Dixie Chicks still feeling fallout

The Dixie Chicks were hoping the controversy surrounding them would quiet by the start of their U.S. tour on May 1 in South Carolina, but a radio talk-show host there has given the matter new life, planning a rally to coincide with the Chicks’ concert.

Mike Gallagher, a syndicated commentator based in Spartanburg, has lined up the Marshall Tucker Band and San Diego-based country singer Ty Nelson as performers for the rally whose ticket proceeds will go to military families. There will be free admission and VIP seating at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium for anyone who produces a ticket for the simultaneous Dixie Chicks concert at the Bi Lo Center in neighboring Greenville.

Gallagher and many other conservative voices have railed against the Chicks since lead singer Natalie Maines told a London concert audience last month that she was “ashamed” that President Bush is a fellow Texan. Maines has apologized for the comment and said she should have expressed her pro-peace stance in a less insulting manner.

The Chicks, one of the biggest acts in country music, have been battered at country radio stations since the comments. Their latest single, “Travelin’ Solider,” abruptly tumbled from No. 3 on national airplay charts to No. 31, and scores of stations have boycotted the trio.

It’s uncertain how the furor will affect their U.S. tour. Before the controversy, the Chicks had sold out 51 of the 59 arena shows in hours and it looked to be one of the season’s hottest tours.

-- Geoff Boucher