dixie chicks tour 2000

  • History Classics
  • Your Profile
  • Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
  • Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
  • Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window)
  • Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window)
  • Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window)
  • This Day In History
  • History Podcasts
  • History Vault

This Day In History : March 12

Changing the day will navigate the page to that given day in history. You can navigate days by using left and right arrows

The Dixie Chicks backlash begins

dixie chicks tour 2000

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 ‘sBetty 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"

Also on This Day in History March | 12

Oil discovered in alaska's prudhoe bay, broadway goes dark due to covid-19 pandemic, coca-cola sold in glass bottles for the first time.

dixie chicks tour 2000

This Day in History Video: What Happened on March 12

Germany annexes austria, mohandas gandhi begins 241-mile civil disobedience march.

dixie chicks tour 2000

Wake Up to This Day in History

Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. Get all of today's events in just one email featuring a range of topics.

By submitting your information, you agree to receive emails from HISTORY and A+E Networks. You can opt out at any time. You must be 16 years or older and a resident of the United States.

More details : Privacy Notice | Terms of Use | Contact Us

FDR broadcasts first 'fireside chat' during the Great Depression

General fromm executed for plot against hitler, hail causes stampede at soccer match in nepal, police recover elizabeth smart and arrest her abductors, london police conduct drug raid at home of george harrison, president truman announces the truman doctrine, red river campaign begins.

dixie chicks tour 2000

Public Notice urges recognition of 'humane ladies'

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

508 Comments

' data-tf-not-load src=

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.

' data-tf-not-load src=

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.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me via e-mail if anyone answers my comment.

clock This article was published more than  23 years ago

At MCI Center, Dixie Chicks Scratch the Country Corn

Snow fell in Washington on Wednesday night. It was a light dusting and easy to miss, unless you were at the Dixie Chicks concert, in which case you could only giggle and stare. For a few surreal minutes, MCI Center became a winter wonderland.

The flakes--pumped from snow blowers attached to the rafters--were among the more inspired visual gimmicks dreamed up by the Chicks, three sequined cowgirls who have become one of country music's most profitable ventures. There was a 10-minute slide show, plenty of "Hee Haw"-ish wisecracks and air fans that dramatically swept our heroines' tresses for a few minutes.

But all that was just a bonus. In a summer dominated by teen acts and rap tours, the Chicks are a rarity, a stadium-packing act eager to make musicianship a centerpiece of their show. For chunks of their flashy 110-minute set, sisters Martie Seidel and Emily Robison--banjo and fiddle players, respectively--simply stood on opposite ends of the stage and wailed.

It's a spectacle you don't see every day: women packed into glitzy frocks, carrying on like the Charlie Daniels Band. The Dixie Chicks have put country in a cocktail dress, scaling back its traditional tackiness and ditching all that "Stand by Your Man" stuff. In doing so, they have lured a generation of young ladies who wouldn't otherwise get near a line dance, or leave their homes in a zebra-striped cowboy hat.

Which are apparently in demand, judging from the crowd composed mostly of 16-year-old girls. In another era they might have gravitated to the Go-Go's--an early template for blond pop stars selling "you-go-girl" self-empowerment. The Chicks, or some bright impresario, figured out that country could transcend its traditional limits if the music was catchy enough and the ladies were packaged properly. The fans wore boots and wrapped red kerchiefs around their necks. The bawdiest arrived in leather skirts.

"They're sexy," said Lindsey Avara, who wore a frilly orange top that showed plenty of midriff. Lindsey, by the way, is 7.

"I don't listen to a lot of country aside from the Dixie Chicks," said Michele Armfield, a 24-year-old in the drinks line before the show. "I find it too depressing."

Everything about Wednesday night was upbeat, even when the Chicks sat on a red sofa during a brief interlude in the middle of the show. They kicked off the night behind a stage draped with a gargantuan pair of faux blue jeans, a vast zipper running down the middle. (The latest album is called "Fly." Get it?) When the first notes sounded, the "jeans" fell to the floor and the Chicks opened with "Ready to Run."

The band was founded 11 years ago but took off only when lead singer Natalie Maines joined the sisters in 1995. Three years later, after their major-label debut, "Wide Open Spaces," the Chicks were hailed as country music saviors and snared a pile of awards from the enormously grateful Country Music Association. Grammys arrived. "Fly," the follow-up, was released last year and the band has now sold 15 million albums.

These days, they seem like a genuine team, with actual rapport. During the slide show on Wednesday, they traded gibes over photos of their awkward, adolescent years. The photos were displayed on three large screens behind their band. ("I didn't know you grew up Amish," quipped Natalie, at one point.)

