Dixie Chicks Concerts Setlist

Dixie Chicks, now officially renamed The Chicks, is an American country music band. They were formed in 1989 in Dallas, Texas. The founding members were vocalist, guitarist, and banjo player Emily Strayer (born in 1972 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts), vocalist and fiddle player Martie Maguire (Emily's sister, 1969, York, Pennsylvania), vocalist and bassist Laura Lynch, and vocalist and guitarist Robin Lynn Macy.

Strayer and Maguire from the original line-up are actually sisters, both sharing the maiden name Erwin. Along with Lynch and Macy, they founded a bluegrass music group and named it "Dixie Chicks". The name comes from the title of the 1973 album by the American rock band Little Feat, "Dixie Chicken". All four sang and played instruments at early Dixie Chicks concert shows from the get-go. In 1990, the daughter of Senator John Tower from Texas gave them $10,000 to fund their first album. First, they released their debut single, a Christmas song for the 1990 holiday season. Then, also in December 1990, they put out their first studio album with the title "Thank Heavens for Dale Evans", referencing 1940's American singer-actress Dale Evans. However, that record failed to gain any significant commercial traction.

But the Dixie Chicks didn't give up just yet. They continued doing early Dixie Chicks concert shows with increasing success, even opening for such famed country music artists as Garth Brooks or Reba McEntire. However, they didn't hit mainstream success until the release of their 4th studio album, "Wide Open Spaces", in January 1998. That record became a massive success, topping Billboard's Country Albums chart, and peaking at #4 on the overall Billboard 200 chart as well. After their newfound success, they got into a legal battle with their label Sony Music, which allegedly withheld $4 million in royalty payments to the artists through fraudulent accounting practices. Sony and The Chicks eventually settled, and the girls started their own label imprint, Open Wide Records, to avoid further problems.

This wasn't the only controversy they had to face, though. In March 2003, at a Dixie Chicks concert in London, UK, their new lead singer Natalie Maines (who joined in 1995) told the audience that she did not support the Iraq war and that she's ashamed that the President of the US at the time, former Texas governor George W. Bush, is from the same state as her. This triggered a massive backlash in the group's key demographic, Southerners in America, with many country radio stations blacklisting the band. Maines apologized after the backlash, but later rescinded that apology in 2006.

Over the years, the Dixie Chicks has released 8 studio albums. The best selling one among them has remained "Wide Open Spaces" from 1998, which sold around 14 million copies worldwide. Meanwhile, the latest new Dixie Chicks album came out in July 2020, with the title "Gaslighter".

The biggest hits in the Dixie Chicks setlist to date are "Goodbye Earl" (1999). "Cowboy Take Me Away" (also 1999), "Travelin' Soldier" (2002), and "Not Ready to Make Nice" (2006). Their current line-up is made up of 2 of the 4 founders, vocalist, guitarist and banjo player Emily Strayer and vocalist and fiddle player Martie Maguire; as well as lead singer and guitarist Natalie Maines.