Everything changed for The Chicks after “the incident,” as Natalie Maines kept referring to it Saturday night.
That was back in 2003 when the trio was performing in London, and Maines spoke about America’s impending war in Iraq and then-President George W. Bush, who hailed from their home state. “We are ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas,” the singer famously declared.
With those 13 words, the country act that was on top of the world (the name of their tour that year) was abruptly canceled, as we’d say today: The Chicks were boycotted on radio; CDs and merch were burned in public pyres; and the band (also including Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer) were labeled as “ignorant,” “bimbos” and even accused of treason. Some just wanted the women to “shut up and sing,” which the band used as the name of its 2006 documentary about the brouhaha.
They relived all of it Saturday at the Auditorium Theatre during the first of two nights on The Chicks’ Taking the Long Way tour. It celebrates the 20th anniversary of the same-named album they released in 2006, their first after the fallout; it marked a huge comeback for the group and won five Grammy awards. As The Chicks played every song from the album — the first time they’ve done so — video reels scrolled across curtains behind them, recapturing some of the most aggressive news footage from the time. All three watched it from chairs perched center stage, with soft smirks on their faces as if they wanted to tell their old selves what was still to come.
“Little did we know it could get so much worse,” said Maines, teeing up a comment about President Trump, “and now we’re ashamed the president of the United States is from the United States.” A swell of applause took over the theater as fans raised fists and beer cans in the air.
In 2003, during a show in London, Maines spoke about America’s impending war in Iraq and then-President George W. Bush, who hailed from their home state. “We are ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas,” the singer declared. The group faced intense backlash over the comment.
Barry Brecheisen/For the Sun-Times
Over two hours, The Chicks and six powerful backing musicians filled the first set of the night with as much story as they did songs. They explained how mega-producer Rick Rubin, who has worked with everyone from the Beastie Boys to Metallica and Johnny Cash, had reached out in 2005 with an olive branch after much of the industry shunned them. “He said I’d like to produce you girls and set you up with songwriters because I think you have something to say,” Maines recalled. “And he was right.”
“Taking the Long Way” was the first album they fully co-wrote, with rock elite who gave the songs a meatier tempo beyond the group’s traditional bluegrass-country-pop trifecta. The Chicks recounted working with The Heartbreakers’ Mike Campbell on the rollicking “Lubbock or Leave It,” comparing their hometown ostracization with that of fellow native Buddy Holly, whose rock music was scorned by religious groups early on.
They talked about teaming up with gospel guitarist Robert Randolph and bluesman Keb’ Mo’ on the spiritual album-ender “I Hope,” pairing the performance with video footage of other female trailblazers such as Gloria Steinem, Dolly Parton and Rosa Parks.
The group’s work with singer-songwriter Dan Wilson on the defiant clapback single “Not Ready to Make Nice” earned the biggest reception of the night. “[Dan] was like, ‘So do you want to have an apology song, or say I’m sorry?’” Maines shared. “And we said f— that.”
In many ways, the largely sold-out Taking the Long Way tour feels like our apology to The Chicks, with fans now recognizing the music group as vanguards in using their platform to speak about important social issues. There was a kind of cosmic rightness that The Chicks’ Chicago show lined up with Tom Morello’s Power to the People festival in Maryland and came just weeks after Macklemore spoke up for Palestine.
The path back was, in fact, a long way. After that album came out, the group took 14 years off before releasing 2020’s “Gaslighter,” which showed that nothing about the upheaval changed their core. That year, they removed “Dixie” in their name because of its association with the Confederacy and slave trade. And in the second set on Saturday — featuring hits like “Wide Open Spaces” and “Goodbye Earl,” plus a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” — they also performed a take on Beyoncé’s “Daddy Lessons.” Maybe it was just an homage to another fellow Texan or, as some might see it, overt support for an artist who was also criticized by country music gatekeepers when she released “Cowboy Carter” in 2024.
Twenty years after “the incident,” The Chicks made clear that they will not stop using their voices to sing their truth.
The Chicks return to the Auditorium Theatre Sunday, Oct. 4.
The Chicks’ 2026 Taking the Long Way tour set list
Set 1
Taking the Long Way
The Long Way Around
Easy Silence
Not Ready to Make Nice
Everybody Knows
Bitter End
Lullaby
Lubbock or Leave It
Silent House
Favorite Year
Voice Inside My Head
I Like It
Baby Hold On
So Hard
I Hope
Set 2
Goodbye Earl
Wide Open Spaces (Susan Gibson cover)
White Trash Wedding
Daddy Lessons (Beyoncé cover)
Cowboy Take Me Away
Landslide (Fleetwood Mac cover)
Gaslighter
Travelin’ Soldier (Bruce Robison cover)
Sin Wagon