Dixie Chicks Take Flight

The DCX MMXVI tour kicked off yesterday in Cincinnati at Riverbend Music Center and will continue to over 50 cities this summer, with new shows at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif. Oct. 7 and Forum in Inglewood, Calif. Oct 8 added.

The girls are still not shying away from politics, as the show last night also provided a platform for three nonprofits: Headcount, which registered concertgoers to vote; Planned Parenthood, which provided educational materials related to reproductive health; and Proclaim Justice, which advocated for innocent prisoners. Proclaim Justice was co-founded by the Chicks’ frontwoman Natalie Maines.

Politics have become forever associated with the girls, as Maines’ 2003 comment, “We don’t want this (Iraq) war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas,” forever changed the band’s trajectory.

The country-pop fanbase was horrified by the statement. The group was boycotted and in some-instances, groups gathered for mass destructions of their albums.

As a result, although the group has done two European and one Canadian tour and some dates with Forum in 2010, the Dixie Chicks have not been on a headline tour of the U.S. in 10 years. But they are back.

Here is the full routing for the Chicks, with the new dates in bold:

June 3 — Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Blossom Music Center
June 4 — Clarkston, Mich., DTE Energy Music Theatre
June 5 — Tinley Park, Ill., Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
June 8 — Holmdel, N.J., PN.C. Bank Arts Center
June 10 — Burgettstown, Pa., First Niagara Pavilion
June 11 — Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Saratoga Performing Arts Center
June 13 — New York, N.Y., Madison Square Garden Arena
June 14 — Mansfield, Mass., Xfinity Center
June 16 — Bangor, Maine, Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion
June 17 — Hartford, Conn., Xfinity Theatre
June 18 — Camden, N.J., BB&T Pavilion
June 21 — Toronto, Ontario, Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
June 22 — Toronto, Ontario, Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
June 24 — Hershey, Pa., Hersheypark Stadium
June 25 — Bristow, Va., Jiffy Lube Live
July 7 — Vancouver, British Columbia, Rogers Arena
July 8 — Auburn, Wash., White River Amphitheatre
July 9 — Ridgefield, Wash., Sunlight Supply Amphitheater
July 12 — Mountain View, Calif., Shoreline Amphitheatre
July 13 — Wheatland, Calif., Toyota Amphitheatre
July 15 — Chula Vista, Calif., Sleep Train Amphitheatre
July 16 — Las Vegas, Nev., T-Mobile Arena
July 17 — Phoenix, Ariz., Ak-Chin Pavilion
July 20 — Irvine, Calif., Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre
Aug. 5 — Dallas, Texas, Gexa Energy Pavilion
Aug. 6 — The Woodlands, Texas, The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Aug. 7 — Austin, Texas, Austin360 Amphitheater
Aug. 10 — Virginia Beach, Va., Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater At Virginia Beach
Aug. 12 — Raleigh, N.C., Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
Aug. 13 — Charlotte, N.C., PN.C. Music Pavilion
Aug. 14 — Alpharetta, Ga., Verizon Wireless Amph. At Encore Park
Aug. 17 — Nashville, Tenn., Bridgestone Arena
Aug. 19 — Tampa, Fla., MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre
Aug. 20 — West Palm Beach, Fla., Perfect Vodka Amphitheatre
Aug. 24 — Maryland Heights, Mo., Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Aug. 25 — Noblesville, Ind., Klipsch Music Center
Aug. 27 — Saint Paul, Minn., Minnesota State Fair Grandstand (Minnesota State Fair)
Aug. 28 — Saint Paul, Minn., Minnesota State Fair Grandstand
Aug. 30 — Kansas City, Mo., Sprint Center
Sept. 1 — Englewood, Colo., Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
Sept. 2 — Salt Lake City, Utah, Usana Amphitheatre
Sept. 8 — Tulsa, Okla., BOK Center
Sept. 9 — North Little Rock, Ark., Verizon Arena    
Sept. 10 — New Orleans, La., Smoothie King Center
Sept. 15 — Moline, Ill., I Wireless Center
Sept. 16 — Columbus, Ohio, Nationwide Arena
Sept. 17 — Buffalo, N.Y., First Niagara Center
Sept. 22 — Louisville, Ky., KFC Yum! Center
Sept. 23 — Toledo, Ohio, Huntington Center
Sept. 24 — Green Bay, Wis., Resch Center
Sept. 29 — Edmonton, Alberta, Rogers Place
Oct. 1 — Calgary, Alberta, Scotiabank Saddledome
Oct. 7 — Oakland, Calif., Oracle Arena
Oct. 8 — Inglewood, Calif., Forum
Oct. 10 — Los Angeles, Calif., Hollywood Bowl

Tickets to the Oakland show go on sale June 17 and Inglewood is on sale June 6. More information is available at the Dixie Chicks official website, as well as the band’s Facebook and Twitter pages.