Wisdom Forum

Several hours before The Chicks were set and fans were already camping out near the stage in preparation for https://fanchicks.net/pic/l/russia the country trio."We got three hours," Jesse Martinez said to her friend Hannah Bell as they sat down eating some nachos, only a row of people away from the American Express stage, where The Chicks will come on at 8 p.m.The friends came to the Austin City Limits Music Festival from Fort Worth, with a big part of that to see The Chicks."They got me through all the depression I have," Bell said. "I went to ACL because (Martinez) said the Dixie Chicks were playing and I was like 'hell yes.' ... I want to be so close to where they spit on me."For subscribers:The Chicks are bringing Texas women out of ACL Fest retirementKelsey Engle, who was wearing a "Cowboy Take Me Away" T-shirt, said The Chicks have a nostalgic appeal. She remembers riding in the car with her mom at 5-years-old, listening and singing along to their 1999 album, "Fly.""Whenever I went to college at UT back in 2012, as we were driving from Dallas to Austin my mom played 'Wide Open Spaces,'" Engle said, "and she was like, 'I hope you just remember the song when you're in college and know that I'll support you no matter what."Michelle Popeszku was sitting near the American Express stage before Zach Bryan took the stage, and she said she came from Houston to see Bryan and The Chicks. While she loves remembering being a kid singing Chicks songs into her fake microphone, Popeszku said she loves the group because it's "three powerful women playing country music.""Anytime [they] come on the radio, you remember every word," Popeszku said. "Good memories growing up."Mollie Wilson, a resident of New Braunfels and who was sporting a Chicks shirt, said she's been a longtime fan since the group started in the '90s and remembers hearing them throughout dance halls in the region. She said she's listened to "Cowboy Take Me Away" and the "Fly" album hundreds of times.