Dixie Chicks Tour History

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The Complete Timeline of The Chicks, from 1989 to 2020

dixie chicks tour history

Robin Harper

There have been a lot of Big Moments in the life of the band formerly known as the Dixie Chicks. It happens when you make music for three decades. There was that one moment in 2003, obviously. But so much of what's gone into The Chicks of right now has been building since the band's initial start in 1989. So while that one controversy led to all kinds of conversations, it hardly defines the band's seasoned and prolific history.

Because along with those more talked-about moments, there have also been so many songs written, chart records broken, awards won, breaks taken, families raised, and more. And all of that has played a part in what led them here, to the release of Gaslighter , due out on Friday (July 17).

So let's do a #ThrowbackThursday and take a good, long look back at the full 30-year history of this legendary trio.

1989: Four women came together in Texas to form The Dixie Chicks: Erwin sisters Martie (Maguire) and Emily (Strayer), plus Laura Lynch on upright bass and middle school math teacher Robin Lynn Macy on guitar. The group was originally known more for bluegrass and Western swing music than mainstream country.

1990: The band releases what would be their first independent studio album, Thank Heavens for Dale Evans .

1992: The trio -- because Macy had retired from the band -- release their second independent album, Little Ol' Cowgirl .

1993: The group releases what would become their last independent album, Shouldn't a Told You That , after which the band went through some shuffling of who would stay and who would go.

1995: After frontwoman Lynch left the band, Natalie Maines joined the group when her father Lloyd -- the band's steel guitar player -- had recommended her to the Erwin sisters.

1998: The Dixie Chicks' very first major-label album Wide Open Spaces comes out, and almost immediately, their debut single "I Can Love You Better" was their first to make it into the top ten on the country charts.

1998: For that first studio album, the trio leaned on outside writers for all the songs but one. Strayer and her sister Maguire write "You Were Mine," a bittersweet breakup ballad.

1999: The band releases their follow-up Fly , and the album had Maines, Maguire and Strayer credited with co-writing five of the best tracks: "Ready to Run," "Cowboy Take Me Away," "Don't Waste Your Heart," "Sin Wagon" and "Without You."

2002: The band releases Home , which includes four songs the women had a hand in writing: "White Trash Wedding," "I Believe in Love," "Tortured, Tangled Hearts," and "Lil' Jack Slade."

2003: At a concert at London's Shepherds Bush Empire theater, Maines casually mentioned to the audience that they were ashamed that President George W. Bush was from their home state of Texas.

2006: After a few years off after that moment, the band's Taking the Long Way was released. For the first time, the album was written completely by Maines, Maguire, Strayer and friends: "The Long Way Around," "Not Ready to Make Nice," "Everybody Knows," "Bitter End," "Lullaby," "Lubbock or Leave It," "Silent House," "Favorite Year," "Voice Inside My Head," "I Like It," "Baby Hold On," "So Hard," and "I Hope." At the time, Strayer told me , "Martie, Nat and I tended to go back to the same country and bluegrass patterns, so we needed other writers to help us meld that with the new sounds."

2006: The trio takes off on their Accidents & Accusations Tour, and the Shut Up and Sing documentary detailing the toll the 2003 controversy took on the band hits theaters and receives multiple film nominations.

2006: Maines, Maguire and Strayer pose nude for an Entertainment Weekly cover, with their bodies strategically covered in harsh words.

2006: Their single "Not Ready to Make Nice" celebrates the band's unwillingness to ignore the backlash they endured in 2003, and it becomes their biggest hit to date.

2007: The Chicks show up at the Grammys and go home with five trophies for album of the year, best country album, record of the year, song of the year and best country performance by a duo or group with vocal.

2010: While the band is taking a break to spend time with their families, Maguire and Robison release new music without Maines as the Court Yard Hounds and release a self-titled debut album.

2013: The Court Yard Hounds release a second album, Amelita .

2017: The trio takes to Twitter to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their "I Can Love You Better" video.

2017: They share the official and original inspiration for their band name, roughly three years before they would change it.

2017: Throughout 2016 and 2017, The Chicks hit the road for their MMXVI/MMXVII Tour and run the numbers on the tour's 367 days, 82 shows, 12 countries, and three continents for one million fans.

2019: The trio collaborates with Taylor Swift on her "Soon You'll Get Better."

January 2020: The band starts retweeting female country artists' posts about equal play on country radio.

2020: The group announces an upcoming album called Gaslighter , featuring artwork of a trio of Irish step dancers, inspired by Maines' cousin.

2020: The band removes the Dixie from their name, opting to go by simply The Chicks (reportedly to distance themselves from a name with ties to the Confederate-era South). On the day of the switch, their website said, "We want to meet this moment."

2020: With the album release date a few weeks away, The Chicks go on a social media spree promoting their fan's love for the title track and "March March." The album features 11 songs -- all but one track -- written by Maines, Maguire and Strayer, including "Gaslighter,""Sleep at Night," "Texas Man,""For Her," "March March," "My Best Friend's Weddings," "Tights On My Boat," "Julianna Calm Down," "Young Man," "Hope It's Something Good," and "Set Me Free."

July 17, 2020 : Gaslighter is released, along with a brand new video for The Chicks' “Sleep At Night,” which they shot in the Mojave Desert.

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This Day In History : March 12

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The Dixie Chicks backlash begins

dixie chicks tour history

In response to the critical comments made about him by singer Natalie Maines in the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq , President George W. Bush offered this response: “The Dixie Chicks are free to speak their mind. They can say what they want to say.” Of the backlash the Chicks (then known as the Dixie Chicks) were then facing within the world of country music, President Bush added: “They shouldn’t have their feelings hurt just because some people don’t want to buy their records when they speak out.” This music-related sideshow to the biggest international news story of the year began on March 12, 2003, when the British newspaper The Guardian published its review of a Chicks concert at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London two nights earlier.

In that review, The Guardian ‘s Betty Clarke included the following line: “‘Just so you know,’ says singer Natalie Maines, ‘We’re ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas .'” (Clarke left out the middle of the full quotation, which was, “Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence. And we’re ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas.”) That line quickly became fodder for a grassroots anti-Chicks backlash. It began with thousands of phone calls flooding country-music radio stations from Denver to Nashville—calls demanding that the Chicks be removed from the stations’ playlists. Soon some of those same stations were calling for a boycott of the recent Chicks’ album and of their upcoming U.S. tour. Fellow country star Toby Keith famously joined the fray by performing in front of a backdrop that featured a gigantic image of Natalie Maines beside Saddam Hussein.

