The Dixie Chicks will play Gexa Energy Pavilion in Dallas on August 5.
Photo by Nadine Ljewere
The Dixie Chicks have announced a 41 city North American tour in 2016, their first tour in 10 years and one that will include stops in three different Texas cities.
The tour, which will first go to 13 European cities, will kick off on June 1 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Chicks will make their way to Texas in the heat of August, visiting Gexa Energy Pavilion in Dallas on August 5 before going to Houston on August 6 and Austin on August 7.
The one-time massively popular country music trio, which started in Dallas in 1989, was virtually abandoned by country radio after lead singer Natalie Maines said the group was "ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas" in 2003. The Dixie Chicks went on to release a highly acclaimed album, Taking the Long Way, that won five Grammy Awards, including three for the defiant single, "Not Ready to Make Nice."
In the 10 years since the Chicks last toured, sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison released two albums as the duo Courtyard Hounds, while Maines released the solo album Mother in 2013. There's no word yet if the 2016 tour will be accompanied by a new album, although the group has been hinting at the possibility.
Tickets for all stops on the tour will be available in a presale on November 17. The public on-sale date for the Dallas stop is November 21, while Houston and Austin go on sale to the public on November 20.
Photo courtesy of Aardman / Sky UK LTD / StudioCanal 2026
Shaun the Sheep in Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom.
Since his introduction over 30 years ago, the Aardman Animations character Shaun the Sheep has been almost as popular as the studio’s flagship characters, Wallace and Gromit. There is never a shortage of trouble Shaun can get into as he leads his flock and proves to be a thorn in the side of his farmer and Bitzer, the farmer’s loyal sheepdog.
His antics lead everyone down some slightly spooky roads in the new film, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom. At first, things are only slightly awry as Shaun and the flock are growing a secret pumpkin patch to have their own jack-o-lanterns. But when the farmer accidentally destroys the pumpkin patch, Shaun tries to regrow it quickly with a Frankenstein-esque experiment.
However, disaster looms when Shaun uses an old bottle of Hair-Gro as the container for the serum he creates. Naturally, the balding farmer uses it on his head, and everyone soon discovers how truly successful it is, with pumpkins growing out of control and the farmer sprouting hair all over his body. Through a series of mishaps, the farmer becomes the titular beast, creating mayhem while Shaun and others try to stop him.
Directed by Steve Cox and Matthew Walker, and written by Mark Burton and Giles Pilbrow, the film goes down just as easy as every other Aardman project has. They get the Halloween vibes started from the opening credits, with things like the sheep doing the “Thriller” dance, and continue the fun throughout, referencing everything from Psycho to Friday the 13th in a nice, PG way.
With no script — every character is mute save for reaction noises — the movie relies on sight gags for its humor, and the Aardman team is endlessly inventive in that respect. Sometimes it’s small things like a sheep using toilet paper rolls as binoculars, and sometimes it’s something like forcing the Bigfoot-like farmer to be shaped into a rectangle as he escapes through a window. But there’s a never-ending stream of such moments, so even if one doesn’t tickle your funny bone, chances are the next one will.
The biggest benefit of the characters not talking is that there’s no need for deep character development. The filmmakers do a great job of giving the basic traits of each character, and then use those attributes to color everyone’s actions for the rest of the film. Shaun is the troublemaker, the farmer is a bumbling fool, Bitzer is preternaturally smart, and the town’s vet is empathetic, and the combination of those characters and others makes for a highly entertaining blend.
Like all Aardman creations, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom is a fun lark that doesn’t make its audience think too hard. With just enough references to keep viewers engaged but not so many as to be overbearing, the film puts its well-worn characters to good use once again, delivering a Halloween season story that can be enjoyed by people of all ages.
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Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom is now playing in theaters.
