Country For A Country Divided

Having rocked Nashville with her political songs, Margo Price heads to NZ.

- 

Traditionally, the tangled issues of American country music, its fans and the nation’s divided politics mean artists must walk a careful line if they want to step outside the usual themes of heartbreak and beer.

There’s even a phrase that describes the backlash: getting Dixie Chicked, after the Dallas trio who spoke out against the Bush presidency’s decision to invade Iraq and subsequently endured seven years of broadcasting blacklists and industry boycotts before they toured again.

But the past 20 months of Donald Trump in the White House have seen a few artists throw their Stetsons above the parapet. At last year’s Country Music Association (CMA) Awards, cohost Carrie Underwood reworked her hit Before He Cheats as