After selling out a two-night stand at the grandstand in 2016 to help mark their comeback, Texas twangers the Chicks are again set to play the Minnesota State Fair's big stage on Aug. 25.
The trio formerly known as the Dixie Chicks — who went on a long hiatus from 2008-2014 to focus on motherhood — released their first album in 14 years during the pandemic, "Gaslighter," and started touring again last year to support it. This year, the group is returning to the stage via a Las Vegas residency in May, followed by a summer tour.
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Tickets for the Friday night concert at the Great Minnesota Get-Together go on sale this Friday at 10 a.m. via etix.com or by calling 800-514-3849 and will be priced $77-$197 (all reserved seating). Toronto indie-folk harmonizers Wild Rivers open the show.
In 2016, the Chicks announced their second grandstand gig after the first swiftly sold out. There's a gap in their tour itinerary in the days leading up to Aug. 25, but the group has a pretty busy schedule overall in August with other gigs at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines on Aug. 19 and Madison's Kohl Center on Aug. 26.
Commercial radio stations and much of the country music industry never really forgave the Chicks following singer Natalie Maines' comments about President George W. Bush in 2003. "We're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas," the Lubbock native said in concert in London at the height of the Iraq War.
However, the "Cowboy Take Me Away" and "Wide Open Spaces" hitmakers were more fervently embraced by pop audiences and as feminist heroes starting with 2008's hit "Not Ready to Make Nice," co-penned by Minnesotan Dan Wilson — a fan base that was strengthened by the divorce-tinged, critically lauded "Gaslighter" album.
The Chicks are the second act announced as headliners for the Minnesota State Fair's 2023 grandstand series, following last week's announcement of a date by Duran Duran on Aug. 31.