They rampaged through bluegrass, pop country, traditional country and found a moment to pay tribute to "the queen of the blues," Bonnie Raitt. They came up with a gorgeous cover of Sheryl Crow's "Strong Enough." For an encore of "Goodbye Earl," their "Thelma and Louise"-ish tale of murdering a violence-prone husband, they turned up in the audience, with two of the Chicks on opposite sides of the stadium, way up in the cheap seats, spotlights bouncing off their shimmering dresses.

By then a few thousand girls were swaying, arm-in-arm, in the audience. If the Dixie Chicks had invited them all on a road trip, about half the crowd would be in Mississippi right now.

dixie chicks tour 2000

The Dixie Chicks: Three birds of a feather

February 16, 2000 Web posted at: 5:16 p.m. EST (2216 GMT)

Competing with Santana

an image, when javascript is unavailable

  • Manage Account
  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Flipboard
  • Share this article on Pinit
  • + additional share options added
  • Share this article on Reddit
  • Share this article on Linkedin
  • Share this article on Whatsapp
  • Share this article on Email
  • Print this article
  • Share this article on Comment
  • Share this article on Tumblr

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 .

Daily newsletters straight to your inbox

More From Pro

What europe’s digital markets act means for the music business.

  • By Richard Smirke

Will a Munich Legal Decision Give UMG Leverage Against TikTok?

  • By Robert Levine

How Pitchfork Evolved Under Puja Patel and Why Album Reviews Still Matter

  • By Lyndsey Havens

Billboard’s Music Industry Events Calendar

  • By Colin Stutz

Earth Wind & Fire Ruling, Kanye Copyright Case, NBA YoungBoy House Arrest & More Legal News

  • By Bill Donahue

Billboard is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Billboard Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

optional screen reader

Charts expand charts menu.

  • Billboard Hot 100™
  • Billboard 200™
  • Hits Of The World™
  • TikTok Billboard Top 50
  • Song Breaker
  • Year-End Charts
  • Decade-End Charts

Music Expand music menu

  • R&B/Hip-Hop

Culture Expand culture menu

Media expand media menu, business expand business menu.

  • Business News
  • Record Labels
  • View All Pro

Pro Tools Expand pro-tools menu

  • Songwriters & Producers
  • Artist Index
  • Royalty Calculator
  • Market Watch
  • Industry Events Calendar

Billboard Español Expand billboard-espanol menu

  • Cultura y Entretenimiento

Honda Music Expand honda-music menu

Quantcast

setlist.fm logo

  • Statistics Stats
  • You are here:
  • Chicks, The
  • November 20, 2000 Setlist

The Chicks Setlist at Cox Arena, San Diego, CA, USA

  • Edit setlist songs
  • Edit venue & date
  • Edit set times
  • Add to festival
  • Report setlist

Tour: Fly Tour statistics Add setlist

  • Ready to Run Play Video
  • There's Your Trouble Play Video
  • Hello Mr. Heartache Play Video
  • Loving Arms ( Tom Jans  cover) Play Video
  • Without You Play Video
  • If I Fall You're Going Down With Me Play Video
  • I Can Love You Better Play Video
  • Truth #2 ( Patty Griffin  cover) Play Video
  • You Were Mine Play Video
  • Give It Up or Let Me Go Play Video
  • Let Him Fly ( Patty Griffin  cover) Play Video
  • Heartbreak Town ( Darrell Scott  cover) Play Video
  • Strong Enough ( Sheryl Crow  cover) Play Video
  • First Song Play Video
  • Am I the Only One (Who's Ever Felt This Way)? ( Maria McKee  cover) Play Video
  • Cold Day in July Play Video
  • Some Days You Gotta Dance ( The Ranch  cover) Play Video
  • Cowboy Take Me Away Play Video
  • Sin Wagon Play Video
  • Goodbye Earl Play Video
  • Wide Open Spaces Play Video

Edits and Comments

12 activities (last edit by ExecutiveChimp , 7 Jun 2018, 23:52 Etc/UTC )

Songs on Albums

  • Cold Day in July
  • Cowboy Take Me Away
  • Goodbye Earl
  • Hello Mr. Heartache
  • If I Fall You're Going Down With Me
  • Ready to Run
  • Without You
  • Am I the Only One (Who's Ever Felt This Way)? by Maria McKee
  • Heartbreak Town by Darrell Scott
  • Let Him Fly by Patty Griffin
  • Loving Arms by Tom Jans
  • Some Days You Gotta Dance by The Ranch
  • Strong Enough by Sheryl Crow
  • Truth #2 by Patty Griffin
  • Give It Up or Let Me Go
  • I Can Love You Better
  • There's Your Trouble
  • Wide Open Spaces
  • You Were Mine

Complete Album stats

The Chicks setlists

More from this Artist

  • More Setlists
  • Artist Statistics
  • Add setlist

Related News

dixie chicks tour 2000

The Chicks Kick Off 2023 World Tour in Norway

The chicks gig timeline.

