Josh Crutchmer’s Book on Cross Canadian Ragweed
Last Friday, Josh Crutchmer was having one of those “mind in a blender days.”
He was finishing a writing deadline for Never Say Never, a new book about this month’s “Boys From Oklahoma” reunion of Cross Canadian Ragweed, a band he has followed for more than two decades. He also was watching the reaction to his Rolling Stone profile of Vandoliers lead singer Jenny Rose, who came out publicly in the article that day as transgender, while keeping tabs on his “actual job” as the planning editor for the New York Times.
And all of this was taking place as Crutchmer also changed Internet service providers, a switch with glitches that pushed our Zoom interview back 30 minutes.
“It’s been a crazy couple of weeks,” he said once we connected. “Fun, great, but crazy.”
Crutchmer, an Oklahoma native who has written two books that trace the history of the Red Dirt music scene, describes the reunion shows at T. Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater as “magical,” “overwhelming,” and “surreal.”
Over four nights, the reunited Ragweed, Turnpike Troubadours and three other bands (Jason Boland and The Stragglers, Stoney LaRue, and The Great Divide) played to 183,000 fans. The April 10-13 shows — dubbed “Red Dirt Woodstock” by Scotte Lester of The Great Divide on the final night — were the largest in the state’s history and the first in the OSU stadium. (See our complete review of this show here: Show Review: The Boys From Oklahoma w/ Cross Canadian Ragweed)
“It’s probably because Ragweed is a bar band I’ve followed my entire adult life, but seeing them get this Springsteen level of response from almost 50,000 people was probably the coolest thing I’ve ever experienced in music,” Crutchmer says. “And that was after thinking about it and reporting on it for six months. Seeing it actually happen was a rush of emotion and adrenaline. It was just pure joy.”
Cross Canadian Ragweed formed in the mid 1990s and gained a following when its members moved to Stillwater, a town of about 50,000 that is home to Oklahoma State University and is central to the Red Dirt story. The genre, which has ties dating back to Oklahoma native Woody Guthrie, took hold in the late 1980s and has since expanded to include artists and bands from Texas.
Most of the bands encompass styles commonly referred to as Americana, indie folk, and alt-country, but also blues and alternative rock.
“Ragweed has rock instruments, a rock sound, long hair and everything else you want out of a rock band, but their lyrics are these intensely personal experiences that reminded me of my favorite country songs,” says Crutchmer, who started following the band while majoring in journalism at OSU. “They always managed to be the coolest band in the room, the coolest band on any bill. But at the same time, they were just singing these songs that could rip your heart out.”
Ragweed became the region’s best-known group and had a brief run with a major label (Universal South) before a contentious breakup in 2010. Fifteen years after forming, the members were in their late 30s with families and still playing 150 to 180 shows a year.
“They reached a point where they all wanted different things for each other and their music,” Crutchmer says. “They were too proud to work through differences like that, and it ended up becoming a breakup over who was leaving the cap off the bottle of water on the bus. They were just together too long without a break.”
In the 15 years since, the Red Dirt genre has made major commercial inroads as bands like Turnpike and artists like Kaitlin Butts, Wyatt Flores, Dylan Gossett, and Parker McCollum have found mainstream success. “They’ve taken this regional music scene into the world in ways that had never been sustained before Ragweed did it, but Ragweed always felt like a bit of an anamoly,” he says.
Crutchmer started work on Red Dirt: Roots Music Born in Oklahoma, Raised in Texas, at Home Anywhere in 2020. His chapter on Evan Felker, Turnpike’s lead singer, discussing his newfound sobriety and hopes to reunite the band, led to the side gig with Rolling Stone when it was excerpted in the magazine.
Working on the sequel, 2024’s Red Dirt: Unplugged, Crutchmer learned that Ragweed was planning a reunion show — something that lead singer Cody Canada had told him “never would happen.” After Crutchmer published Canada’s remarks in a Rolling Stone article, the singer said he realized he’d made a mistake.
“One of the first things he said to me after the article appeared was, ‘Well, you should never say never,’ and I told him that was going to be the title of the book I write about this,” Crutchmer says. “And here we are.”
Crutchmer’s book, now available for pre-order here and shipping in early May, examines the group’s breakup and comeback as well as stories of the other groups that performed in the concerts. He also looks at how the concerts came together and recaps each of the four shows.
Cross Canadian Ragweed and the Turnpike Troubadours will co-headline a “Texas Encore” of The Boys From Oklahoma on August 23 at Baylor University’s McLane Stadium. The show, which is also sold out, also will feature Shane Smith and the Saints, Wade Bowen and American Aquarium.
Find ordering information on the Never Say Never book here: http://www.neversayneverbook.com
Find more info on Cross Canadian Ragweed here: https://crosscanadianragweed.com
Check out the Troubadours here: https://turnpiketroubadours.com
Enjoy our coverage of The Boys From Oklahoma show here: Show Review: The Boys From Oklahoma w/ Cross Canadian Ragweed
The cover photo of Josh Crutchmer with Cross Canadian Ragweed’s Cody Canada is by Clavin Plumb. All other photos by Glenn Cook.