The economic and emotional impact of all this on the members of the Chicks is documented in the 2006 documentary Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing . In its opening sequence, one can see how popular and how far from controversial the Chicks were just prior to this controversy, when they sang the national anthem at the 2003 Super Bowl. The film also captures a scene in which the Chicks’ own media handler is counseling Maines not to speak her mind too openly about President Bush in an upcoming interview with Diane Sawyer. 

In 2020, after a 15-year hiatus, the Chicks released a new album, "Gaslighter." That same year they announced they were changing their name to the Chicks, dropping the word "Dixie"

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Dixie Chicks concert reviews and tour history

  • rating: 93.3% (4)

Fans' concert reviews

Kohl center in madison, us on sat, 26 aug 2023.

A VERY talented group of women - it was a great show! Old favorites mixed with the newer stuff! They may have offended some old white guys, who got up and left, with songs about equality and rights, but that’s exactly what I love about the Chicks! I’m glad we made the last minute decision to buy tickets. Well worth every penny! EXTRA Bonus was seeing Ben Harper too!

Utilita Arena Birmingham in Birmingham, UK on Fri, 29 Apr 2016

Disappointed to start with. Extremely loud, main mike and drums were overpowering. First few tracks couldn't make out the music at all. Heard tracks better when the band all sat down. 50-50. Had no idea who the warm act were, they werent't introduced.

Well - what can I say...... Never in my life has the attendance at a concert had me in tears. I mean - they were just free-flowing down my cheeks - uncontrollably. And hey - I'm not even embarrassed wink emoticon. I would liken it to the kind of experience people have when they believe they have had some kind of awestruck angelic / spiritual awakening - you know, a vision that's just stopped your heart beating and you're moving towards the light..... To my friends who I know will be attending in Glasgow next week..... F*CK ME - like over 2hrs of banger after banger!!!!!!!! Remember to take your AIR Slide / Ukulele / Fiddle / Banjo / Acoustic / Electric - F*CK IT - take it all - you're gonna need them in-between all that toe-tapping, thigh-slapping, rock -chickin AWESOMENESS!!!!! Couple of cheeky new ones in there too - BRILLIANT! Our Girls also gleefully take the piss outta both Trump and Clinton - HILARIOUS!!! The Chicks did us proud - it's been worth the wait. We all still knew the songs word for worth - It was BIBLICAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you don't know who these goddesses are - do yourself a favour - take a trip onto YouTube and see what real talent actually looks and sounds like. No - there's no any dance routines, backing tracks, or backing singers doing the real work - just real honest music! And this is all I got - I didn't spent my night taking pictures - I just y'know - LIVED IT!!!!

They were absolutely amazing me and my wife loved it xxx

Rated concerts

  • Kohl Center in Madison, US Sat, 26 Aug 2023 100% from 1 rating
  • Utilita Arena Birmingham in Birmingham, UK Fri, 29 Apr 2016 86.7% from 3 ratings

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  • fantastic: 0 0%
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  • good: 1 25%
  • disappointing: 0 0%
  • should've stayed at home: 0 0%

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Dixie chicks tour history, about dixie chicks.

Dixie Chicks is a group founded 35 years ago in 1989 in Dallas, US.

Based on our research data, it appears, that the first Dixie Chicks concert happened 35 years ago on Fri, 04 Aug 1989 in Uncle Calvin's Coffeehouse - Dallas, US and that the last Dixie Chicks concert was 5 months ago on Tue, 31 Oct 2023 in Wolfbrook Arena - Christchurch, New Zealand.

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The Untold Truth Of The Dixie Chicks

The Dixie Chicks

The Dixie Chicks have brought a number of uber-catchy, pop-country songs like "Goodbye Earl," "Wide Open Spaces," and "Travelin' Soldier" into the world over the years, winning them multiple Grammy Awards and shaking up the country music industry. Comprised of sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer, as well as lead vocalist Natalie Maines, the trio officially formed in 1995, and, by the late '90s, they were dominating the airwaves. They spent the next decade at the top of the charts, before going on a hiatus in the late 2000s.

However, the Dixie Chicks weren't gone for good, as they went on a world tour in 2016, performed alongside  Beyoncé at the 2016 Country Music Association Awards, collaborated with Taylor Swift in 2019, and announced a new album in 2020: Gaslighter . So if you thought the Dixie Chicks were done, you were wrong — thank goodness!

So what else is there to know about the insanely talented trio? And why did they really take a 14-year hiatus? Read on to discover the untold truth of the Dixie Chicks.

How did the Dixie Chicks get their name?

While the Dixie Chicks in their current incarnation were formed in 1995, their story starts several years before in 1989 in Dallas, Texas. That's when Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer began making music together as the Dixie Chicks, but with two other members: vocalist Laura Lynch and guitar player Robin Lynn Macy. After several years of cutting albums and performing together, the original lineup shuffled and changed until Natalie Maines was added in 1995. That's when the glue dried and the magic happened for the trio, heralding their imminent rise to musical stardom.

So where did Maguire and Strayer come up with the moniker of Dixie Chicks? As it turns out, they named themselves after the Little Feat song " Dixie Chicken ," which was popular in the late '80s, according to The New York Times . Unlike some bands, who try on a variety of names before the right one sticks, the Dixie Chicks found one with staying power right out of the gate.

The Dixie Chicks almost didn't survive this controversy

While plenty of musicians are open about their political beliefs and the causes they support, not all of them have faced the backlash that the Dixie Chicks did back in 2003. One March evening that year, while on stage in London, Natalie Maines got candid concerning her feelings about the Iraq War, as reported by Rolling Stone . "Just so you know, we're on the good side with y'all," she said to the crowd. "We do not want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas."

What Maines hadn't anticipated was the anger that statement would arouse in both country music fans and radio programmers, who were furious about her remarks. The band received criticism from pundits and threats from hysterical haters, but the women soldiered on despite the crowds that smashed their CDs outside of their concerts. 

That experience forever changed the trio, and understandably so. "I joke that I have PTSD, but there's probably truth in that joke," Maines confessed to Rolling Stone . "It all put an ugly light on people that I was kind of happily naive to."

Martie Maguire thought the Dixie Chicks were over... until Taylor Swift changed her mind

While the Dixie Chicks came back in a big way after dropping " Gaslighter " in 2020, quickly racking up millions of views and streams, their eagerly-anticipated return wasn't always 100 percent in the cards. That was something that Martie Maguire pondered at a 2011 Taylor Swift concert with her daughter. "I was feeling like maybe our time had passed, and this was Taylor's time," she revealed to  The New York Times . How sad!

