Cross Canadian Ragweed to reunite after 15 years for OSU concert
STILLWATER, Okla. (KFOR) — An Oklahoma red dirt band is returning to its roots, after a nearly 15-year hiatus and they've invited some of their friends to join them.
Cross Canadian Ragweed and Turnpike Troubadours will co-headline a one-night only show at Boone Pickens Stadium on April 12.
Also featured are The Great Divide, Jason Boland and The Stragglers and Stoney LaRue.
"This really means a lot to this community and really to the whole state of Oklahoma, I think that red dirt country is so synonymous with kind of who we are and where we are," said Gavin Lang, Associate Athletic Director and Communications Director for Oklahoma State University Athletics.
This will be the first concert since the venue's grand opening in 2009 and these bands got their start in Stillwater.
"This is something that if you're a Stillwater person, you equate them as part of your experience. It's more than just music that you would listen to, like you went and saw them play at the Wormy Dog or some other place here on campus," said Lang.
Cross Canadian Ragweed disbanded in 2010. This show marks the band's much-anticipated reunion.
"It's good to see the boys come back together and enjoy Stillwater just like they did back when they were in school," said Calvin Smith, friend of the band and owner of The Barn.
Smith has been friends with the band since they were freshman playing on The Strip at OSU.
"They look a little different today, but they'll still sound like the same guys they did 25 years ago here in town," said Smith.
OSU is expecting a sell-out crowd for the concert. Hotels and Airbnb's are already booked up for that weekend.
The economic impact is expected to be massive with iconic Stillwater spots like Eskimo Joe's preparing for the influx.
"We'll anticipate this will be bigger than even an OSU football game, this will be like Bedlam or maybe bigger and we also think it'll last for several days versus just, you know, kind of Saturday only impact," said Stan Clark, CEO of Eskimo Joe's.
Clark says Eskimo Joe's helped play a part in their early days.
"We were fortunate to have had the opportunity to help these guys giving them a venue and a place to kind of cut their teeth. Many of these singer songwriters didn't even have a band when they were playing at Joe's," said Clark.
The mayor of Stillwater is also thrilled about the concert.
Stillwater is the birthplace of Red Dirt music, and it means so much that these world-famous artists maintain such a strong connection to our community and want to share how special it is with tens of thousands of others. We can’t wait to welcome all of these fantastic musicians and their fans back home to Stillwater.
Will Joyce, Mayor of Stillwater
Ticket pre-sales start at 10 a.m. on October 7. General public tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. October 11 and can be purchased here.
Fans can sign up to get a pre-sale password here until October 5.
The concert also gives back to student-athletes by benefitting OSU's name, image and likeness efforts.