Greensboro -- trade in Dixie Chicks tickets for Alan Jackson/Terri Clark/Joe Nichols

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[Childseyes]

Dixie Chicks tix honored at patriotic concert Ticket holders given alternative to supporting controversial trio

A radio station in North Carolina says Dixie Chicks fans who hold tickets for their May 17 Greensboro, N.C., concert are welcome to use those tickets at an alternative "patriotic event" the station is sponsoring the same night – just in case Chicks fans want to send a message to the group in response to its wartime comments about President Bush.

The female trio became embroiled in controversy after singer Natalie Maines – a Texan – told a crowd of London concertgoers last month, "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."

Sales of their No. 1 album "Home" have since dropped, and some radio stations have yanked the group from playlists.

WRNS, a country station in Kinston, N.C., will honor Dixie Chicks tickets at a concert by Grammy winner Alan Jackson, who won the award for his 9-11 tribute, "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)." The Jackson concert – which will also feature Terri Clark, Joe Nichols and Brian McComas – will take place on the East Carolina University campus in Greenville, N.C.

The concert is being billed as a tribute to the United States military.

"WRNS is honoring our servicemen and women with an Armed Forces Day salute to the military," said Wayne Carlyle, WRNS program director, in a statement. "We wanted to give people who bought tickets for the Dixie Chicks concert in Greensboro the choice of attending a patriotic event. Chicks ticket holders just need to present their tickets the day of the festival and we will exchange them for our show's ticket."

Representatives from all the local military bases have been invited, and service personnel with ID's will receive a discount on concert tickets. According to the station's statement, an Air Force flyover has been requested and concertgoers have been encouraged to wear red, white and blue.

The station took a poll of listeners directly after the Dixie Chicks brouhaha began, and 93 percent of those responding wanted the group's music removed from the on-air playlist. WRNS complied with the wishes of its listeners and has not played the group's music since then.

The Dixie Chicks backlash doesn't stop in North Carolina. Syndicated talk-radio host Mike Gallagher has organized another event to protest the trio: an alternative concert tomorrow night that will go head-to-head with the Chicks' opening concert of their "Top of the World" tour in Greenville, S.C. The competing event will take place in neighboring Spartanburg, S.C., and will feature the Marshall Tucker Band. Proceeds from the Gallagher event will go a fund created to deliver food and personal care items to military families in the U.S., according to the radio host's website.

Some of the complaints sent the Chicks' way has caused concern for their safety. According to a report in Launch, Yahoo's music news service, the trio now has a 24/7 "posse" protecting them.

Said spokeswoman Emily Robison: "I feel like our safety is a huge, important issue right now. We officially have a posse now because we have to have security people with us at all times, and this has gotten to a point where enough is enough, you know? When you feel like your own safety is an issue, I think people [expressing outrage] have to step back."

Meanwhile, Rev. Jerry Falwell is feathering the Dixie Chicks with a new name, referring to them as the "French Hens."

The Jonesboro Sun in Arkansas quotes Falwell on the uproar over the comments:

"Politics should end at the shore when you leave the country. ... You don't talk about your own country, especially during war. I know they are just young girls and I know they weren't thinking that clearly, but they said unacceptable things about their president."