But then, something rather magical happened: Swift launched into a cover of the Dixie Chicks' 1999 hit song "Cowboy Take Me Away." Much to both her and her daughter's surprise, the crowd sang along to the entire song with great gusto, showing Maguire that there was still lots of love out there for the Dixie Chicks. She called the experience both "super emotional" and "surreal," understandably overjoyed to learn that the Dixie Chicks had not been forgotten. What an inspiring moment!

The Dixie Chicks are proud of their 2020 comeback album

"Gaslighter" is the first single from the Dixie Chicks' 2020 album, and there's no question that the trio take great pride in their work. "I'm so proud of this album. No matter what happens with it," Emily Strayer gushed in an interview with Allure . "It might be a slow burn; it might be a quick burn. I don't know, but it will find its way to our fans." That's despite the fact that country radio stations have been shown to discriminate against female artists, according to Rolling Stone .

But given the changes in the music industry that have happened since the Dixie Chicks released their last album, such as streaming platforms and social media, there are fewer barriers now between bands and their fans. So it might not matter if radio stations decline to spin Dixie Chicks records at all.

Natalie Maines also said she's extremely proud of the album and that any success it has will be the cherry on top of the sundae.

Before the Dixie Chicks made their 2020 album, this member went to therapy

Before the Dixie Chicks were able to return to the studio together to record Gaslighter , Natalie Maines had some important work to do on herself. Specifically, she started going to therapy, and not just because of the scars left from the Iraq War controversy fallout. "I think I've always been sort of a person that just pushes the feelings down, and then they do eventually come back up," she revealed to Rolling Stone . "So I didn't have tools to know how to deal with them or acknowledge them." 

Additionally, for a long time, Maines knew that Emily Strayer and Martie Maguire longed to return to the studio as a trio, and that obligation gnawed at her as well. "That was a lot of what I had to work out in therapy, too, because you do become this unit and you do feel an obligation," she continued.

Fortunately, Maines did get back into a space where she felt creative, and that empowered her to once again be a Dixie Chick.

When the Dixie Chicks released "Goodbye Earl," it was met with controversy

In 1999, the Dixie Chicks released their album  Fly , which, true to form, broke the rules and occupied the top spot on the charts, according to Rolling Stone . But it was one track in particular that stirred up controversy: " Goodbye Earl ," about a woman named Wanda who ends her abusive husband's life. Natalie Maines delivers the vocals with glee, detailing how Wanda and her friend Mary Anne put Earl in the ground and get away with the crime.

While the Dixie Chicks were clearly singing tongue in their cheek, some listeners were offended by the lyrical content, as they felt it glorified domestic violence. Many radio stations refused to play the song, too, but that didn't stop the song's success, according to country music editor Lon Helton. "The single is going up our [country airplay] charts as fast as any single the Chicks have put out," he explained to the Los Angeles Times . "Programmers were nervous at first about offending parts of their audience, but I think they've gotten the message."

Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks is proud of what she said about President Bush

Despite the fact that Natalie Maines' remarks about President George W. Bush and the Iraq War sparked intense controversy, the Dixie Chicks member doesn't regret what she said on that fateful night. "I'm really proud of what went down," she revealed in an interview with The New York Times . "I spoke up for what I believe — that's what art is about and what musicians should be about." That's a pretty brave sentiment, given how scary things got at times, which was chronicled in the 2006 documentary Shut Up and Sing . It was intense, to say the least!

In fact, if Maines was given the chance to do it all over again, she would have been even more emphatic in her criticism of the 43rd president. "If I'd known anybody was listening, I would have said something to really make a mark," she continued. She went on, "With social media, opinions all start becoming noise, but at that point, people weren't really supposed to have an opinion."

The Dixie Chicks are done with the country music industry

While the Dixie Chicks have always done things a little differently than their peers, they had nothing but fond feelings for the country music industry at the outset. "We always waved that country flag when people would say it wasn't cool," Natalie Maines revealed in an interview with Allure . "And then to see how quickly the entire industry turned on us..." It was sobering for them, to say the least, in the wake of the 2003 Iraq War controversy.

To that end, the Dixie Chicks have said they're done trying to fit in with the country music world, as they haven't felt like a part of it for some time. "I was shocked that people thought that we were different than what we were," Maines continued. "I always felt like we were so genuine."

Given that streaming platforms have changed the way people think about musical genres , it will be interesting to see what direction that the Dixie Chicks go in the future. Only time can tell.

In 2001, the Dixie Chicks sued their record label

One of the biggest fights that the Dixie Chicks had to deal with started in July 2001, when the trio filed a lawsuit against their record label. They told Sony that they planned to stop recording with the label with paperwork, as noted by CBS News . In response, Sony sued the Dixie Chicks, stating that they were obligated to record five additional albums, lest they be out $100 million.

That wasn't the end of the story, however, as the Dixie Chicks then accused Sony of breach of contract in another lawsuit, claiming that they were due millions of dollars in unpaid royalties. Clearly they were not backing down!

Both parties settled the following year, with Sony issuing the Dixie Chicks a new record contract that upped their royalty rate to 20 percent. They also got a $20 million bonus, though they had to cough up $15 million to Sony for marketing costs as well. With both parties satisfied, the Dixie Chicks were clear to release their album Home . "Our reconciliation with Sony Music couldn't have come at a better time," they said in a statement.

Natalie Maines knew immediately that the Dixie Chicks were going to be great

While Emily Strayer and Martie Maguire had been with the Dixie Chicks since the beginning, Natalie Maines came in years after they initially formed the band. But that didn't stop Maines from being 100 percent sure they were going to make it big, a confidence the other two members didn't necessarily share. "Before the first show, I was like, 'No big deal, we're gonna be great,'" she proclaimed in an interview with Rolling Stone . "And I remember Martie [Maguire] was freaking out." 

Maines then asked Maguire why she was so nervous, aware that she and Strayer had yet to find the success they longed for. "I'm sure on the inside, she's going, 'Because I've done this for 10 years!' But it was great," she continued. "I was right — that was just the beginning of her learning that I am right!"

Indeed Maines was correct in her prognostication, as shortly thereafter the Dixie Chicks signed a record deal — and became famous seemingly overnight.

Emily Strayer of the Dixie Chicks can play eight instruments

If you've done your homework on the Dixie Chicks, you probably know that all three of them are insanely talented when it comes to their abilities. In fact, Emily Strayer, who usually defaults to the banjo or guitar, can actually play eight instruments. "When I'm home, I want to play things I don't know how to play," she told Allure . "I'm trying to learn the piano, or I'll pick up a ukulele." She added that her husband bought her a drum set too, though she says she's not very good at using it.

