Shut Up and Sing

“We’re embarrassed that the President is from Texas” These eight words were spoken by Dixie Chicks lead-singer Natalie Maines onstage at a London gig in 2003, and rarely has one flippant comment had such a huge impact on a band’s fortunes. Shut Up and Sing details the country group’s transformation from national darlings (singing the Stars and Stripes at the Superbowl) to national pariahs (mass protests, CD-burnings, cancelled tours, Bill O’Reilly advocating a good slapping on Fox News) and along the way creates a fascinating portrait of how entertainment and politics bump up against each other in an increasingly polarised nation.