GREENVILLE, S.C. -- While Tuesday's earthquake was in Alabama, the Upstate is the epicenter of country music controversy this week.

Thursday night, the Dixie Chicks are scheduled to perform their first American concert since lead singer Natalie Maines made controversial comments about President George W. Bush.

At Greenville's BI-LO Center, managers are getting ready for two shows: the Dixie Chicks inside and possible protests from their opponents outside.

Tickets for the Dixie Chicks concert sold out in less than an hour on March 1, before Maines' quipped at a concert in England "just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."

The remarks infuriated some people who said that they were inappropriate on the eve of war in Iraq.

In the six weeks since, the band has been the center of a firestorm of controversy.

An alternative concert is scheduled for Spartanburg's Memorial Auditorium, where the Marshall Tucker Band is performing a show organized by radio talk show host Mike Gallagher and promoted by Greenville station WORD.

Tuesday, WORD spent the morning giving tickets to their show to anyone who wanted to give up their Dixie Chicks tickets.

In the first hour of the ticket exchange, about 20 tickets had been traded out, WORD representatives said.

The story has gone national, with television crews from CNN and other outlets in Greenville to report on the story.

BI-LO Center managers said that they are prepared for protesters outside the show.

"We're giving them an area to do this in, but we have to control the number of folks and where they are," BI-LO Center spokeswoman Jill Weninger told News 4. "We don't have very much space here and we want to ensure the safety of all our patrons."

The Greenville Police Department is stuck in the middle, responsible for protecting the folks on all sides of the issue and making sure everybody's rights are protected.

"(We will) make sure everybody can get their message out," Greenville Police Lt. Mike Gambrell told News 4. "Make sure that everybody who paid money to see the concert has a safe time. We're working in conjunction with the security of the Dixie Chicks to make sure they have a safe time on stage."

Behind the BI-LO center a fleet of 18-wheelers are unloading the stage, sets and lighting for the band's Thursday show.

The Dixie Chicks are in Greenville primarily because the BI-LO Center agree to allow the band to set up two days early for pre-U.S. tour rehersals.