Being proficient on so many instruments is rare for a person, let alone a woman, and that's something that's not lost on Martie Maguire and Natalie Maines. "I don't know about you guys, but when I see a girl rip a guitar solo, I'm blown away," Maines shared. "It's still very rare." Rare, maybe, but, thanks to the Dixie Chicks, it's a reality.

Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks is a total introvert

Despite the fact that the Dixie Chicks are world famous and poised to have a long and enduring career, Natalie Maines isn't outgoing just because she's a lead singer — far from it, actually. "I never want to leave my house, ever. I hate going out," she confessed in a chat with  Allure .  "I'm an introvert." That sentiment was echoed by Martie Maguire, who also describes herself as an introvert.

Maines also wears the same thing every day — allegedly a Miley Cyrus hoodie, according to her bandmates — and dislikes ever having to femme it up. "I hate thinking about clothes," she explained to Rolling Stone . "I hate shopping. I haven't gotten a manicure or pedicure in six years." She also loves her super short haircut , though she admits her children wish she would grow it back out. Sorry, kids, but that's probably not going to happen.

Why did the Dixie Chicks take such a long hiatus?

While the fallout from the Iraq War controversy would be enough for anyone to want to take a break, that wasn't the main reason the Dixie Chicks took such a long hiatus. Rather, as Martie Maguire explained, all three of the women had family obligations to attend to. "Our nine kids collectively are why we paused for so long, and finding out that teenagers are a lot harder than babies," she revealed in an interview with Apple Music . Sounds like they had their hands full!

While each of the Dixie Chicks put out new music during their time apart — Natalie Maines put out a solo album , and Emily Strayer and Maguire released songs as the Court Yard Hounds — the impetus to really get the band back together took a while to manifest. "I think the tour in 2016 really solidified our want to do this," Strayer added.

The Dixie Chicks believe in their kids' generation

With all that the Dixie Chicks have been through together, it seems natural that they hope the world can be a better place in the future. As to how that will happen, the trio believe that their children will be a force for change. "I actually feel like there's a shift happening right now," Martie Maguire told Allure . "I'm amazed when I hear my daughters with their friends." She added that it gives her hope to see her children be so open-minded on issues such as gender .

Emily Strayer agrees, and she shared that she's learning a lot from her kids' generation. "It's the young people that are going to save the world," she proclaimed. "I've been buying all the reusable this, that, and the other, and I think it's just starting."

Natalie Maines also expressed her concern about the climate crisis, and she hopes that collective change can cause the government to take action.

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Boxscore Flashback: The Chicks Kick Off Biggest Tour Yet With Bush Comment Heard ‘Round the World

We take a look back at The Chicks' Top of the World Tour, which kicked off 18 years ago today with Natalie Maines' infamous statement about President Bush and the impending Iraq war.

By Eric Frankenberg

Eric Frankenberg

The Chicks

As concert tours remain on hold due to COVID-19,  Billboard  is looking back at notable tours from the archives in a new series of Boxscore Flashbacks.

January and February 2003 were something of a victory lap for The Chicks . Fresh off singing the national anthem at Super Bowl XXXVII and a return to the top of the Billboard 200, the three-woman band’s 2002 album Home won a trio of Grammys in the country field, with an album of the year nomination as a cherry on top.

About two weeks later, the actual victory lap was to commence: The Chicks (then billed The Dixie Chicks) were embarking on a sold-out world tour — the aptly named Top of the World Tour.

Their previous outing, 2000’s Fly Tour, was a massive success, grossing $46 million and selling more than 1 million tickets over 86 shows in North America, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore. The Top of the World Tour, set to run throughout 2003, was routed to expand The Chicks’ touring footprint, with their first headline legs in Europe in Australia.

Trending on Billboard

The run began with three intimate “warm-up” shows in small venues overseas, the first of which played at London’s Shepard’s Bush Empire exactly 18 years ago, on March 10, 2003.

Playing for a sold-out crowd of 2,000 fans, lead singer Natalie Maines lit a fire that would burn across the Atlantic. On opening night, days in advance of the impending Iraq war, she told the crowd, “Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas.”

When word of Maines’ comments hit the U.S. days later (the virality of social media was still a few years away), country radio swiftly and uniformly removed the group from all programming, as the group’s then-current single “Travelin’ Soldier” fell from Billboard ’s Country Airplay chart from 1-3 to off the chart. The Chicks never made it higher than No. 36 again on the survey despite a history of six No. 1 singles and 14 top 10s.

The Chicks Reflect on Covering Beyonce, Changing Their Name & More: Watch

But while industry gatekeepers closed their doors, the group’s core fanbase was intact. Backlash persisted, well-documented in the group’s 2006 documentary Shut Up and Sing , but business stayed strong, as the Top of the World Tour became the biggest ever for The Chicks, a trophy it still holds today.

Like any tour, tickets for the Top of the World Tour were sold months in advance of the shows and, therefore, in advance of The Chicks’ sudden backlash. Nonrefundable ticket sales during the group’s aforementioned country chart-topping, Grammy-winning “heyday” guaranteed big numbers, but they still were weary of a lukewarm reception in sold-out North American arenas.

Maines told a Greeneville, S.C., crowd, “I heard some of you want to boo — that’s fine too. We believe in free speech. I’ll give you 15 seconds to boo if you want to.” Expected boos turned into roaring cheers, and the group played a rousing set to the Bi-Lo Center’s sold-out 14,811 attendees, earning $855,000 on the tour’s first Stateside show.

The good times rolled on, albeit amidst a swirl of protests and death threats. The U.S. leg of the Top of the World Tour earned nearly $60 million, averaging $968,000 and 16,000 tickets per night. Peaking in major markets like Philadelphia, Chicago and New York, The Chicks earned more than $1 million from 28 individual shows, hitting a double-header-high with $2.4 million at Philly’s Wachovia Center (now known as the Wells Fargo Center) on June 16-17.

Business was intentionally smaller internationally for the group’s first headline trip abroad. Venue capacities shrunk from 16,000 in North America to 10,000 in Australia and to less than 4,000 in European theaters. Further, tickets prices were cut by 25-30%, from $60.26 in North America, to $45.76 and $42.71 in Europe and Australia, respectively. Still, without any local tour history and country music’s less bankable reputation overseas, The Chicks sold 83% of tickets in Australia and 97% in Europe, adding $3 million to the tour’s total gross.

Ultimately, the Top of the World Tour grossed $64.2 million and sold 1.05 million tickets from 73 reported shows. On Billboard ’s 2003 Year-End Top Tours ranking, The Chicks came in at No. 5, higher than any other country act. Notably, political and musical adversary Toby Keith was No. 12 on the same list, grossing $41 million with the Shock’N Y’all Tour.

