CHICAGO — As The Chicks descend upon Chicago for the final night of the Democratic National Convention, you might recall the band's old name: The Dixie Chicks.
The band is the latest country act to perform at the convention in Chicago, following appearances by Mickey Guyton and Maren Morris this week. They will perform the national anthem on Thursday, just as they did at the 2020 DNC - though this time it will be a live performance.
Why did The Chicks change their name?
It's been more than four years since the group officially debuted their new name.
The name change was in response to worldwide protests and demonstrations following the death of George Floyd in 2020.
The band saw how the aftermath of Floyd's was leading many to re-evaluate associations with racist symbols, like the Confederate flag, sometimes called the rebel flag or the Dixie flag. The decision to drop the word “Dixie” from the band's name was the culmination of years of internal discussions and attempts to distance itself from negative connotations with the word.
“I think the sort of now moment for me was when NASCAR banned the Dixie flag,” lead singer Natalie Maines said at the time. “It just struck me as, ‘OK, we’re doing this now. No more overthinking. No more hesitation. Now is the time.'”
This wasn't The Chicks' first brush with politics.
During a 2003 concert, Maines said that the group did not condone the eventual invasion and resulting war in Iraq and was “ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas," in reference to then-President George W. Bush.
The pushback was intense and included the band being blacklisted from country music radio stations and even death threats.
The band was formed in Dallas, Texas, in the late 1980s by sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer with Laura Lynch and Robin Lynn Macy as a bluegrass band.
