The Dixie Chicks [ tickets ], who this week became the first country group to top the Billboard 200 album chart, is the latest act to get tapped to play the Sept. 14 "Sheryl Crow [ tickets ] and Friends" concert at Central Park's East Meadow. Eric Clapton, Sara McLachlan, Stevie Nicks and Chrissie Hynde were previously announced performers.

The free concert will benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and will be broadcast on the Fox television network, the SFX Radio Network and the World Wide Web (at www.blueconcerts.com). Event sponsor American Express is distributing tickets via a lottery-type game in New York.

Though no full-fledged tour is planned until next summer, the Chicks will be hard to miss in the coming weeks. The media blitz includes a Sept. 14 appearance on ``Late Show With David Letterman'' and a Sept. 15 performance on ``The Rosie O'Donnell Show.'' The group will be interviewed on NBC's ``Today Show'' on Sept. 16.

The following week, the Chicks will be the opening performance for the ``33rd Annual Country Music Association Awards Show',' airing Sept. 22 on CBS. They are nominated for Entertainer of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year, Single of the Year, and Music Video of the Year.

The band's newly-released album, ''Fly'' (Monument/Sony Nashville), sold 341,000 units last week, according to SoundScan. That makes it the largest debut week by any country act other than Garth Brooks in the SoundScan era, according to Billboard.