How New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys Revitalized Their Careers: Boxscore Flashback

The Chicks took 2004-05 to regroup before returning with 2006’s Taking the Long Way and its corresponding tour, the Accidents & Accusations Tour. It was here that the group would face the effects of the polarization that split fans, musically and politically.

The Accidents & Accusations Tour was routed quite differently than its predecessor. The Top of the World Tour played 61 shows in North America, split with an expected slant toward the U.S. — 55 domestic shows and six in Canada. Three years later, there were just 25 concerts in the U.S. and a bulked-up 15 in Canada, forced to consolidate and look north when traditionally reliable markets like Houston proved financially impossible due to a lack of radio support.

The band was smart to shift their attention away from the American Midwest and South, as the U.S. per-show average dropped 39% from $980,000 in 2003 to $598,000 in 2006, while the Canadian average dipped just 10% from $869,000 to $784,000. Those downward grosses were despite slightly increased ticket prices — average domestic attendance slumped 41% from 16,511 tickets sold to 9,698, a number that belied the arena-conquering confidence the group boasted on previous tours.

Conversely, the band returned to Australia and, thousands of miles away from country music’s backlash, saw their per-show gross increase 74% from $394,000 to $683,000.

The Chicks then spent nearly a decade off the road, except for the Long Time Gone Tour, 13 shows in Canada and Europe in 2013-14.

In the final months of the Obama administration, they returned in earnest with the DCX Tour, spanning North America, Europe and Australia throughout 2016-17. Entering an entirely new political minefield 13 years after that infamous London show, Natalie, Emily and Marnie found a different welcoming throughout the U.S., punching back up to $871,000 and 12,817 tickets per night, up 46% from their domestic average 10 years earlier. In total, the tour played 67 shows and earned $58.5 million from 809,000 tickets sold.

Since their first headline tour in 2000, The Chicks have grossed a reported $198.5 million and sold 3.5 million tickets; 78% of those earnings have come in after Maines made her divisive comments, and therefore after country radio and many of its listeners cut the cord and ran over their CDs with a truck .

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Saving Country Music

Destroying The Dixie Chicks – Ten Years After

Trigger Random Notes Dixie Chicks , Merle Haggard , Mumford & Sons , Natalie Maines , The Avett Brothers , The Lumineers , Toby Keith , Willie Nelson --> 508 Comments

dixie-chicks-free-speech

“Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.”

The comments at the concert beginning a Dixie Chicks world tour sparked off possibly the biggest black balling in the history of American music. Spoken 10 days before the beginning of the Iraq War, the backlash took the Dixie Chicks from the biggest concert draw in country music to relative obscurity in country music in a matter of weeks.

Despite numerous clarifications and apologies from Natalie Maines and the Dixie Chicks, a full on boycott of their music was called for by pro-Bush, pro-war, and pro-American groups. Their single “Landslide” went from #10 on the Billboard charts, to #44 in 1 week, and the next week fell off the charts completely. Radio stations who played any Dixie Chicks songs were immediately bombarded with phone calls and emails blasting the station and threats of boycotts if they continued. Even radio DJ’s and programmers who sympathized with the Dixie Chicks were forced to stop playing them from the simple logistics nightmare the boycott created. Some DJ’s who played the Dixie Chicks were fired.

Dixie Chicks CD’s were rounded up, and in one famous incident were run over by a bulldozer. Concerts were canceled in the US as the Dixie Chicks couldn’t sell tickets, and rival concerts were set up that would take Dixie Chicks tickets in exchange. The Dixie Chicks lost their sponsor Lipton, and The Red Cross denied a million dollar endorsement from the band, fearing it would draw the ire of the boycott. The Dixie Chicks also received hundreds of death threats from the incident.

The boycott eventually lead to the virtual demise of the band. They went on hiatus in 2008, though their bounce back album in 2006 produced by Rick Rubin called Taking The Long Way went gold in its first week, debuting at #1 on the Billboard country charts despite absolutely no radio play.

Perspective on the Demise of the Dixie Chicks 10 Years After

Whether anyone wants to look at what the Dixie Chicks comments as right, wrong, poorly timed, or misplaced being said on foreign soil, it is hard to not see 10 years after the hypocrisy of how the Dixie Chicks were handled by the country music community. At the same time Natalie Maines made her comments, Willie Nelson was also openly criticizing the war, but taking it to another level by floating the idea that 9/11 was a potential governmental conspiracy perpetuated by the Bush Administration to drum up public support for war in Iraq. Merle Haggard released an anti-war song in the summer of 2003 called “America First” with little to no backlash. And then there is the idea that whether you agree with Natalie Maines or not, her right to speak her mind is guaranteed by The First Amendment, one of the things President George W. Bush pointed out himself when responding to the controversy in April 2003:

The Dixie Chicks are free to speak their mind. They can say what they want to say…They shouldn’t have their feelings hurt just because some people don’t want to buy their records when they speak out. Freedom is a two-way street. I don’t really care what the Dixie Chicks said. I want to do what I think is right for the American people, and if some singers or Hollywood stars feel like speaking out, that’s fine. That’s the great thing about America. It stands in stark contrast to Iraq.

As President Bush points out, the people boycotting the Dixie Chicks were also exercising their rights to freedom of speech. The controversy also created positive sentiment and appeal for The Dixie Chicks that it wasn’t there before. Their album Taking The Long Way won 2007 Grammy Awards for Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year; something that was likely not possible without the sentimental vote by the greater recording industry. Outlets like NPR who would have never touched the Dixie Chicks’ music before the boycott began playing them in regular rotation. Taking The Long Way went 5 times platinum eventually, partially on the support of people who sympathized with the Dixie Chicks politically.

How The Death of the Dixie Chicks Changed The Music

Possibly the most untold story of the Dixie Chicks’ saga is the sonic repercussions the boycott and eventual demise of the band has had on country music. The Dixie Chicks were a traditional country band, especially by today’s perspective. They wrote most of their own songs, played traditional acoustic instruments like fiddle, mandolin, banjo, and guitar, and featured 3 part harmonies. The Dixie Chicks benefited greatly from the resurgence in interest in American roots music and bluegrass spurned by the release of the movie O Brother Where Art Thou in 2000. The Dixie Chicks were helping to usher in a more acoustic, more traditional era in country music, and were the biggest-drawing, best-selling artists in country music at the time; the biggest thing since Garth Brooks in country, and one of the biggest acts in all of American Music.

Meanwhile the opposition to the Dixie Chicks and the person at the opposite end of the political and sonic spectrum was Oklahoma’s Toby Keith. He symbolized the loud, electric, arena rock approach to country music that could be argued is still heavily in place in country music today. Toby positioned himself as the antithesis of the Dixie Chicks, and ended up becoming the best-selling artist in country in the 2000’s decade. Toby’s flashy, rock-style arena show thrived while the Dixie Chicks’ stripped down, acoustic approach dwindled back into obscurity in mainstream country. When you see bands today like Mumford & Sons, The Lumineers, and The Avett Brothers, you see that the stripped-down, acoustic approach to music is still relevant, if not the most relevant approach today in popular music. But it’s had to move outside of the country music fold to find a present-day outlet.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Reflecting back on the Dixie Chicks and the public fallout, it is hard to not see that the country music community’s reaction was unmeasured, unfair, and overall, unhealthy for its future. Country music not only black balled a band that was offering sonic leadership to the genre on how to move forward while still respecting the roots of the music and remaining commercially viable, they lost one of the genre’s greatest economic engines, and may have long-term fumbled their ability to benefit from the universally-relevant appeal of acoustic roots music.

But most unfortunately, the event leaves country music with a black eye as a genre who can’t respect artists regardless of their beliefs. This typecasting of the country music fan as a closed-minded, politically-intolerant animal is a legacy it will take country music a long time to shake. Much longer than 10 years.

Dixie Chicks , Merle Haggard , Mumford & Sons , Natalie Maines , The Avett Brothers , The Lumineers , Toby Keith , Willie Nelson

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Dr Brian Neil Talarico, North Bay Psychiatrist brutally abuses his power, he brutally beat my girlfriend to the floor. it was a retaliation. my bestie had reported talarico for woman beating, child molestation, harassment, and predatory stalking. he does nothing but constantly physically abuse, threaten and stalk her, police catch and release… violent harassment continues.

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As the author stated, Big Mouth Maines had every right to say what she wanted. I also am afforded the same right to badmouth and boycott her/them. Which I and millions of others did, to great success. Goodbye Earl and stay gone.

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The Chicks Plot Summer World Tour

By Joseph Hudak

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If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission.

The Chicks are back on the road. The trio of Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire, and Emily Strayer announced their World Tour 2023 on Tuesday, a 37-show run that will take them from Norway to the U.S. and Canada.

“Thank you to all our fans for making last Summer so fun!” the band wrote on Instagram . “It’s time to get the party going again! We can’t wait to see everyone!”

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The Chicks released their first album in 15 years, Gaslighter , in 2020.

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An illustration shows Beyonce in three different looks: wearing a cowboy hat in the forefront, a futuristic headpiece and goggles in the middle, and with wavy flowing hair and a red top in the back.

Critic’s Notebook

Will Country Welcome Beyoncé? That’s the Wrong Question.

“Cowboy Carter” is an extension of the pop superstar’s exploration of how Black creativity fuels all corners of popular music. She’s embracing the music, not the industry.

Credit... Matt Williams

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By Jon Caramanica

  • March 26, 2024

With the release of “Cowboy Carter,” Beyoncé’s eighth solo album and the one that finds her exploring — and testing — the boundaries of country music, much of the early conversation has centered on whether the country music industry would rally around her. Beyoncé is one of the most commercially successful and creatively vibrant pop stars of the 21st century — certainly her arrival would be greeted with hurrahs, no?

Rather than being feted with a welcome party, Beyoncé has been met largely with shrugs. “Texas Hold ’Em” — one of the two singles she released in advance of the album — is a savvy blend of old and new. It displays a familiarity with the sonic principles of old-fashioned country, while maintaining the infectiousness of current pop. Nevertheless, it has received extremely modest attention at country radio. Beyoncé is Black, and a woman, two groups that contemporary Nashville has consistently marginalized and shortchanged. And no amount of built-in celebrity appears to be able to undo that.

Contemporary mainstream country music often feels like a closed loop of white male storytelling. Which is why whether or not Beyoncé and Nashville can find common cause is, in every way, a red herring. Neither is particularly interested in the other — the tradition-shaped country music business will accept certain kinds of outsiders but isn’t set up to accommodate a Black female star of Beyoncé’s stature, and she is focusing on country as art and inspiration and sociopolitical plaything, not industry. The spurn is mutual.

On Instagram last week, Beyoncé spelled it out plainly: “This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.” It was a statement that preemptively denied the country music industry the opportunity to stake a claim on her work while also indicating that she had found a creative path around the genre’s confines.

Beyoncé is holding a microphone onstage and is leaning toward a guitarist on her right. To her left, a fiddler smiles at the audience.

This is as close as she’s come to leveraging the expectation of the genre’s racism and exclusion as a means of promotion. Beyoncé instead made it personal, adding that her exploration of these musical themes was “born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed … and it was very clear that I wasn’t.” This is likely a reference to her appearance at the Country Music Association Awards in 2016 , where she performed her song “Daddy Lessons” alongside the Dixie Chicks (now the Chicks), another act who intimately understand the experience of being held at arm’s length by the Nashville oligarchy.

That C.M.A.s performance was, of course, rollicking — a sliding-doors glimpse of a direction for the genre left largely not taken, or shunted to the margins. In its flamboyance, tension and elegance, it underscored what was, and often remains, missing from mainstream country.

So Beyoncé instead kept it for herself. On “Cowboy Carter,” she’s said that she deployed the frameworks, textures and tricks of country music as an extension of an ongoing musicology project that goes back at least as far as her genre-destabilizing Coachella performance in 2018, which, in addition to being an almost unimaginable feat of musical dexterity, choreography and endurance, was also one of the most stylistically and socioculturally rigorous statements made by a pop star in recent memory.

Since then, Beyoncé has evolved from reliable hitmaker to reliable conversation starter, using her massive platform, and the fans who flock to it, to tell a parallel narrative about Black music present and past. Her albums are musical journeys, and they are also history lessons. Similarly themed LPs from lesser stars, or from pointed agitators, might be less effective at making the point Beyoncé is, which is that Black creativity fuels all corners of popular music.

On “Renaissance,” her previous album, she spotlighted queer Black communities in dance music. But country music still sidelines its Black roots while making it exceedingly difficult for contemporary Black performers — of which there are many — to gain opportunities to develop.

It’s not that country isn’t nimble and porous when it wants to be. Country often makes room for white performers to take on and off the trappings of the genre — the way Taylor Swift can slip easily in and out of this mode at will, or how Zach Bryan has been adopted, in some ways, by Nashville even though he has largely avoided self-identifying that way. Or consider the face-tattooed belter Jelly Roll , the biggest breakout country star of last year, who’d spent the better part of the prior two decades as a tough-talking white rapper.

