The trio are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their album, Taking the Long Way
The Chicks appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live to perform their hit song “Not Ready to Make Nice.” The performance came in honor of the 20th anniversary of the group’s Grammy Award-winning album, Taking the Long Way.
Dressed in all red, the trio—Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire, and Emily Strayer—showcased the anthemic track alongside a band and strings section. Maguire brought in her signature fiddle playing as the musician shared vocals on the powerful song, released in response to the group being blacklisted for their comments regarding President George W. Bush and the Iraq War.
The Chicks, then known as the Dixie Chicks, released Taking the Long Way, their seventh studio album, in 2006. The album won five Grammys, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year. Rolling Stone named “Not Ready to Make Nice” one of the best 100 songs of 2006, writing, “A heart-tugging guitar anthem for small-town girls with big dreams—and the best ersatz Springsteen song in a year that was packed with them.”
The Chicks will hit the road this fall for a tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Taking the Long Way. Starting in Detroit, the trio will play 16 shows across the country. Major stops include multiple shows in Chicago, New York, San Antonio, and more, before closing out with two nights in Hollywood, California. The tour is also notable for the size of the venues the Chicks are playing: intimate theaters.
The Chicks released their newest album, Gaslighter, in 2020 via Columbia Records. It was their first record since Taking the Long Way, and their first after a name change and 14-year hiatus. The Chicks keep on making their voices heard, though; recently, Maines called Donald Trump a “fugly slut” for establishing a slush fund for his supporters and allies with U.S. tax dollars.
