The Boys From Oklahoma
Host their concerts sold-out
In the earliest days of my country music journey, Pandora gave me an incredible gift: Cross Canadian Ragweed. Instantly, I was hooked on their storytelling and rock-adjacent country sound. My lovely wife — who grew up in Tulsa — was shocked that I found what she considered a local band and started singing along to “17,” “Boys From Oklahoma” and “Constantly.”
While I can’t be sure how I landed in the red dirt backyard of Cody Canada, Grady Cross, Randy Ragsdale and Jeremy Plato, I do know that thanks to an early version of The Algorithm, each thumbs up I provided to a Cross Canadian Ragweed song resulted in my introduction to Turnpike Troubadours.
For that, I’m forever grateful to the band. I’ve seen Turnpike, pre- and post-hiatus, in multiple cities and venues. In my opinion, Turnpike Troubadours is the best country music band in the land. No one band comes close, and Cross Canadian Ragweed laid the groundwork for them to shine.
I’ve always liked Cross Canadain Ragweed but never saw them live due to the breakup. A few years back, we did see Cody Canada and The Departed with Jason Bolland & The Stragglers at Cain’s Ballroom right after Thanksgiving, which was fun. At the time, Canada was still a bit salty about references to the “other band.”
Like so many fans of alt-country and gruff Red Dirt sounds, I followed the social media hints Canada dropped over the last few months with a smile on my face. And my jaw hit the floor when they announced the lineup and location of The Boys From Oklahoma shows.
The first show sold out, fast. So did the additional show and two more they added after fans nearly crashed the ticket websites. Nose bleeds are going for nearly $90 a piece on third-party websites.
This collection of Oklahoma bands sold more than 180,000 tickets to the four shows, making this feel like a one-time, not-to-be-missed event. (Even though I’ll miss it. But if you have tickets you want to give me, let me know. I can make Sunday happen…)
Red Dirt music doesn’t get much love outside of North Texas and Oklahoma and the elitists in Austin and East Nashville often look down upon its fans.
But the reality is that today’s country music would not be as diverse and interesting without these boys from Oklahoma. And we certainly wouldn’t know that they roll their joints all wrong.