The Dixie Chicks Change Their Name To ‘The Chicks’ In Response To Protests

Published on June 26, 2020.

The Dixie Chicks have officially changed their band name!

The decision to change their name has come after 31 years of the country band being known as The Dixie Chicks, but the request was a plea from fans. The word ‘Dixie’ is often associated with slavery, which is something the girl group did not want the name of their band to reflect.

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“We want to meet the moment,” Chicks bandmates Natalie Maines, Martie Erwin Maguire, and Emily Strayer said in a statement.

The origin of the name ‘The Dixie Chicks’ was inspired by the 1973 album and song “Dixie Chicken” by Little Feet. The band did not intend to have any associations with Confederacy with the name choice, however, Dixie often refers to the Mason-Dixon Line, which served as the demarcation line for the legality of slavery. The song “Dixie” was also considered a national anthem of the Confederacy.

The country band did run into one problem in the process changing their name, however, since a band already exists with the name ‘The Chicks.’ Luckily, the group was gracious and happy to share the name without any problems.

The former Dixie Chicks group even gave them a shoutout for allowing the change, ‘A sincere and heartfelt thank you goes out to ‘The Chicks’ of NZ for their gracious gesture in allowing us to share their name,” they said. “We are honored to co-exist together in the world with these exceptionally talented sisters.”