In recent weeks, Post Malone has been dropping hints about his upcoming turn toward country. He’s been photographed alongside Morgan Wallen, and also Hardy and Ernest, members of the extended Wallen universe. Though still living under the shadow of the 2021 incident in which he was captured on video using a racial slur, Wallen remains the genre’s reigning superstar, his popularity largely undimmed. While Beyoncé and the Nashville firmament eye each other warily, Post Malone and Wallen’s crew are in a state of mutual embrace, both welcoming and reinforcing each other. (Country music has also been something of a soft-landing refuge for white stars from other genres — think Kid Rock, Aaron Lewis or Bon Jovi — looking to extend their careers. Even Lana Del Rey has indicated she’d be spending some time with the genre on her next album.)

That Beyoncé is making “Cowboy Carter” not to infiltrate country but rather as an artistic and political statement must come as something of a relief to those inside the genre interested in preserving its norms. (It’s worth asking, though, if a Beyoncé-equivalent white pop star were making overtures to country — say, Lady Gaga or Katy Perry at their peak — would the reception be less frosty?)

But increasingly, the genre is being tested from outside. Radio is ceding power to streaming, and there are myriad entry points for country artists looking to elide the usual gatekeepers. This has been a small boon for artists who aren’t white men, who have been finding their audiences more directly, often via social media, and then letting the country music major labels play catch-up.

That’s been the path of Tanner Adell, perhaps the most promising Black country artist currently working, and the one best placed to benefit from any spillover interest generated by Beyoncé owing to her intuitive blend of country, R&B and pop. Adell has more than 650,000 followers on TikTok, 480,000 on Instagram, a knack for viral catchphrases, and a healthy regard for country music signifiers as well as a canny understanding of when to disrupt them.

Perhaps more revealing, though, is the recent viral success of “Austin,” by Dasha — an essentially unknown white singer — a catchy, self-consciously “country” ditty that’s spurred a line-dancing trend on TikTok. A song “Austin” has quite a bit in common with? “Texas Hold ’Em.” Both deploy a banjo and wear their nods to country tradition very self-consciously. Often, contemporary mainstream country music bears little sonic resemblance to the genre’s roots, but these songs pointedly underscore that connection. (The words “Old Town Road” come to mind.)

The country music business doesn’t often seem terribly preoccupied with the most-familiar signifiers of country music: “Texas Hold ’Em” is currently topping Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, which accounts for genre-agnostic streaming activity, but it hasn’t gone very high on the Country Airplay chart, which tracks radio play, the real metric of genre embrace.

A scroll through Dasha’s back catalog suggests that country is a mode, if not a costume — barely any of her music before this year nods to it. And yet “Austin” has become in quick order one of the signature country songs of this year. Its breakout is still relatively new, and it’s likely to grow rapidly in attention. Will Dasha be welcomed as a country artist or shunned like an interloper? The answer, when it arrives, might not surprise you.

Jon Caramanica is a pop music critic for The Times and the host of the “Popcast” podcast. He also writes the men's Critical Shopper column for Styles. He previously worked for Vibe magazine, and has written for the Village Voice, Spin, XXL and more. More about Jon Caramanica

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The Chicks Channel features the group’s entire catalog, live performances and favorite songs by artists they love.

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Experience The Chicks like never before on their all-new SiriusXM channel — The Chicks Channel — for a limited time starting today. In celebration of the music of the beloved musical icons and 13-time GRAMMY winners, The Chicks Channel is available now through August 9 at 3am ET  on SiriusXM’s Channel 104 and through August 31 on the SXM App .

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“Music has always been a medium that brings people together, a way to connect and find commonality,” said The Chicks. “As we continue to connect with our fans across the country on tour, we are so happy to also bring our music across the airwaves on our own SiriusXM channel.”

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About The Chicks

The Chicks, formerly known as The Dixie Chicks, began in 1989 in Dallas, Texas, and disrupted the country music scene, having since boasted more GRAMMY ® wins than any other female group. After nearly 14 years, the group made their long-awaited return in March of 2020 with the release of their hit single “Gaslighter,” the title track of their latest album which was released to rave reviews in July 2020. For more on The Chicks, please visit www.thechicks.com .

The Chicks also announced five new dates for their critically acclaimed The Chicks Tour , which kicked off to rave reviews earlier this summer. The band is set to perform on October 4 at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in Rogers, AR, with additional stops confirmed in Oklahoma City at The Zoo Amphitheatre on October 5; Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in Woodlands, TX, on October 8; followed by back-to-back performances at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, TX on October 10 and October 11. Public on-sale is set to begin August 5 at 10am local time on thechicks.com/tour .

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dixie chicks tour history

IMAGES

  1. Dixie Chicks's Concert & Tour History

    dixie chicks tour history

  2. The Chicks (fka Dixie Chicks) Concert & Tour History (Updated for 2023

    dixie chicks tour history

  3. Dixie Chicks Tour Dates 2024 & 2025

    dixie chicks tour history

  4. Dixie Chicks's Concert & Tour History

    dixie chicks tour history

  5. Dixie Chicks Tour

    dixie chicks tour history

  6. Are the Dixie Chicks Sisters? How the Iconic Country Group Formed

    dixie chicks tour history

COMMENTS

  1. The Chicks (fka Dixie Chicks) Concert & Tour History

    The Chicks (fka Dixie Chicks) Concert History. The Chicks is a country music trio that formed in Dallas, Texas in 1989. Since 1995, the line-up has consisted of Emily Strayer, her sister Martie Maguire, and Natalie Maines. Initially, the trio called themselves "Dixie Chicks" but changed their name to "The Chicks" on June 25, 2020, citing ...

  2. The Chicks (Dixie Chicks) Concert & Tour History

    When was the last The Chicks (Dixie Chicks) concert? The last The Chicks (Dixie Chicks) concert was on October 25, 2023 at Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Boondall, QLD, Australia in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The bands that performed were: The Chicks (Dixie Chicks) / Elle King.

  3. The Chicks

    The Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks) are an American country band from Dallas, Texas.Since 1995, the band has consisted of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and Emily Strayer (vocals, guitar, banjo, Dobro).Maguire and Strayer, both née Erwin, founded the band in 1989 in Dallas, Texas, with bassist Laura Lynch and vocalist and ...

  4. Dixie Chicks Tour History

    Dixie Chicks with Wild Rivers Bridgestone Arena · Nashville, TN, US. >. Thu Sep 21 2023. Dixie Chicks with Wild Rivers Thompson Boling Arena · Knoxville, TN, US. >. Wed Sep 20 2023. Dixie Chicks with Wild Rivers Merriweather Post Pavilion · Columbia, MD, US. >. Mon Sep 18 2023.

