THE CHICKS Announce Intimate 2026 'Taking The Long Way' 20th Anniversary Tour: 'This Is Our Lives'

Twenty years after the country music industry attempted to turn its back on them, The Chicks are stepping back into the circle to celebrate the defiant masterpiece that defined their survival. The legendary Texas trio of Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire, and Emily Strayer has officially announced their return to the road for the Taking the Long Way 20th Anniversary Tour, set to hit select intimate theaters across North America this fall.

The 16-date run will see the 13-time Grammy-winning group performing their landmark 2006 studio album Taking the Long Way in its entirety, alongside additional fan favorites from their catalog. For the band, returning to these specific songs means stepping into a time machine to look back at one of the most volatile yet creative chapters of their lives.

“This album in particular is what I think fans would say is the most recognized time in our career,” frontwoman Natalie Maines shared, reflecting on the heavy legacy of the music.

Taking the Long Way was famously forged in the fires of intense industry backlash following Maines’ 2003 political comments criticizing the Iraq War and the Bush administration. The fallout resulted in sweeping radio bans, boycotts, and public CD-smashing rallies. Instead of retreating, the trio teamed up with legendary producer Rick Rubin to create an album fueled by raw, unadulterated resilience.

“It was definitely inspiring for songwriting,” Maines said of that intense period. “It felt like life was happening to us, like we weren’t steering the ship.”

Faced with severe public scrutiny, the studio became a sanctuary for processing the emotional toll of their sudden exile from country radio.

“Those were hard times for us,” multi-instrumentalist Martie Maguire added. “It’s all the stages of grief. I think we were kind of in that misunderstood, angry, but also really upset and needing an outlet [stage].”

Emily Strayer described the record’s creation as the ultimate musical defensive maneuver, coming together only after the band spent time “licking our wounds.” From those sessions came the fiery, uncompromising anthem “Not Ready to Make Nice,” which went on to clean house at the Grammy Awards, winning Album, Record, and Song of the Year.

“It was like, ‘This is solely selfish. This is our lives,'” Maines admitted regarding the writing of their signature comeback anthem. While she was initially shocked by how deeply the song connected with the public, she now understands its universal weight: “People have their own ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’ story to tell.”

Revisiting the material decades later has brought a surprising sense of timelessness for the trio. “Re-listening and rehearing those songs, I was surprised how relevant they still seemed and how universal they still seemed even though they were such personal stories,” Strayer confessed.

The highly anticipated theater run kicks off on September 30 at the historic Fox Theatre in Detroit and will weave through major cities, including two-night stands in Chicago, New York, San Antonio, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

Registered fans can access the artist presale starting Wednesday, June 3, at 10 a.m. local time, with general public ticket sales launching Thursday, June 4, at 10 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster.