CHICAGO, Aug 23, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - More than two decades after country music shunned them for famously repudiating then US president George W. Bush, The Chicks sang the national anthem at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday.

Formerly known as The Dixie Chicks, the trio were once one of the top acts in country and catapulted to fame in the late 1990s.

The trio sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" a cappella to a rapt crowd, many with flags in their hands, and ended with a flourish that elicited a huge cheer at Chicago's United Center on Thursday.

The band became one of the best-selling female groups in history with their foot-stomping fusion of bluegrass, rock and country that shook the oft-staid Nashville establishment -- and then all but vanished from the national stage after comments critical of the US war in Iraq.

Lead singer Natalie Maines told a London show in 2003 she was "ashamed" that Bush hailed from the band's native Texas -- and that the trio did "not want this war, this violence," referring to the impending invasion of Iraq.

The comment caught fire. Many country radio stations banned their music -- including hits like "Wide Open Spaces," "Goodbye Earl," "Travelin' Soldier" and a popular cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide."

They faced death threats, with people burning their albums, and peers criticizing their political stance. Country singer Toby Keith toured with a doctored photo showing Maines with then Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

The Chicks, who include Maines along with sisters Emily Strayer and Martie Maguire, appeared nude on the cover of Entertainment Weekly with many of the names they'd been called -- including "Traitors" and "Dixie Sluts" -- scrawled across their strategically concealed bodies.

Years later, many artists -- Taylor Swift among them -- have voiced fear of getting "Dixie Chicked": scrubbed out if they voice opinions, political or otherwise.

Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, the group has now dropped "Dixie" from their moniker for its links to the slavery-era US confederacy.

They released their comeback album "Gaslighter" in the summer of 2020.

Their appearance Thursday, just hours before Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic nomination for president, had a clear political message -- not least because in recent weeks conservatives on TikTok have been using their song "Not Ready to Make Nice" to voice opposition to the vice president.

The Chicks wrote the song as a protest over their treatment in the early 2000s.

The irony, it seems, might be lost on the social media users co-opting it now.