The Dixie Chicks Just Changed Their Band Name as a Way to “Meet the Moment”
Say buh-bye to the Dixie Chicks. No, thankfully, they aren’t disbanding, but they have officially changed their name to just The Chicks. The band members made the change fairly quietly by releasing a brand-new song under the new name and launching it on their re-branded website.
Natalie Maines, Emily Strayer, and Martie Maguire all signed a short, simple statement about the name change on their website: “We want to meet this moment.” The word “Dixie” is commonly used as a nickname for the Civil War- and Confederate-era South and, thus, it is attached to the racism that thrived there.
The band’s first single as The Chicks is “March March,” which dropped today, June 25th.
The music video—which you can watch on their new Instagram handle below—contains footage from recent Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and other protests.
The Chicks, and back when they were the Dixie Chicks, have never shied away from making a political statement, and it definitely seems like their fans are behind them 100% on this change.
I love it!!! Huge fan of The Chicks and proud they're Texans. ❤️ https://t.co/vr7D6NMFDJ
— Charlotte Clymer 🏳️⚧️🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) June 25, 2020
https://twitter.com/GuthrieGF/status/1276185413905010688
This song is badass, the video is powerful, your new name is punk af, you're still not ready to make nice, and I am so here for it. Thanks for this gift!
— Catherine (@catherineshakes) June 25, 2020
Music fans may recognize that there already is a band named “The Chicks”: a 1960s pop group. However, Maines, Strayer, and Maguire addressed the name overlap in a statement that People obtained.
“A sincere and heartfelt thank you goes out to ‘The Chicks’ of NZ for their gracious gesture in allowing us to share their name. We are honored to co-exist together in the world with these exceptionally talented sisters. Chicks Rock!” the former-Dixie Chicks said.
The name change comes after Lady Antebellum changed its name to Lady A to distance itself from the slavery-era South.
You can buy The Chick’s first new album in 14 years, Gaslighter, on July 17th, after an initial delay due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. We cannot wait.
