51.   Sweetheart southern rockers the Dixie Chicks kicked off the Academy of Country Music Awards on Wednesday with a win for top vocal group.

52.   The Dixie Chicks took home honors for Entertainer of the Year, top vocal group and best video, marking a career total of seven awards from the academy.

53.   The vocal group award marked the third consecutive win in the category for the all-women band.

54.   They were also nominated for best vocal group and the top award of best entertainer, along with Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson and George Strait.

55.   Those were John Hartford, and James Hill of The Fairfield Four gospel vocal group.

56.   Vocal group of the year nominees are Alabama, Diamond Rio, The Mavericks, Ricochet and Sawyer Brown.

57.   However, the apparent shift delighted an increasingly vocal group of Eurosceptic Tories.