Is Natalie Maines Okay? The Chicks Postponed Tour After Doctor's Warning

The Chicks have postponed three tour dates after Natalie Maines' vocal difficulties forced them to cut short a performance. A doctor's warning prevents Maines' from ignoring what her body needs, even though it means some fans had to be dissapointed.

Maines, Martie Maguire, and Emily Strayer announced on June 20 that their future performances in Clarkson, Michigan; Noblesville, Indiana; and Cincinnati, Ohio have been moved from this month to late September and early October.

The Chicks' statement on Twitter reads alluded to "stringent doctor's orders for voice redy," msking them to postpone the gigs they already set to later dates.

Patty Griffin will continue to appear at the rescheduled events, and tickets will be valid for the new dates.

Sunday night's performance in Indianapolis will also be rescheduled, since Maines struggled to sing for the first 30 minutes of the concert and had to cut it short.

In a video released on Twitter by a fan, Maines addressed the crowd, "Waiting for the shot to kick in - not a shot of alcohol, a shot of steroids. I'm so sorry, I just can't pull it off."

"Indianapolis, we are so sorry we could not give you the show you deserved OR the show we wanted to give you," the band said on social media following the cancelled performance.

The band changed their name from the Dixie Chicks in June of 2020 in reaction to the Black Lives Matter movement because of the moniker's link with slave-owning southern states prior to the Civil War.

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In 1989, the Dixie Chicks were created in Texas. Back then, the band consisted of four members. (Sisters Martie and Emily Erwin, now known as Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer, are the only remaining original members; since 1995, Natalie Maines has served as the band's lead singer and guitarist.)

Cowgirls with chops donned prairie skirts and blouses with fringe and sang a blend of bluegrass and classic country music. Little Feat's 1973 album "Dixie Chicken" provided inspiration for the band's moniker. I could not find a single critic in the early press coverage of the group who believed the name was offensive.

However, historians have a clear understanding of what the term "Dixie" conveys. "I Wish I Was in Dixie's Land," a minstrel song published in 1860 and typically performed in blackface, popularized its use as an affectionate nickname for the Confederacy.

The song is assigned to Daniel Decatur Emmett, a white man from Knox County, Ohio; however, researchers Howard and Judith Sacks believe that Emmett stole the tune from the Snowdens, a family of emancipated slaves who performed and farmed near Emmett's hometown.