Dixie Chicks, the veteran American country trio, has changed its name to The Chicks in response to a discussion about the use of the Civil War-era phrase “Dixie” in the name.
The band, which changed all of its social media handles and the official website on Thursday to reflect the new name, even acknowledged that another singing duo from New Zealand from the 1960s already used the name The Chicks, but that they will be mutually sharing the name.
“We want to meet this moment,” the band said simply in a statement on its website. “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! — Emily, Natalie and Martie,” the band added in a press release.
The band composed of Natalie Maines, Emily Strayer and Martie Erwin Maguire has always been politically vocal dating back to their criticism of the Iraq War that led to boycotts of their music and backlash from fans. And for years, fans have referred to them simply as The Chicks.
The move comes after another country trio formerly known as Lady Antebellum changed its band name to Lady A. However, the name was already in use by another black blues singer who has performed under the stage name for more than 20 years, and the two acts met and came to an agreement about the name.
The Chicks accompanied the announcement with a new single called “March March,” which includes a video of protesting and a litany of names of Black individuals who have been killed.
The band’s first album in 14 years, “Gaslighter,” arrives on July 17. Listen to the new single above.
For the record: A previous version of this story misquoted the statement as “We want to meet the moment” as opposed to “this moment.”