The Dixie Chicks are no strangers to controversy. During the first couple years of the last decade, they ended up in a public feud with Toby Keith and then lost a big chunk of their fan base over their political views.

But having the rug pulled out from under them didn’t make the band run away from tough issues. In fact, they’ve discovered that there’s a lot of freedom when you’re not trying to make everybody happy.

In that context, the Court Yard Hounds, a duo made up of the Chicks’ Emily Robison and Martie Maguire, had some leeway in the album they made this year to tackle a song about a rift in a family with “Ain’t No Son.” Emily is particularly challenged by the song because it’s subject matter that makes a lot of people uncomfortable and requires her to take on a point of view that she doesn’t agree with.

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Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum and Carrie Underwood have all found success in the last few years by taking their brand of country and crossing it into pop music. They’ve gotten bashed for it by some fans, but that’s hardly a new phenomenon.

Court Yard Hounds — the duo of Martie Maguire and Emily Robison — has certainly seen it before when their primary band, the Dixie Chicks, was at its commercial peak. And they’re sort of encouraged by the controversy.

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Court Yard Hounds, the new duo teaming Emily Robison and Martie Maguire, has required the sisters to do some minor re-evaluations of their roles.

They are, after all, performing without the services of Natalie Maines, the lead singer in their primary band, the Dixie Chicks. Someone had to step in and take the lead vocal with the Hounds, and Emily got the gig.

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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.

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Sugarland photo by Kate Powers, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

The dates and lineups for the first eight of this summer’s Lilith Fair dates suggest organizer Sarah McLachlan is committed to providing a little country music in most of the outings. The rosters in six of those cities, released Tuesday, boast at least one country act — such as Miranda Lambert, Sugarland or Loretta Lynn — and the gigs in Atlanta and West Palm Beach have two apiece.

The lineup of all-female talent was a regular feature on the summer concert circuit during the late 1990s, and Sarah’s carting a reinstituted version of Lilith to a total of 36 cities this year. Each of the shows promises 11 acts from a pool of 80 performers. As it currently stands, a July 2 show in Portland is the earliest date on the schedule.

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Court Yard Hounds photo courtesy of courtyardhounds.com.

There’s a new duo on the music scene — but you’ve probably heard and seen them before, as part of the trio, the Dixie Chicks. Sisters Emily Robison and Martie Macguire have formed the Court Yard Hounds.

Emily and Martie decided to become a duo when their hiatus from the Dixie Chicks showed no signs of ending. Continue Reading

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