  • Nov 17 2000 Pepsi Center Denver, CO, USA Add time Add time
  • Nov 19 2000 America West Arena Phoenix, AZ, USA Add time Add time
  • Nov 20 2000 Cox Arena This Setlist San Diego, CA, USA Add time Add time
  • Nov 21 2000 Staples Center Los Angeles, CA, USA Add time Add time
  • Nov 26 2000 The Arena in Oakland Oakland, CA, USA Add time Add time

1 person was there

Share or embed this setlist.

Use this setlist for your event review and get all updates automatically!

<div style="text-align: center;" class="setlistImage"><a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-chicks/2000/cox-arena-san-diego-ca-1bd961e8.html" title="The Chicks Setlist Cox Arena, San Diego, CA, USA 2000, Fly" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=1bd961e8" alt="The Chicks Setlist Cox Arena, San Diego, CA, USA 2000, Fly" style="border: 0;" /></a> <div><a href="https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=1bd961e8&amp;step=song">Edit this setlist</a> | <a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/the-chicks-bd6b172.html">More The Chicks setlists</a></div></div>

Last.fm Event Review

[url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-chicks/2000/cox-arena-san-diego-ca-1bd961e8.html][img]https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=1bd961e8[/img][/url] [url=https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=1bd961e8&amp;step=song]Edit this setlist[/url] | [url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/the-chicks-bd6b172.html]More The Chicks setlists[/url]

Tour Update

Marquee memories: yonaka.

  • Mar 5, 2024
  • Mar 4, 2024
  • Mar 3, 2024
  • Mar 2, 2024
  • Mar 1, 2024
  • Feb 29, 2024
  • FAQ | Help | About
  • Terms of Service
  • Ad Choices | Privacy Policy
  • Feature requests
  • Songtexte.com

dixie chicks tour 2000

The Telegraph

‘Angry American’ Toby Keith, the Dixie Chicks and the battle for country’s soul

T oby Keith, who has died aged 62, was a country music superstar from Oklahoma whose album and song titles included White Trash with Money, Should’ve Been a Cowboy, I Like Girls That Drink Beer, and Beer for My Horses (a duet with Willie Nelson). But Keith sold over 40 million albums and had 22 number one hits on the US country chart, and they weren’t all about beer.

Keith was also responsible for one of country music’s biggest controversies of recent decades – a brouhaha that led to a very public spat with the Dixie Chicks and paved the way for the current crop of Right-leaning, fired-up, Trump-supporting “trad” country singers such as Jason Aldean .

In the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks on the US in 2001, Keith wrote a song called Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American). It contained his thoughts about how America should react to the atrocities. He didn’t hold back; the phrase “scorched earth” springs to mind. The penultimate verse is worth relaying here in full. “Justice will be served and the battle will rage/ This big dog will fight when you rattle his cage/ And you’ll be sorry you messed with the U.S. of A./ ’Cause we’ll put a boot in your ass/ It’s the American way,” Keith sang. The song resonated with patriotic listeners, topping the country chart and reaching number 25 on the main Billboard Hot 100 chart. 

But there was immediate pushback from some quarters. TV network ABC invited Keith to sing on a patriotic special but asked him to tone down the song’s lyrics or sing a different track. He refused. There was also disdain from the more progressive wing of the country music scene. 

Natalie Maines, lead singer of the Dixie Chicks, told the Los Angeles Daily News in 2002 that she “hated” the song. “It’s ignorant, and it makes country music sound ignorant. It targets an entire culture, and not just the bad people who did bad things,” Maines said. “You’ve got to have some tact. Anybody can write, ‘We’ll put a boot in your ass.’ The kind of songs I prefer on the subject are like Bruce Springsteen’s new songs [which appeared on his more meditative post-9/11 album The Rising].”

Keith was unimpressed at any criticism of his song, particularly because he wrote it in tribute to his late-father who’d served in the Korean war, lost an eye but still – according to the track – “flew a flag out in our yard ‘til the day that he died”. While Keith didn’t respond to Maines’ comments specifically, he admitted that he was “defensive” when people attacked his composition. “You get on that and you just turn into a commie heathen with me,” he said.

