On Nov. 18 the Lonely Liberals of Country Music announced their triumphant return after a decade long hiatus. That’s right, boys and girls — the Dixie Chicks are touring in the U.S. throughout next summer.
The Grammy Award winning country trio will visit more than 40 cities for their first headlining tour in America since 2006’s Accidents & Accusations World Tour.
The timing of the tour couldn’t be better with the presidential election next year.
What do presidential politics have to do with a has-been country group? In case you lived under a rock, the Dixie Chicks were unable to tour extensively throughout the U.S. after lead singer Natalie Maines threw major shade at President George W. Bush in 2003.
“We’re ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas,” Maines told a sold-out crowd in London as the U.S. prepared to move troops into Iraq.
The remark was met with praise from the crowd of Londoners, but a lot of Americans — particularly the Chicks’ fanbase — were less enthusiastic.
See, back in 2003, hating on the president wasn’t as accepted as it is today. While people are quick to denounce President Barack Obama, Maines’ remarks about Bush rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.
Dixie Chicks’ main audience was fans of country music. A lot of people who like country music are conservative.
Suddenly the Chicks were faced with immense backlash including boycotts, protests where people destroyed their merchandise and pre-social media Internet trolls labeling them “Saddam’s Angels.”
Even though it’s been 10 years, the trio picked an interesting time to return to America with the recent attacks in Paris and the heated debate regarding Syrian refugees still ongoing.
With the Chicks’ touring in the middle of campaign season for the presidential nominees, I can’t help but wonder how they’ll react to all of the politics unfolding right before them.
They can’t just not talk about it — especially if Donald Trump becomes the Republican nominee.
I would pay good money to see Trump and Maines debate over foreign policy.
What I’m curious to see is how the country music community reacts to the Chicks’ return.
Since its beloved Taylor Swift traded her cowboy boots and banjo for a crop top and pop music, country music has been lacking a bonafide female, crossover star.
Prior to Swift, the Dixie Chicks filled this role until country music disowned them.
Country music needs strong, opinionated female voices to do more than sing and look pretty. I hope the Chicks are welcomed back with open arms, but I’m afraid politics will get in the way.
In 2003, the Chicks’ controversy marked a rare occasion where pop culture and politics intercepted. Given how this election has already influenced pop culture, the conditions are ripe for another Dixie Chicks-centric scandal.
Should this scandal arise, I look forward to every second of it.
It’s rare for celebrities to do more than endorse a candidate or appear at their rallies. For example, Katy Perry recently endorsed Hillary Clinton while wearing some outlandish gown.
Perry didn’t offer any substantial reasoning as to why she was supporting Clinton over other candidates. She didn’t vent about her displeasure of a certain candidate’s stances on foreign policy, women’s rights or any other hot topic. Perry showed up, looked pretty and sang.
The Dixie Chicks are the antithesis of that. Despite pleas their management and record label may make, they will likely avoid pulling a Perry in the political battlefield.
The Dixie Chicks chronicled their infamous 2003 incident in their 2006 documentary, “Shut Up and Sing.”
The title derived from a radio DJ who wished the trio would just keep their opinions to themselves and leave the politics out of it.
If history is any indication, I imagine the Dixie Chicks will do just the opposite.
John Gavin Harp is a 20-year-old mass communication junior from St. Francisville, Louisiana. You can reach him on Twitter @SirJohnGavin.