Court Yard Hounds were an American country music and folk duo, founded by sisters

Martie Maguire Martha Elenor Maguire (née Erwin, previously Seidel; October 12, 1969) is an American musician who is a founding member of both the all-female alternative country band The Chicks and country bluegrass duo Court Yard Hounds. She won awards in na ...

and

Emily Robison Emily Burns Strayer ( Erwin, previously Robison; born August 16, 1972) is an American songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and a founding member of the country band The Chicks, formerly known as the Dixie Chicks. Strayer plays banjo, dobro ...

. They, along with Natalie Maines, make up The Chicks, formerly the Dixie Chicks. The sisters decided to record a side project under a different name. Court Yard Hounds, featuring Robison for the first time as lead vocalist, released a debut album for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, the same label for which the Dixie Chicks has recorded, on May 4, 2010. The album debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 chart, initially selling 61,000 copies. It has sold approximately 825,000 copies in the United States.

Career

Dixie Chicks

Emily and Martie Erwin, now Emily Robison and Martie Maguire, founded the Dixie Chicks in 1989 with Robin Lynn Macy (lead vocals) and Laura Lynch. They released two independent albums before Macy left, and their third album was released with Lynch on lead vocals. In 1995, Lynch left and was replaced by Natalie Maines. The group was then signed to Monument Records and released two hit albums, before departing from Monument in 2000 and founding their own label, Open Wide Records, in association with

. They then released their third album

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

to critical acclaim. During a London concert ten days before the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

, lead vocalist Maines stated, " Just so you know, we're on the good side with y'all, we don't want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas" (the trio's home state). The statement offended their core fan base who thought it rude and unpatriotic, and the ensuing controversy cost the group half of their concert audience attendance in the United States and led to accusations of the three women being un-American, as well as hate mail, death threats, and the public destruction of their albums in protest. The group followed a small hiatus with a live album and a documentary highlighting the maelstrom created by Maines' comment entitled '' Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing''. The Dixie Chicks released '' Taking the Long Way'' in 2006 which has since sold over 3 million copies and ultimately won five

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

. The Dixie Chicks have been on hiatus since 2008. in 2016 they reformed for a world tour.

Formation of Court Yard Hounds

Court Yard Hounds was formed in 2009 when Maguire and Robison wanted to return to the studio however Maines was still reluctant to do so. The duo's project was announced in January 2010 and the album features Emily on lead vocals. Robison said that the album is "very personal" and she would also be joined by singer-songwriter Jakob Dylan on a track called "See You in the Spring". The band signed to Columbia Records and released their self-titled debut album on May 4, 2010. Their first public appearance as Court Yard Hounds was on March 18, 2010 at the

Americana Music Association The Americana Music Association is a not-for-profit trade organization advocating for American Roots Music around the world. It is a network for Americana artists, radio stations, record labels, publishers, and others with the goal of developi ...

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

showcase in Austin, Texas. With Robison on lead vocals she is backed up by her sister Martie, with other band members consisting of Natalie Maines' father, Lloyd Maines, on guitar, and other members from the Dixie Chicks' backing band; the debut album was also recorded in Maguire's home studio. According to Maguire and Robison, the Dixie Chicks have not parted ways. And still continue to make appearances including touring with the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

and Keith Urban in 2010 and appearing at selected events, such as the Calgary Stampede, in 2013. Court Yard Hounds' second studio album, ''Amelita'', was released on July 16, 2013. "Sunshine," the album's lead single, was released on June 10, 2013. In 2015, the Dixie Chicks announced a tour of Europe for the following year, later also announcing a tour in North America, their first tour in years.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Guest appearances

Music videos

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control American bluegrass music groups Country music groups from Texas Columbia Records artists Country music duos Sibling musical duos Musical groups from Austin, Texas Musical groups established in 2009 2010 establishments in Texas American musical duos Female musical duos