as a response to the 2003 fallout the band experienced following lead singer Natalie Maines’ statement that “We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas,” according to Washington Post. Following that incident, everyone from radio stations to country music singer Toby Keith took aim at the Dixie Chicks, and that troubling time was chronicled in the documentary Shut Up and Sing.
Now, though, the Dixie Chicks are back and while there does not appear to be a studio album forthcoming anytime soon, the band is making headlines on its current world tour, DCX MMXVI. While the tour has been ongoing since April, the European leg of the tour was in full swing then, the North American run has only recently started, and the Dixie Chicks are continuing to rock the establishment.
The Dixie Chicks had a horned Trump as their concert backdrop https://t.co/5TQA9YYtNI pic.twitter.com/40QgVzSgJb
— The Hill (@thehill) June 4, 2016
Most recently, the band sang “Goodbye Earl,” their hit song about two women who poison an abusive husband, to an image of presidential hopeful Donald Trump with devil horns and a goatee. While it is unlikely the band will face the backlash it did in 2003 when they made the comment about then-president George W. Bush, the message that the Dixie Chicks are still a band willing to take a stand for their political views is loud and clear.
Earlier this year, Maines tweeted her thoughts about Trump, demonstrating once again that she was apparently not concerned about the possibility of backlash.
While Maines did get many negative replies for this particular tweet, one thing remains clear: she is back and she and the rest of the Dixie Chicks are not going to simply hide in a corner.
The Washington Post reported that Maines addressed the decision some had made to boycott the Dixie Chicks’ music based on their own political beliefs.
“If someone hates it, it’s probably because they hate me politically,” she remarked. “So the judgment of it just isn’t as honest and pure as it used to be.”
As for questions about whether or not the Dixie Chicks plan on recording another album, The Oakland Press says that the other two members of the Dixie Chicks, sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison, are hopeful Maines might opt for a return to the studio. Maines is still somewhat gun shy about recording another country album.
“I’m sure they’d rather I do a Dixie Chicks record… but I think it’s hard for me to imagine making a country record,” Maines said. “I think Taking The Long Way is as far outside of country as (Robison and Maguire) would be comfortable going. That’s my favorite of our records, but I don’t know that they would say the same.”
Review: Dixie Chicks make nice at Riverbend https://t.co/DOS5ZUhiCS via @enquirer pic.twitter.com/9YfGEFO82U
— Things To Do Cincy (@ENQThingsToDo) June 2, 2016
In the decade that has come and gone since the Dixie Chicks last recorded a studio album, Robison and Maguire formed a new country group, the Court Yard Hounds, while Maines switched genres and recorded a rock album. According to People, Maines realized some time ago that while she may have erred in commenting against the office of president, it was all right to be unapologetic for a lack of respect for the person holding that office.
“I don’t feel [then-president George W. Bush] is owed any respect whatsoever,” she said on the night “Not Ready to Make Nice,” the biggest hit that the Dixie Chicks have had to date, was released. At the time, Maines also said that in 2003, she apologized for disrespecting the presidential office, but no longer felt sorry for doing so.
The Dixie Chicks tour appears to extend through to October 2016.
[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]
