Nashville, Tenn. – While the Dixie Chicks’ record sales are soaring, tickets for their Accidents and Accusations Tour are failing to take flight in some cities.
“I think before it’s said and done the entire tour will be, at the very least, reorganized,” Ray Waddell, a senior editor at Billboard magazine, said.
Shows in cities including St. Louis, Houston, Indianapolis, Oklahoma City and Memphis, Tenn., are up in the air, according to Waddell. (Tickets already are on sale for the Chicks’ Pepsi Center show Sept. 24.)
The group said on its website that reports of cancellations are false.
“I don’t think they’ve formally come out and canceled a single date, but I think that some sort of announcement will be coming,” Waddell said.
The trio has caught a lot of criticism from country fans ever since lead singer Natalie Maines told a London audience in 2003 that the group was “ashamed” President Bush was from their home state of Texas.
In January, Maines told Entertainment Weekly magazine that she was disappointed with country music and that she’s “pretty much done” with the genre.
Ticket counts for the 20-plus arena shows that went on sale in early June were averaging 5,000 to 6,000 per show in major markets and less in smaller cities, Waddell said.
While ticket sales have been off, album sales remain strong. The Chicks’ new album, “Taking the Long Way,” sold 526,000 units its first week and 271,000 the second – making it No. 1 on the country and overall album charts for two weeks.
