BST Hyde Park: The Chicks – (Supporting Bruce Springsteen / July 8th 2023) – Live Review

By Hannah Compton, Building Our Own Nashville

Clearly one of the most exciting additions to any BST line up, The Chicks (formerly The Dixie Chicks) are one of those bands that pretty much everyone enjoys!

A mixture of hardcore fans of The Chicks and of people waiting for the main man himself (Springsteen)

The Chicks undoubtedly won over an even bigger fan base after their set on Saturday 8th July 2023.

The sun shone throughout their set, which sadly was not the same for the rest of the evening, but The Chicks had the weather on their side!

Natalie, Martie and Emily entered the stage to humongous applause!

Starting with Sin Wagon, The Chicks reminded everyone that country music can be rock too! Flawless vocals, Natalie delivered a strong performance throughout and of course the masterful instrumentation from Martie and Emily was second to none. Whenever Martie plays the violin/fiddle you are completely captivated. Those riffs, (are they even called that on a violin?) are part of what makes some of those songs the brilliance that they are!

Gaslighter from the album with the same title was next and then they calmed things down a bit with Julianna Calm Down (pun intended).

Their much-loved cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide was incredibly moving. It’s hard to love one version more than the other when it comes to Maines and Nicks.

The Long Way Around and Wide Open Spaces followed but of course Cowboy Take Me Away and Travelin’ Soldier were a massive hit with the crowd! Those songs are phenomenal live and a great example of why country music is such a great genre! It’s the way those songs sound both sonically and lyrically that really takes you away!

Bringing the hootenanny to Hyde Park, The Chicks performed the fun and upbeat White Trash Wedding! The sounds from the band were beautifully infectious! There’s something about that ‘old country honky tonk’ sound that captures everyone’s attention and makes everyone want to get up and dance!

Playing tribute to their 2016 CMA performance with Beyoncé, The Chicks sang a cover of her country-tinged track Daddy’s Lessons blended with their track Long Time Gone!

March March and Not Ready To Make Nice followed but of course, and how could they not? The Chicks closed with the sassy, witty and empowered Goodbye Earl! One of their greatest hits, this song is so much fun to sing along to! It’s a “get out your frustrations, sing along and just completely let go and enjoy” kind of song!

The Chicks filled Hyde Park in true country fashion! Those fiddle sounds, the banjo, the mandolin and those distinctive and highly recognizable vocals brought a whole new energy to the crowd!

It was beautiful to see so many faces come alive during their set! The Chicks are so well known but for non-country fans, they are a band that most, probably didn’t realize they loved until they saw them live!

Great Oak Stage opener of the day and fellow country artist Brittney Spencer was amongst the audience having the time of her life! Her story of becoming a country artist centers around The Chicks so for her, this was a core memory moment, especially being on the same line up and meeting them after!

The Chicks are one of the greatest country artists of all time and it isn’t hard to see why!