But things soon got personal. On March 10 2003, on the eve of the US-led invasion of Iraq, the Dixie Chicks played a concert at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire. Possibly thinking she was far enough away from her Texan home to get away with it, Maines introduced the song Travelin’ Soldier by saying, “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 [George W. Bush] is from Texas.” The comments were reported by a British newspaper and there was an immediate backlash back home. 

The band were blacklisted from numerous country radio stations, with one Colorado station suspending two DJs for playing the Dixie Chicks. Protestors in Louisiana drove tractors over Dixie Chicks CDs. But it was Keith who undertook the highest-profile anti-Maines stunt. During a tour to support his 2003 album Shock’n Y’all – lead single I Love This Bar ­– Keith displayed a photoshopped backdrop behind the stage depicting Maines with then-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. It was a brutal rejoinder.

The animosity went both ways. Around this time Maines appeared at the Academy of Country Music awards wearing a T-shirt bearing the letters F.U.T.K., which most people took to stand for F--- You Toby Keith. A band spokeswoman claimed that it actually stood for Friends United in Truth and Kindness, a game approach that should forever be filed under the Nice Try category of PR strategies. The whole situation was unedifying and polarising although a truce of sorts was called towards the end of 2003.

But the battle lines in country music had been drawn. While the Dixie Chicks (since renamed The Chicks) embodied the liberal side of the equation – the “commie heathen” corner, if you will – Keith represented, some would say spearheaded, a new staunchly patriotic wing of country music. The election of Donald Trump as president in 2016 only bolstered this constituency of popular, populist country singers. They’re less megastars, more MAGA-stars.

Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American) has become something of a blueprint. In the 22 years since the song’s release, numerous other country tracks in a similarly outspoken and provocative vein have been released. Perhaps the most pertinent recent example is by 46-year-old Jason Aldean.

Last summer Aldean released a video for a ballad called Try That in a Small Town. It was, he explained, about the declining sense of community and respect in modern America. Aldean told fans that he hoped the video helped them realise that they were “not alone in feeling that way”. The song was essentially a warning to agitators of any stripe. The video comprised footage of clashes between protestors and police, and shops being looted by people in balaclavas. “Stomp on the flag and light it up/ Yeah, you think you’re tough/ Well, try that in a small town,” sang Aldean. “See how far you make it down the road/ Around here, we take care of our own.” 

Aldean’s band were filmed performing the song in front of Maury County Courthouse in Tennessee, the site of a 1927 lynching of a black man called Henry Choate. The song immediately took on racial connotations (which Aldean strenuously denied). Right-wing politicians defended the singer. Trump himself waded in. He wrote on his Truth Social platform: “Jason Aldean is a fantastic guy who just came out with a great new song. Support Jason all the way. MAGA!!!” Meanwhile, left-leaning groups took Aldean to task.

Also last summer, a former farmer from small town Virginia called Oliver Anthony released a song called Rich Men North of Richmond which became a viral smash hit. The song criticised greedy politicians (Washington DC is north of Richmond) and attacked overweight people for “milkin’ welfare”. Specifically, Anthony said that people’s taxes should not be used by people who are “5-foot-3 and… 300 pounds” to “pay for bags of fudge rounds”. Anthony became a somewhat unwilling poster boy for Right in the US and topped the Apple Music and iTunes Country charts to boot.

Keith proved that being an angry, patriotic American could send a song up the charts. Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American) was his highest certified single in the US. It had sold over 1,600,000 digital copies as of 2019, creating a template that is still being followed today: rally the base and the hits will follow. 

Sign up to the Front Page newsletter for free: Your essential guide to the day's agenda from The Telegraph - direct to your inbox seven days a week.

Toby Keith performing in 2002 - AP

Country Music Concerts | Country Music on Tour

Dixie Chicks Tour Dates 2024 & 2025

Dixie Chicks Worl Tour Tickets

One of the top-grossing trios of all time, The Dixie Chicks were flying high all through the late 90’s-early 00’s until one unfortunate incident sent their career careening into oblivion. Now we’re years past that, and the girls are proving that the music is more powerful than politics as they embark on a Dixie Chicks World Tour !

[bctt tweet=”#DixieChicks Tour Details from YOUR #CountryConcert source!”]

Get Tickets to See The Chicks LIVE

Dixie chicks tour 2024 | events & tickets, dixie chicks biography, faq's about the dixie chicks.

  • "There's Your Trouble" and "Wide Open Spaces" in 1998

Bio Sourced From:

VRBO

Top Country Concerts

Concert and tour news, country music news.

