Top of the World Tour

The Top of the World Tour (2003) was the second headlining concert tour by American country music band The Chicks, formerly the Dixie Chicks, comprising Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitars, bass guitar) and sisters Emily Robison (vocals, banjo, dobro, guitars) and Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddles, mandolin) supported by a full 7-piece bluegrass band. The tour was launched in support of their album third studio album Home (2003). Named after the track "Top of the World", the tour grossed $60.5 million (roughly $106.5m in 2025), making it the highest-grossing country music tour up until that time. It was also the eighth highest-grossing tour, of any genre, of 2003. The Chicks later released the live album and DVD Top of the World Tour: Live (2003), a full concert plus behind-the-scenes documentary of the tour. In a unique style, the live sequences were edited using combined footage from throughout the North American leg, resulting in multiple dates being represented in the recording, and each musician wearing slightly different outfits from one moment to the next.

Background

The tour unofficially began with three promotional concerts in England and Australia, respectively. On March 10, 2003, at Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, lead singer Natalie Maines made controversial remarks criticizing President George W. Bush, just days prior to the start of the Iraq War, saying: "Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all [the British]. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas." The backdrop to this statement was the widespread protest in Great Britain against the impending invasion of Iraq.

Maines' comment initially received applause and cheers from the British audience; by the time news of her statement reached the United States—and conservative fans—the reaction was far less positive. Numerous country radio stations, as well as the Great American Country (GAC) television network, openly called for boycotts of the Chicks and their music. Many radio stations received phone calls from self-proclaimed "former" Chicks fans calling Maines a "traitor" and "un-American", among other, more foul names. Some radio DJs as well as private citizens staged public "burnings" or bonfires of the band's albums and memorabilia, an action many compared to the mass book-burnings of Nazi-era Europe and the "death to disco" campaign of the late 1970s—both events rooted in the unjustified silencing of others.

Nonetheless, the first leg of the tour was scheduled to take place in North America from the beginning of May to mid-August. The George W. Bush controversy—as well as a later comment made against a Toby Keith song—resulted in the State of South Carolina wanting to impose a ban on The Chicks' entering the state. Maines responded with: "These fans paid their hard-earned money to see us play, and we will give them the show they paid to see!" The concerts went on without incident, though security was stepped-up for each show and for each member of the band. The second leg of the tour took place in Europe in September, where the Chicks toured for the first time in Germany, Ireland, Scotland and Sweden. This was followed by a brief third leg in Australia—also their first time touring in that market—with two dates each in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. The band then returned to the US to appear at two special-event/benefit concerts, in Charlotte, NC, and Washington, DC, respectively, officially concluding the tour.

The concert

View of the stage, pre-show, with illuminated catwalk. A VIP section for fans was located at either end, inside the catwalk.

As the curtain lifted, it revealed The Chicks. Their backing band was then lifted via hydraulic platform to the center of the stage.

The multi-tiered, "in-the-round" stage, weighing nearly 30 tons, was situated in the center floor of each venue, allowing the Chicks to interact more closely with their fans. The stage set featured moving catwalks and treadmills that even extended overhead of the audience. The stage itself featured hydraulic-lift levels and A crew of 120 workers traveled in 13 buses and 17 trucks. This show included the largest touring video show, with 1.5 million LED lights displaying graphics via video screens and on the floor of the actual stage. During the show, artificial flowers, grass, trees and a windmill sprung up from underneath the stage, giving the image of a country farmyard. It took over 2K amps of power and 240 pounds of CO₂ gas to run the special effects for each show. At either end of the stage was an enclosed, standing-room only section for VIP ticket holders, who would likely be filmed at various moments and appear on the eventual recording of the tour.

Recorded pre-show music included "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?", "Band on the Run", "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)", and "Born in the U.S.A.".

During the show, the three Chicks largely sang with headset microphones and wireless acoustic-electric instruments, as they wandered around the stage and were frequently well-apart from each other. In the center of the stage was a space carved out for the rest of the band, whom the Chicks frequently interacted with, featuring Roscoe Beck (double bass), John Deaderick (keyboards/piano), John Gardner (drums), David Grissom (guitars), John Mock (tin whistle, concertina, percussion & guitars), Brent Truitt (mandolin), Robbie Turner (pedal steel) and Keith Sewell (guitars, fiddle).

