When a member of an established band does a side project, the question inevitably emerges: Are you breaking up?

When two members find a second outlet after going through the volume of controversy that surrounded the Dixie Chicks, the question could overwhelm any of the new band’s music.

Thus, the Chicks’ short stadium tour with the Eagles in June could not have come at a better time. The dates — five of which will also feature Keith Urban — occur just weeks after sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire release an album May 4 as a duo, Court Yard Hounds.

“When [the Eagles shows] came up, we were in the middle of planning promotion for [Court Yard Hounds],” Emily told Billboard. “We were like, ‘Is this going to derail us?’ But at the same time we were so excited to do it because of the opportunity it represents. And it answers the biggest question, the elephant in the room, which is ‘Have the Dixie Chicks broken up?’ To us it’s almost the perfect, ‘Shut up! Stop asking! Believe us when we say we’re still together, we’re just not working right now.` So it just kind of helped us do that.”

The Hounds made their live debut earlier this month during the South By Southwest music conference in Austin, a perfect location since the album was recorded in that city, at Martie’s home studio.

Once the Chicks’ dates with the Eagles come to a close, the Hounds will start their own run of live shows to promote their self-titled debut, including a series of appearances on Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair tour. The duo’s first Lilith date announced thus far comes July 27 in Cleveland, where they’re joined on the bill by Kelly Clarkson, Sara Bareilles and Mary J. Blige, among others. They’re also slated for Aug. 8 in Atlanta and Aug. 10 in West Palm Beach.

Ultimately, the Hounds are optimistic that their outside project will be an ongoing secondary creative outlet when fellow Chick Natalie Maines wants time away from their primary gig.

“We’re ready to do the next record,” Martie told Billboard. “We have more repertoire. We had, like 20 songs. We just hope the songs resonate with people so they want to hear them in years to come. That’s always the goal, that you’re making something that lives for a really long time and that people want to hear more of.”

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