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Dixie Chicks has canceled 14 locations on their current “Accidents & Accusations” tour, including Knoxville. The press release describes it as re-routing. But as Volunteer TV’s Whitney Daniel reports, many East Tennessean’s think it’s something else. The lackluster sales have forced the trio to cancel some shows or replace them with new dates and venues.
Kansas City, Houston, St. Louis, Memphis and Knoxville are among 14 cities no longer on the original schedule released in May, according to a revised itinerary posted Thursday on the Dixie Chick’s website. Other shows, including Nashville, Los Angeles, Denver and Phoenix, have been pushed back to later dates.

“This is a year where we weren’t sure what to expect,” the Grammy-winning group said in a statement last week. “We were prepared for a lot of things as we figure out this new phase of our career.
“We hope that our fans who were looking forward to a stop that is no longer on the tour will be able to join us at a nearby arena this fall, and we are sorry for any confusion or inconvenience these changes have caused.”
The Dixie Chicks hit the road with a show in Detroit at the end of July, but many trade publications have reported the group has been met with slumping ticket sales – including dates in the South and Midwest.

The trio released a statement last week attributing the changes to attempts to “accommodate demand” and said more dates might be added next year. The group also said the adjustments will allow them to promote the documentary Dixie Chicks: Shut up and Sing, for the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

Many country fans criticized the band after lead singer Natalie Maines told a London audience in 2003 on the eve of war in Iraq that the trio was “ashamed” President Bush was from their home state of Texas. County radio stations dropped them from their playlists and have been slow to welcome them back, despite strong sales of their latest album, “Taking the Long Way.”
The album, which has more of a rock edge than their previous releases, spent several weeks at the top of the country albums chart and has sold more than 1 million copies.