Despite the large stage set, banter between the musicians was fairly frequent, with a notable moment of Martie confessing that her rather "colorful" outfit made her look like a "crack-whore Barbie".

At the debut US show, Natalie offered attendees 15 seconds to "boo" her, in reference of the controversy surrounding her comments. However, after a count of three, there was a thunderous applause instead.

Supporting artists

• Joan Osborne (North America, Spring 2003 through Philadelphia)
• Michelle Branch (North America, Summer 2003)
• Jann Arden  (Canada, August 2003)
• The Thorns  (Europe, Australia)

Setlist

Copy of band setlist. The letters to the left indicate the key of the song. Many are abbreviated titles, for example: "Earl" ("Goodbye Earl") "Some Days" ("Some Days You Gotta Dance"), and "God Help Me" ("Am I The Only One (Who’s Ever Felt This Way")).

The following songs were performed during the concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It does not represent all songs performed on tour.

• On dates when Joan Osborne was the supporting artist, she often joined The Chicks onstage for "Am I The Only One (Who's Ever Felt This Way)".
• For "Hello Mr, Heartache", guitarist Keith Sewell switched to fiddle, playing a harmony melody along with Martie's usual fiddle solo on the song.

1. "Goodbye Earl"
2. "Some Days You Gotta Dance"
3. "There's Your Trouble"
4. "Long Time Gone"
5. "Tortured, Tangled Hearts"
6. "Travelin' Soldier
7. "Am I The Only One (Who's Ever Felt This Way)"
8. "Hello Mr. Heartache"
9. "Cold Day in July"
10. "White Trash Wedding"
11. "Lil' Jack Slade"
12. "A Home"
13. "Truth No. 2"
14. "If I Fall You're Going Down with Me"
15. "Mississippi"
16. "Cowboy Take Me Away"
17. "Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)"
18. "Landslide"
19. "Ready To Run"
20. "Wide Open Spaces"
21. "Top of the World"
22. "Sin Wagon"

