The Chicks (previously known as Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band composed of lead singer Natalie Maines and multi-instrumentalist sisters Martie Maguire (née Erwin) and Emily Strayer (née Erwin; also formerly Robison). The Erwin sisters founded the band in 1989 in Dallas, Texas with bassist Laura Lynch and vocalist/guitarist Robin Lynn Macy, and performed bluegrass and country music, busking and touring the bluegrass festival circuits and small venues for six years without attracting a major label. Macy left in 1992 and Lynch became the lead vocalist soon afterward. Following the replacement of Lynch with Maines and a change in repertoire, the Chicks achieved commercial success, beginning in 1998 with hit songs "There's Your Trouble" and "Wide Open Spaces".
Days before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Maines told a London audience the band did not endorse the war and were "ashamed" of US President George W. Bush being from Texas. The remarks triggered boycotts in the US and backlash from fans. After a hiatus, they toured again in 2010, 2013 and 2016. In 2020, they dropped "Dixie" from their name, citing negative connotations, and released their first album in 14 years, Gaslighter.
The Chicks have won 13 Grammy Awards, including five in 2007 for Taking the Long Way—which received the Grammy Award for Album of the Year—and its single "Not Ready to Make Nice"—which received the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and the Grammy Award for Song of the Year. By July 2020, with 33 million certified albums sold, and sales of 27.9 million albums in the U.S. alone, they had become the best-selling female band and best-selling country group in the U.S. during the Nielsen SoundScan era (1991–present).