Red Dirt Music comes to the Longhorn

 Always on the cutting edge in entertainment, the Texas Longhorn brought forth an outstanding performance of Red Dirt Music by Cross Canadian Ragweed, Friday night. Red Dirt Music traces its beginning to Stillwater, Okla.

Bob Childers, known as “the Dylan of the dust,” is credited with starting the music style. “I found something in Stillwater that I could not find anywhere else. I looked from Nashville to Austin and I always came back to Stillwater-it’s like a fountainhead for folks trying to get their vision,” said Childers.

The Red Dirt sound is as distinctive as the sound of Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. Sometimes described as “country music with an attitude,” Red Dirt Music is said to reflect the independent attitude of “Oakies,” a sense of independence, natural, honest, and about real life.

In 1994, Grady Cross, Cody Canada, Randy Ragsdale, and Matt Wiedemann formed a band and used a combination of their names to become Cross Canadian Ragweed. After forming up in Yukon, Okla., they moved to Stillwater and became part of the local music scene. In their performance at the Longhorn last Friday night they played hits that have kept them on the country charts since releasing their first album in 1998. A crowd favorite, “Anywhere But Here,” was played loud enough to have been heard in Lake Charles. It was evident the audience loved the song. Major League baseball player Adam Boeve uses the song as his intro music.

“Alabama” was another tune the majority of the audience was very familiar with. Arms were in the air and bodies waving as the four band members loudly belted out the favorite that kept them on the chart in 2004 in the number 46 spot.

The hits kept coming as Cody Canada, in the lead spot belted out California,” ”This Time Around,” “Fightin’ For,” “Late Last Night,” and several others. In addition to Canada, Cross was on Rhythm Guitar, Ragsdale on Drums, and Jeremy Plato, who replaced Wiedemann, was on Bass Guitar.

One of the largest crowds in Longhorn history left the night very satisfied with the opportunity to hear Red Dirt Music played by one of the top bands in the genre.