Tour dates

Date (2003)	City	Country	Venue	Attendance / Availability	Gross
North America
May 1	Greenville, SC	United States	BI-LO Center	14,811 / 14,811	$855,146
May 3	Orlando, FL		TD Waterhouse Centre	15,726 / 15,726	$872,525
May 4	Sunrise, FL		Office Depot Center	15,470 / 17,924	$927,560
May 5	Tampa, FL		St. Pete Times Forum	15,535 / 17,969	$953,993
May 7	Knoxville, TN		Thompson–Boling Arena	18,521 / 18,521	$1,084,740
May 8	Indianapolis, IN		Conseco Fieldhouse	15,878 / 15,878	$927,085
May 10	Kansas City, MO		Kemper Arena	17,890 / 17,973	$1,047,310
May 11	St. Louis, MO		Savvis Center	18,029 / 18,449	$1,072,595
May 13	Ames, IA		Hilton Coliseum	13,845 / 13,845	$805,680
May 14	Moline, IL		MARK of the Quad Cities	10,476 / 10,476	$611,310
May 16	Birmingham, AL		BJCC Arena	—	—
May 17	Greensboro, NC		Greensboro Coliseum
May 18	Louisville, KY		Freedom Hall	16,894 / 16,894	$996,970
May 20	Oklahoma City, OK		Ford Center	16,992 / 16,992	$1,001,425
May 21	Austin, TX		Frank Erwin Center	14,769 / 14,769	$828,925
May 29	Chicago, IL		United Center	36,500 / 36,500	$2,213,900
May 30
June 2	Auburn Hills, MI		The Palace of Auburn Hills	35,389 / 35,389	$2,110,958
June 3
June 5	Milwaukee, WI		Bradley Center	17,364 / 17,364	$1,032,690
June 6	Saint Paul, MN		Xcel Energy Center	39,636 / 39,636	$2,152,655
June 7
June 9	Cincinnati, OH		US Bank Arena	15,546 / 16,800	$950,300
June 10	Columbus, OH		Nationwide Arena	17,498 / 17,498	$1,026,200
June 11	Cleveland, OH		Gund Arena	16,252 / 19,769	$968,265
June 13	Buffalo, NY		HSBC Arena	18,102 / 18,102	$1,054,685
June 14	Pittsburgh, PA		Mellon Arena	16,276 / 16,276	$871,090
June 16	Philadelphia, PA		First Union Center	36,058 / 36,058	$2,431,384
June 17
June 19	Boston, MA		FleetCenter	16,850 / 16,850	$1,111,390
June 20	New York, NY		Madison Square Garden	—	—
June 21
June 23	Uniondale, NY		Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
June 25	Washington, DC		MCI Center	34,155 / 34,155	$2,063,455
June 26
June 27	Albany, NY		Pepsi Arena	14,691 / 14,691	$884,635
July 6	Dallas, TX		American Airlines Center	16,704 / 16,704	$1,011,720
July 8	Denver, CO		Pepsi Center	16,034 / 16,034	$964,820
July 9	Salt Lake City, UT		Delta Center	15,435 / 15,435	$929,425
July 11	Vancouver, BC	Canada	General Motors Place	17,429 / 17,429	$1,060,338
July 12	Seattle, WA	United States	KeyArena	13,484 / 13,484	$787,220
July 13	Portland, OR		Rose Garden Arena	17,857 / 17,857	$1,071,345
July 15	Oakland, CA		Oakland Arena	17,072 / 17,072	$1,047,651
July 16	San Jose, CA		HP Pavilion	16,977 / 16,977	$999,300
July 17	Sacramento, CA		ARCO Arena	15,006 / 15,006	$862,535
July 19	Los Angeles, CA		Staples Center	15,609 / 15,609	$889,285
July 20	Anaheim, CA		Arrowhead Pond	29,985 / 29,985	$1,866,945
July 21
July 23	San Diego, CA		Cox Arena @ Aztec Bowl	11,168 / 11,168	$723,021
July 25	Phoenix, AZ		America West Arena	15,984 / 15,984	$965,950
July 26	Las Vegas, NV		MGM Grand Garden Arena	22,098 / 22,098	$1,845,845
July 27
July 29	San Antonio, TX		SBC Center	14,965 / 14,965	$857,275
July 30	Houston, TX		Compaq Center	14,700 / 14,700	$884,964
August 1	North Little Rock, AR		Alltel Arena	16,790 / 16,790	$998,500
August 2	Memphis, TN		Pyramid	18,745 / 18,745	$1,112,664
August 3	Atlanta, GA		Philips Arena	17,101 / 17,101	$1,001,135
August 4	Nashville, TN		Gaylord Entertainment Center	15,696 / 15,696	$921,730
August 6	Toronto, ON	Canada	Air Canada Centre	17,470 / 17,470	$1,031,779
August 7	Ottawa, ON		Corel Centre	—	—
August 8	Hamilton, ON		Copps Coliseum
August 12	Edmonton, AB		Skyreach Centre	12,590 / 12,590	$732,590
August 13	Calgary, AB		Pengrowth Saddledome	13,442 / 13,442	$850,800
Europe
September 6	Stockholm	Sweden	Annexet	—	—
September 8	Hamburg	Germany	CCH Hall 1
September 10	Birmingham, ENG	United Kingdom	NEC Arena
September 11	Manchester, ENG		Carling Apollo Manchester
September 14	London, ENG		Royal Albert Hall	7,022 / 7,216	$323,270
September 15
September 18	Dublin	Ireland	The Point	—	—
September 19	Glasgow, SC	United Kingdom	SECC
September 21	Munich	Germany	Olympiahalle
September 22	Frankfurt		Jahrhunderthalle
Australia
September 28	Melbourne, V	Australia	Rod Laver Arena	—	—
September 29
October 1	Brisbane, QL		Brisbane Entertainment Centre
October 2
October 4	Sydney, NSW		Sydney Superdome
October 5			Sydney Entertainment Centre
North America
October 10	Charlotte, NC	United States	Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre	—
October 12[A]	Washington, DC		MCI Center	11,102 / 12,200