The Chicks tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of “Taking the Long Way” opened Sept. 30 at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, where Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer played the 2006 album from start to finish before a second act of hits, Billboard reported.
“Taking the Long Way” won five Grammy Awards in 2007, including album, record and song of the year. It was the trio’s last album as the Dixie Chicks; they did not release another studio album until “Gaslighter” in 2020, by then under the shortened name the Chicks, Consequence noted when the tour was announced.
The Chicks tour setlist: the album in order
Dressed in black and white, the group opened with all 14 songs from “Taking the Long Way” in sequence, according to Billboard’s setlist:
- “The Long Way Around”
- “Easy Silence”
- “Not Ready to Make Nice”
- “Everybody Knows”
- “Bitter End”
- “Lullaby”
- “Lubbock or Leave It”
- “Silent House”
- “Favorite Year”
- “Voice Inside My Head”
- “I Like It”
- “Baby Hold On”
- “So Hard”
- “I Hope”
“Not Ready to Make Nice” is the album’s defining song. The Chicks wrote it in response to the backlash that followed Maines’ 2003 remark from a London stage, in which she criticized then-President George W. Bush over the Iraq War and said “we’re ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas.”
A second act full of hits
After the album, the Chicks tour show turned to songs from across the group’s catalog. Billboard’s setlist shows “Goodbye Earl,” “Wide Open Spaces,” “White Trash Wedding,” a cover of Beyoncé’s “Daddy Lessons,” “Cowboy Take Me Away,” the Fleetwood Mac cover “Landslide,” “Gaslighter,” “Traveling Soldier,” “Sin Wagon” and “Long Time Gone.”
Expanded ‘Taking the Long Way’ reissue
The Chicks tour coincides with a new edition of the album. Sony’s Legacy Recordings will release an expanded “Taking the Long Way” on Friday, Oct. 2, on three LPs and digitally, Billboard reported. It adds five bonus tracks: unreleased demos of “Not Ready to Make Nice,” “So Hard” and “Flowers,” along with two rarities, “Thin Line” and “Live Wire.”
The anniversary push started earlier this year. In June, the group performed “Not Ready to Make Nice” on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to mark the milestone, Rolling Stone reported.
Remaining Chicks tour dates
The Chicks tour was announced as a 16-date theater run in 10 cities, according to Consequence. Next up are two nights at the Auditorium in Chicago, Oct. 3-4. The tour then visits Washington, D.C.; New York; Nashville, Tennessee; San Antonio and Austin, Texas; Seattle; and San Francisco.
The final stop on the Chicks tour is the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. Consequence’s original itinerary listed two shows there Nov. 1-2, while Billboard now reports three nights, Nov. 1-3.
For more live music news, read about Slipknot’s 2027 stadium tour, Nick Valensi joining Jack White onstage and Dolly Parton’s 80th birthday.
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