After nearly three years of holing up with their families in Texas, raising babies and getting back to their acoustic roots by recording their third major-label and Grammy-nominated album, Home, the Dixie Chicks are ready to run again. The best-selling female group in history will kick off their Top of the World tour March 10th in London and bring it back home at the Bi Lo Center in Greenville, South Carolina, on May 5th. The North American leg will cover fifty cities in fifty-two nights, culminating with an August 4th performance at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville. The tour will wrap up for good on October 3rd in Sydney, Australia.

The opening acts, announced by the Chicks at a press conference Thursday in New York's Central Park, will be Joan Osborne for the first half the tour and Michelle Branch for the homestretch. Tickets for all cities will go on sale simultaneously on March 1st.

According to lead singer Natalie Maines, the Chicks initially planned on keeping things simple for this go-round, focusing on the tracks from Home in more intimate venues like the Kodak Theater in Los Angles, where they filmed their NBC special last fall and their new DVD, An Evening With the Dixie Chicks. But after testing their newer, bluegrass oriented material next to their more high-octane country pop hits like "Goodbye Earle" before fans at Cotton Bowl in Dallas in October, they opted to mix it all up and go all out. "It's going to be even bigger than the Fly tour now," Maines says, referring to the Chicks' inaugural arena tour, which grossed over $46 million in 2000.

"We know the fans love the first two albums, and we couldn't just be selfish and play an entire acoustic set," she says, adding that they'll still aim for intimacy in the larger arenas by playing "in the round" in the center of the floor. Fans who remember the visual extras on the Fly tour, like slide shows and the remote controlled fly that buzzed around the arenas before show time, can of course expect a similar degree of bonus spectacle.

"I can't give away all the surprises," Maines says, "but it'll be very visual. I want people to walk away thinking that it's better than the Fly tour, visually and musically. We hope people go away feeling truly energized. That's part of our job. It's not just making music -- we feel it's equally important to entertain. And I feel that the more success we have, the more we have to prove."

The Dixie Chicks' U.S. tour dates:

5/1: Greenville, SC, Bi Lo Center
5/3: Orlando, TD Warehouse
5/4: Ft. Lauderdale, NCR Center
5/5: Tampa, FL, Ice Palace
5/7: Knoxville, TN, Thompson Bowling
5/9: Indianapolis, IN, Conseco Fieldhouse
5/10: Kansas City, MO, Kemper Arena
5/11: St. Louis, MO, Savvis Center
5/13: Ames, IA, Hilton Coliseum
5/14: Moline, IL, Mark of the Quad Cities
5/16: Birmingham, AL, Jefferson County Arena
5/17: Greensboro, NC, Greensboro Coliseum
5/18: Louisville, KY, Freedom Hall
5/20: Oklahoma City, Ford Center
5/21: Austin, Frank Erwin Center
5/29-30: Chicago, United Center
6/1: Cleveland, Gund Arena
6/2: Detroit, The Palace of Auburn Hills
6/5: Milwaukee, Bradley Center
6/6-7: St. Paul, MN, Xcel Energy Center
6/9: Cincinnati, US Bank Arena
6/10: Columbus, OH, Nationwide Arena
6/12: Toronto, Air Canada Centre
6/13: Buffalo, HSBC Arena
6/14: Pittsburgh, Mellon Arena
6/17: Philadelphia, First Union Center
6/19: Boston, Fleet Center
6/20: New York, Madison Square Garden
6/23: Nassau, NY, Nassau Veterans Center
6/25: Washington, DC, MCI Center
7/6: Dallas, American Airlines Arena
7/8: Denver, Pepsi Center
7/9: Salt Lake City, Delta Arena
7/11: Vancouver, GM Place
7/12: Seattle, Key Arena
7/13: Portland, Rose Garden
7/15: Oakland, CA, Oakland Arena
7/16: San Jose, CA, San Jose Arena
7/17: Sacramento, Arco Arena
7/19: Los Angeles, Staples Center
7/20: Anaheim, CA, Arrohead Pond
7/23: San Diego, Cox Arena
7/25: Phoenix, America West Arena
7/27: Las Vegas, MGM/Mandalay Bay
7/29: San Antonio, SBC Center
7/30: Houston, Compaq Center
8/1: Little Rock, AR, Alltel Center
8/2: Memphis, The Pyramid Arena
8/3: Atlanta, Phillips Arena
8/4: Nashville, Gaylord Entertainment Center

RICHARD SKANSE
(February 20, 2003)