GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Talk radio host Mike Gallagher is proposing an alternative concert to a May 1 show by the Dixie Chicks, under fire for lead singer Natalie Maines’ criticism of President Bush.
There’s just one small problem: Gallagher doesn’t have an act, though he said he’s talking with some well-known country acts.
“I think people are so upset about the Dixie Chicks that if I have to get a banjo and stand up there on stage and sing ‘On Top of Old Smokey’ people will stand up and cheer,” he said. “They don’t care.”
Gallagher, whose program is syndicated nationwide, said he’ll donate all proceeds from the concert to military families from South Carolina. And anyone with a ticket to the Dixie Chicks’ gig gets in for free.
“Obviously, this is designed to send a message that it’s not OK to run down our president during this time of war,” he said. “They insulted their core audience. Country music fans are red-blooded, patriotic Americans who support our military and support our commander in chief.”
Maines upset many of the trio’s fans when she told a London audience: “Just so you know, we’re ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.”
She apologized a few days later.