IMAGES

  1. Dixie Chicks: "On The Fly"

    dixie chicks tour 2000

  2. The Dixie Chicks

    dixie chicks tour 2000

  3. Dixie Chicks singers Emily (L), Natalie (C) and Ma Pictures

    dixie chicks tour 2000

  4. Dixie Chicks: Top Of The World Tour: Live (DVD)

    dixie chicks tour 2000

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

    dixie chicks tour 2000

  6. Dixie Chicks Tour

    dixie chicks tour 2000

COMMENTS

  1. The Chicks (fka Dixie Chicks)'s 2000 Concert History

    The Chicks (fka Dixie Chicks)'s 2000 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. 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).

  3. Dixie Chicks: "On The Fly"

    Click on the time (in blue) below to watch your favorite song...or just watch them all.1. Ready To Run [0:53]2. If I Fall You're Going Down With Me [5:09]3. ...

  4. Dixie Chicks

    Or The Chicks as they now like to be known.

  5. 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 ...

  6. 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. ... 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 ...

  7. Top of the World Tour

    Dixie Chicks concert chronology. Fly Tour. (2000) Top of the World Tour. (2003) Vote for Change. (2004) The Top of the World Tour was the 2003 concert tour by American country music trio Dixie Chicks. It was in support of their album Home, and named after the song "Top of the World" on that album.

  8. Aug 20, 2000: Dixie Chicks at Scotiabank Arena ...

    Ready to Run; There's Your Trouble; Hello Mr. Heartache; Don't Waste Your Heart; Without You; If I Fall You're Going Down With Me; I Can Love You Better; You Were Mine

  9. 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 ...

  10. The Chicks Setlist at The Pyramid Arena, Memphis

    Get the The Chicks Setlist of the concert at The Pyramid Arena, Memphis, TN, USA on October 28, 2000 from the Fly Tour and other The Chicks Setlists for free on setlist.fm!

  11. The Chicks Concert Setlist at Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth

    Get the The Chicks Setlist of the concert at Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, TX, USA on December 3, 2000 from the Fly Tour and other The Chicks Setlists for free on setlist.fm!

  12. At MCI Center, Dixie Chicks Scratch the Country Corn

    August 26, 2000 Snow fell in Washington on Wednesday night. It was a light dusting and easy to miss, unless you were at the Dixie Chicks concert, in which case you could only giggle and stare.

  13. The Dixie Chicks: Three birds of a feather

    February 16, 2000 Web posted at: 5:16 p.m. EST (2216 GMT) ... The Dixie Chicks spiced up the Lilith Fair tour last summer, which helped them sell more records. And that, of course, meant more ...

  14. Dixie Chicks Tour & George Bush Comments: Flashback

    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 ...

  15. The Chicks Concert Setlist at Cox Arena, San Diego on November 20, 2000

    Get the The Chicks Setlist of the concert at Cox Arena, San Diego, CA, USA on November 20, 2000 from the Fly Tour and other The Chicks Setlists for free on setlist.fm!

  16. 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 ... DCX MMXVI World Tour; E. Eagles 2010 Summer Tour; F. Fly Tour; L. Long Time Gone Tour; T. Top of the World Tour; V. Vote for Change This page was last edited on 20 February 2021, at 01:05 (UTC). Text is ...

  17. Dixie Chicks

    Song + Interview.

  18. 'Angry American' Toby Keith, the Dixie Chicks and the battle for

    On March 10 2003, on the eve of the US-led invasion of Iraq, the Dixie Chicks played a concert at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire. Possibly thinking she was far enough away from her Texan home ...

  19. Dixie Chicks Tour 2000

    Browse Dixie Chicks Tour 2000 and more from your favorite designers at Grailed, the community marketplace for men's and women's clothing. Shop our curated selection today!

  20. 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 ...

  21. 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 ...

  22. Dixie Chicks Tour Dates 2024 & 2025

    What was The Dixie Chicks first big hit? "There's Your Trouble" and "Wide Open Spaces" in 1998. Bio Sourced From: Dixie Chicks Tour Dates 2024 & 2025 Setlists, News, Tickets and info. Find Dixie Chicks concert dates, tour schedules, opening acts and more information about Dixie Chicks here at Country Music on Tour! Fans helping fans Since 2008!

  23. 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 ...

  24. Top of the World (Dixie Chicks song)

    The Dixie Chicks had already covered other Griffin songs and had toured with Griffin on their 2000 Fly Tour. They recorded two Silver Bell songs, "Truth No. 2" and "Top of the World," for their 2002 album Home, the latter as the concluding track.