Sabrina Carpenter Brings Out The Chicks

Sabrina Carpenter surprised Austin City Limits Music Festival on October 13, 2025, by bringing The Chicks onstage at Zilker Park for a soaring duet of “Wide Open Spaces.” The pop star headlined Weekend Two and, for the second week in a row, delivered a headline-making country crossover moment, following her duet with Shania Twain the weekend prior.

A crossover that makes perfect sense for Sabrina Carpenter

Carpenter’s affinity for country isn’t new. She’s collaborated with Dolly Parton and recently performed at the Grand Ole Opry, and her ACL appearance doubled down on that thread. Touring behind her new album Man’s Best Friend (featuring “Manchild”), she leaned into catalog choices that showcase her storytelling instincts and a twang-leaning vocal tone that fits these classics.

Why “Wide Open Spaces” hit so hard in Austin

Backed by festival-stage acoustics and a crowd primed for singalongs, Carpenter and The Chicks turned “Wide Open Spaces” into a generational handoff: the song’s independence anthem met Carpenter’s bright, modern phrasing and The Chicks’ still-peerless blend. The arrangement stayed faithful, clean acoustic bed, tight harmonies, roomy chorus, letting the lyric breathe and the hook land.

The Chicks’ classic: a quick refresher

Written by Susan Gibson, “Wide Open Spaces” was released in 1998 as the title track and third single from The Chicks’ album of the same name. It reached #1 on the U.S. Country chart (four weeks in November 1998) and crossed to #41 Pop, becoming a signature cut that still transports fans the instant that chorus hits.

Sabrina Carpenter’s country playbook is working

Between the Shania Twain cameo (a spirited “That Don’t Impress Me Much”) and this The Chicks moment, Carpenter’s ACL run showed a clear throughline: she knows which country standards suit her voice, and she respects the originals without karaoke-ing them. The reception in Austin suggests a studio cover of “Wide Open Spaces” would land big, streaming, radio, or both.

Key facts

• Event: Austin City Limits Music Festival (Weekend Two)
  
• Date/Location: October 13, 2025 • Zilker Park, Austin, Texas
  
• Surprise Guests: The Chicks (this weekend); Shania Twain (last weekend)
  
• Song Performed: “Wide Open Spaces” (The Chicks, 1998; written by Susan Gibson)
  
• Why it matters: Bridges Carpenter’s pop era with her established country ties (Dolly collab, Grand Ole Opry)
  

The bottom line

Sabrina Carpenter and The Chicks turned ACL into a multi-generational country celebration, reminding everyone why “Wide Open Spaces” endures, and why Carpenter’s country forays feel less like detours and more like a lane she’s ready to drive.