  5. The Complete Timeline of The Chicks, from 1989 to 2020

    2017: Throughout 2016 and 2017, The Chicks hit the road for their MMXVI/MMXVII Tour and run the numbers on the tour's 367 days, 82 shows, 12 countries, and three continents for one million fans.

  6. The Dixie Chicks backlash begins

    The Dixie Chicks backlash begins. In response to the critical comments made about him by singer Natalie Maines in the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, President George W. Bush offered this ...

  7. Fly Tour

    The Fly Tour (2000) was the debut North American concert tour by country music band The Chicks' (formerly the Dixie Chicks), performing sold-out shows in over 80 cities across Canada and the contiguous United States.The tour was primarily in-support of their sophomore album Fly (1999), as well as featuring songs from their debut album, Wide Open Spaces (1998).

  8. Dixie Chicks concert reviews, tour history

    About Dixie Chicks. Dixie Chicks is a group founded 35 years ago in 1989 in Dallas, US. Based on our research data, it appears, that the first Dixie Chicks concert happened 35 years ago on Fri, 04 Aug 1989 in Uncle Calvin's Coffeehouse - Dallas, US and that the last Dixie Chicks concert was 4 months ago on Tue, 31 Oct 2023 in Wolfbrook Arena ...

  9. Dixie Chicks' 'Fly' at 20: How Country Group Was Revolutionary

    August 30, 2019. The Dixie Chicks at the 26th annual American Music Awards, 1999. Getty Images. When the Dixie Chicks made an appearance on Taylor Swift's "Soon You'll Get Better," from ...

  10. The Untold Truth Of The Dixie Chicks

    However, the Dixie Chicks weren't gone for good, as they went on a world tour in 2016, performed alongside Beyoncé at the 2016 Country Music Association Awards, collaborated with Taylor Swift in 2019, and announced a new album in 2020: Gaslighter.So if you thought the Dixie Chicks were done, you were wrong — thank goodness!

  11. Category:The Chicks concert tours

    Pages in category "The Chicks concert tours". The following 8 pages are in this category, out of 8 total. This list may not reflect recent changes .

  12. The Chicks Plot North American Tour With Jenny Lewis, Patty Griffin

    The trio formerly known as the Dixie Chicks are heading back out on the road this summer for the first time as the Chicks.The country band has scheduled a tour spanning 27 cities in North America ...

  13. Behind the Scenes of the Dixie Chicks' Prep for American Comeback Tour

    The return of the Dixie Chicks for a full-blown tour of the U.S. -- the band's first stateside run in a decade -- marks the resumption of one of the wildest roller coast rides in live music history.

  14. The Chicks

    In the years after Taking the Long Way, the Dixie Chicks took a hiatus from recording, though they still performed occasionally. In the meantime, Maguire and Robison formed the duo Court Yard Hounds, and Maines released a solo album, Mother (2013). The Dixie Chicks reunited for a world tour in 2016, and a CD/DVD set documenting one of the concerts, DCX MMXVI, appeared in 2017.

  15. Dixie Chicks Tour & George Bush Comments: Flashback

    Still, without any local tour history and country music's less bankable reputation overseas, The Chicks sold 83% of tickets in Australia and 97% in Europe, adding $3 million to the tour's ...

  16. Destroying The Dixie Chicks

    The comments at the concert beginning a Dixie Chicks world tour sparked off possibly the biggest black balling in the history of American music. Spoken 10 days before the beginning of the Iraq War, the backlash took the Dixie Chicks from the biggest concert draw in country music to relative obscurity in country music in a matter of weeks.

  17. The Chicks discography

    The Chicks (formerly known as the Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band composed of Natalie Maines, along with Emily Strayer and Martie Maguire, who are sisters.Their discography comprises eight studio albums, two live albums and 28 singles.. Founded in 1989 as a more bluegrass-oriented band with Maguire and Strayer—then going by their birth surnames of Erwin—along with Laura ...

  18. The Chicks Tickets, 2024 Concert Tour Dates

    The Chicks are one of country music's most influential and boundary-pushing groups. Formed in Dallas, Texas, in 1989 by sisters Emily Strayer and Martie Maguire, The Chicks (formerly known as the Dixie Chicks) rocketed to pop stardom with the addition of lead vocalist Natalie Maines in 1995. The multi-platinum trio would go on to win 12 ...

  19. Revisiting the Chicks' 2003 Controversy That Changed Country Music History

    March 12, 2024 at 8:45 PM. The Dixie Chicks Ron Wolfson/Getty Images. The Chicks sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry when they publicly took a stand against George Bush — and ...

  20. The Chicks Tour

    The Chicks Tour / 2023 World Tour was the sixth headlining concert tour from American country music trio The Chicks and the first since their name change in June 2020. It began on June 14, 2022, in Maryland Heights, Missouri and initially concluded in Austin, Texas.Following this, the group played their first ever Las Vegas residency, The Chicks: Six Nights in Vegas in May 2023, at the Zappos ...

  21. The Chicks Announce 2023 World Tour

    The Chicks World Tour 2023 Dates: June 20 — Oslo @ Spektrum. June 21 — Stockholm @ Avicii Arena. June 23 — Amsterdam @ Ziggo Dome. June 27 — Cardiff @ Cardiff Castle. June 28 — Glasgow ...

  22. Will Country Welcome Beyoncé? That's the Wrong Question

    That's the Wrong Question. "Cowboy Carter" is an extension of the pop superstar's exploration of how Black creativity fuels all corners of popular music. She's embracing the music, not ...

  23. Top of the World Tour: Live

    Top of the World Tour: Live is the first live album by American country music band Dixie Chicks, released in November 2003.. It records their successful Top of the World Tour.A DVD Top of the World Tour: Live was also released with the material of the tour. Both are composites of multiple shows. As of March 2020, Top of the World Tour: Live has sold 1 million copies in the United States and ...

  24. Let The Chicks Take You Away With Their Exclusive SiriusXM Channel

    About The Chicks. The Chicks, formerly known as The Dixie Chicks, began in 1989 in Dallas, Texas, and disrupted the country music scene, having since boasted more GRAMMY ® wins than any other female group. After nearly 14 years, the group made their long-awaited return in March of 2020 with the release of their hit single "Gaslighter," the title track of their latest album which was ...

  25. Dixie Chicks comments on George W. Bush

    The Dixie Chicks performing at Madison Square Garden on June 20, 2003, during the Top of the World Tour. In March 2003, the American country band the Dixie Chicks publicly criticized President George W. Bush, triggering a backlash.At a concert in London during their Top of the World Tour, the lead singer, Natalie Maines, said the Dixie Chicks were ashamed Bush was from the same state as them ...