“You’re their blessing and their curse,” Howard Stern told Natalie Maines on Friday, referring to her trio the Dixie Chicks. The good Nat giveth, and then taketh away. But despite recording her solo debut, which hits stores May 7, Natalie re-Maines a Dixie Chick. The Sinead O’Connor of country music wanted to spend the summer promoting her disc “Mother,” which was produced by Ben Harper, but instead will play shows in Canada with the Chicks. “I was outvoted,” said Maines, who lives in Los Angeles with actor husband Adrian Pasdar (“Heroes”) and their two sons.

The timing is right for Maines to appear in March at South By Southwest, where the other two Dixie Chicks unveiled their Court Yard Houndsin 2010. But there has yet to be an announcement.

Maines told her pal Stern that she agreed to go into the studio with Harper and his band to appease friends who were worried about her musical inactivity. “It turned out to be a lot of fun,” said the Lubbock native, who’s sold more records than Buddy Holly, yet is not even close to being inducted into the West Texas Walk of Fame because of her outspoken liberal views.

And don’t expect to hear any tracks from the new record on country music radio. Maines told Stern she felt betrayed by the stations she helped build up. The Chicks were pre-Taylor Swift crossover sensations before Maines dissed then-President Bush’s impending war against Iraq in 2003. “I waved that country banner when I was not country,” she said, calling the Chicks now “permanently tainted” by the backlash. The daughter of Tina and Lloyd said her new record better represents her own musical tastes.

Stern compared the other two Dixie Chicks — talented instrumentalists Martie Maguire (fiddle) and Emily Robison (banjo/ dobro), sisters who both live in the area — to Art Garfunkel, suggesting that the new album is her Paul-Simon-finally-goes-solo moment. It’s an apt analogy. With their corny cowgirl outfits, the Chicks had tested positive for Branson before Maines joined the group and changed them into spunky Nashville hitmakers. Where the pre-Maines Chicks sold about 150,000 copies of their three independently produced CDs, they sold more than 10 million copies of each of their first two albums with Natalie on vocals. The third Columbia album “Home” sold six million copies in its first few months, but then came the controversy and sales stopped cold.

“Mother” shows that Maines, a truly remarkable vocalist, is ready to start over and hit the marketplace on her own terms. But the title track, a Pink Floyd cover she sang on the Stern show, doesn’t sound like a hit. More its speed, the track appears on the “Voices For Justice” compilation, which hits stores Jan. 15 to benefit the recently freed West Memphis 3. Along with Eddie (“Ed”) Vedder, Maines has worked to bring awareness to the plight of three wrongly imprisoned “goth kids,” imprisoned for 18 years until being released in 2011.

Rodeo Austin releases lineup: Best New Artist Grammy nominee Alabama Shakes, country legend Merle Haggard and current country hitmaker Josh Turner are among those booked to play the 76th annual Rodeo Austin (formerly Star of Texas) at the Travis County Expo Center. Go to www.rodeoaustin.com for more information. Here’s the lineup. March 9: Josh Abbott Band; March 10: Charlie Daniels Band; March 11: Eli Young Band; March 12: Sara Evans; March 13: Alabama Shakes; March 14: Megan & Liz; March 15: Easton Corbin; March 16: Kip Moore; March 17: Merle Haggard; March 18: Restless Heart; March 19: Three Dog Night; March 20: Josh Turner; March 21: Kevin Fowler; March 22: Cody Johnson; March 23: Gary Allan.

Notes: Dripping Springs’ terrific community radio station KDRP has expanded to Austin, where it’s 100.1 on the FM dial. Besides Larry Monroe’s iconic Phil Music show every Thursday evening, Austin is treated to Americana radio legend Jessie Scott’s “Southbound” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays. When I’m not listening to Stern on Sirius or the new KUTX-FM, which plays a ton of Austin artists, I have Jessie dialed up. … Fans of Doug Sahm, Lefty Fizzell and Freddy Fender will want to catch Texas Tycoons, an all-star local band paying tribute to Texas musical pioneers. Featuring members of Fastball, Lil Cap’n Travis and MVP guitarist Landis Armstrong, the Tycoons play Guero’s at 6 p.m. this Saturday and at the Hole In the Wall at 7 p.m.every Wednesday. A guaranteed good time. … Even with hundreds of food trailers in the ATX, it’s safe to assume that Honky Tonk Hot Dogs (415 Jessie St.) is the only one with a dancefloor. Owned by singer Scott Angle of the Cold, Cold Hearts, HTHD names its gourmet dogs after local country acts and institutions, including Dallas Wayne, Jesse Dayton, Bob Cole, Ginny’s Little Longhorn, Redd Volkaert, Chapparal and Cindy Cashdollar. There’s also the Carper Family brisket dog named after the trio performing there Jan. 19. … Cool gig alert: The Whiskey Sisters, featuring Teal Collins of the Mother Truckers, play Saturday at the Waterhole Saloon on Hwy 71 in Del Valle. … But the big show’s in town that night: Alejandro Escovedo’s career retrospective at ACL Live. Originally scheduled for Dec. 29, the show, with a cast of hundreds, was postponed after Escovedo was hospitalized in Cleveland with an unspecified illness while visiting the family of his girlfriend Miss Melvis, but he’s back at full strength.