Court Yard Hounds is the debut album by American country duo the Court Yard Hounds, founded as a side project of the Dixie Chicks by sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire. The album was released on May 4, 2010 via Columbia Records. It was mainly recorded in Maguire's home studio in Austin, and co-produced with Jim Scott (who was also the Grammy-winning sound mixer/engineer on the Dixie Chicks' latest album Taking the Long Way and Playlist: The Best of the Dixie Chicks).

Promotion

On February 10, 2010, the album became available for pre-order. Additionally, four tracks from the album – "Delight (Something New Under the Sun)," "The Coast," "Fear of Wasted Time," and "Ain't No Son" – were available for download to those who pre-ordered the album. The duo made their first public appearance on March 18, 2010 at the Americana Music Association's SXSW showcase, with a tour to follow.

The group's debut single, "The Coast," was released on March 30, 2010 and served as the lead-off single for the album.http

The group made their first appearance at SXSW in Austin, TX in 2010. Their first tour was as part of Lilith Fair on July 15, 2010. They are scheduled for around 10 dates on the tour.

Chart performance

Court Yard Hounds debuted at #7 on the U.S. Billboard 200, with 61,119 copies sold in its first week.http As of January 3, 2011, the album has sold approximately 300,000 copies in the U.S

References

Category:2010 albums

Category:Debut albums

Category:Columbia Records albums

Category:Court Yard Hounds albums

Artist/Band Information

Court Yard Hounds is an American country music and folk duo founded by sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison. They, along with Natalie Maines, make up the Dixie Chicks, which went on hiatus in 2008. Maguire and Robison became eager to record again in 2009, but Maines said she didn't feel "inspired" to record yet. 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, the same label for which the Dixie Chicks has recorded, on May 4, 2010. The album debuted at #7 on the Billboard 200 chart, initially selling 61,000 copies. It has sold approximately 250,000 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 in 2000 and founding their own label, Open Wide Records, in association with Columbia Records They then released another album, and during a London concert ten days before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, lead vocalist Maines said, "we don't want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas" (the Dixie Chicks' home state). The statement offended some people 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, a death threat, and the public destruction of their albums in protest. A live album was released in 2003, and a double platinum Grammy Award-winning studio album Taking the Long Way followed in 2006 before they went on hiatus in 2008.

Formation of Court Yard Hounds

Martie Maguire-Emily Robison.jpgthumb275pxrightMaguire, left, and Robison, right, performing live in concert as the Dixie Chicks in 2003 Photo: David Brown

Court Yard Hounds was formed in 2009 when Maguire and Robison wanted to return to the studio, to begin the Dixie Chicks' eighth album; because Natalie Maines felt she was not yet ready to return to another musical project yet, the sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire formed a side project to continue with their careers, and called it Court Yard Hounds.

The duo's project was announced in January 2010 and the album features Emily Robison on lead vocals. Robison has said that the album is "very personal" and that she will be joined by Jakob Dylan on a track called "See You in the Spring". They are 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's SXSW showcase in Austin, Texas. Lead singer Emily Robison has also confirmed there will be songs based on her divorce from Charlie Robison in 2008. According to Rolling Stone Magazine, while Robison is on lead vocals backed up by her sister Martie, the band consists of Natalie Maines' father, Lloyd Maines, on guitar, and other members are members from the Dixie Chicks' backing band; the album was also recorded in Maguire's home studio. According to Maguire and Robison, the Dixie Chicks have not parted ways. Along with plans from The Dixie Chicks to tour with the Eagles and Keith Urban, starting in 2010, the duo plans to release a follow-up album sometime in 2011.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Music videos

References