The Dixie Chicks Changed Their Name To "Meet This Moment" In History
With 2020 shaping up to be a year of change, The Dixie Chicks aren't letting the chance to evolve pass them by. The band announced on June 25 they would be dropping the "Dixie" from their name. That being said, the fact The Dixie Chicks changed their name has fans all in their feels.
The Chicks didn't say much about their sudden name change, but they did share a short statement to their website. The three bandmates chocked the decision up to keeping up with changing times.
“We want to meet this moment," they wrote on their site. In a separate press statement they added, “A sincere and heartfelt thank you goes out to ‘The Chicks’ of [New Zealand] 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 Chicks have gone by The Dixie Chicks moniker since the band originated in 1989. While the band didn't address this in their statement, the word "Dixie" has been popularized as a nickname for southern states, which could have contributed to their decision. The term stems from the Mason and Dixon Line, which was once known as the divider between southern slave states and free states up north.
On the same day they changed their name, The Chicks released a powerful video to a song called "March March," which paid tribute George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin, and more who have senselessly lost their lives to police brutality.
Overall, fans had a positive response to the band's name change. "Yooooo the Dixie Chicks new handle >>>>>>>," one fan tweeted.
"I love it!!! Huge fan of The Chicks and proud they're Texans," another praised.
The news comes after country band Lady Antebellum did the same, updating their name to Lady A, after acknowledging their prior name's association with slavery.
"After much personal reflection, band discussion, prayer and many honest conversations with some of our closest Black friends and colleagues, we have decided to drop the word “antebellum” from our name and move forward as Lady A, the nickname our fans gave us almost from the start," they said on Instagram.
A name change is just one step, but it's nice to see so many bands aiming to be on the right side of history.
