Natalie Maines

About

As the lead vocalist of the Chicks, Natalie Maines has helped steer one of country music's most decorated acts through controversy and reinvention. She joined the then named Dixie Chicks in 1995 at age 21, replacing founding singer Laura Lynch, and quickly became the creative engine behind their biggest work. Between 1998 and 2007, the band collected 10 Country Music Association Awards and 13 Grammy Awards, with the 2006 album Taking the Long Way sweeping five Grammys including Album of the Year. Maines co wrote all 14 tracks on that record, describing the process as "pure therapy" after her public criticism of President George W. Bush sparked a firestorm. She has also built a solo lane worth noting. Her 2013 album Mother, co produced by Ben Harper, leans away from country and toward rock, featuring covers of Pink Floyd, Eddie Vedder and Jeff Buckley alongside original songs about motherhood, feminism and difficult relationships. The Chicks returned with Gaslighter in 2020, keeping Maines at the center of one of the more interesting long running acts in American music.