08/28/2025
The Boys are Back !
August 28, 2025-Following their historic, sold-out, four-night run this past spring, Cross Canadian Ragweed and Turnpike Troubadours will bring their The Boys From Oklahoma concert back to Stillwater, OK’s Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday, April 11, 2026. In addition to the co-headliners, the lineup will include The Great Divide, Wyatt Flores and Shane Smith & The Saints. The first Boys From Oklahoma shows in Stillwater last April brought 200,000 plus fans not only from across the U.S., but from around the globe making it the most historic event in the town’s history.
A co-headlined bill between Ragweed and Turnpike Troubadours, also featuring Red Dirt icons The Great Divide, Jason Boland and The Stragglers and Stoney LaRue, manifested a monumental “lovefest” that was felt by every single person there. An additional 100,000 plus fans were left without a chance to get tickets for the initial Stillwater shows as well as the bands’ subsequent run in Waco, TX, but will now get another crack at it. Sign up to get your pre-sale password at www.theboysfromoklahoma.com beginning on August 28th at 10 AM CST and ending on September 3rd at 5 PM CST.
The overall sentiment shared by each member of the band about walking out on stage together for the first time after so many years is the same. It’s like when you haven’t talked to your close friend in years, and then when you do, it’s like no time has passed and you pick right back up where you left off. Randy Ragsdale (drums) described it as, “Like wearing an old pair of shoes. It felt very natural again. It was a big stage, but we stayed close like we always did.” Jeremy Plato (bass) echoed the feeling, “It brought back that old time feelin,’ getting back to the fun part of what we did. It felt like we never stopped.” Nobody in the band ever imagined the response to their reunion would be as massive as it turned out to be. Cody Canada is still reeling from it, “I had no idea we could do this. I thought it was going to be one show, then the love started pouring in. After the first one sold out, I left the house, and when I came back to find out there was going to be three more shows…I’m still in shock. When we walked out on that stage for the first time, it was pure rock and roll adrenaline.” Grady Cross (rhythm guitar) had a similar reaction. “It was hard to imagine that we could do that; sell out a stadium. I knew we made a mark as a band, and owning a pub I have heard a lot from other artists, but when I heard we sold out 4 shows, I had to go for a drive to process it. We felt so much love from everyone, a vibe that was in the air the whole way through.” Plato was equally stunned. “I didn’t know we had that kind of impact on that scale.” That kind of “impact” is a situation that can put a town on alert, and also inspire local legislation. With Stillwater having a population of 50,000, the 200,000 pouring into town for the concert can make a wide-open space seem rather crowded. Yet not a single fight broke out at any of the shows. After it was over, Canada spoke to police who told him how great their fans were. “It was a true reunion; everyone was so happy.” Plato agrees wholeheartedly, “There was no time for fighting, people were too busy having fun. It was the most Oklahoma concert ever for the Red Dirtiest time.”
The Boys From Oklahoma Round 2 event will fall smack dab in the middle of Red Dirt Music Week (April 7-13), a newly instated celebration decreed by Stillwater Mayor William H. Joyce immediately following the landslide of tickets sales for the original shows. The reunion type atmosphere both inside the stadium and along the streets of Stillwater represents the very definition of the Red Dirt music culture, and the artists that create its soundtrack. It’s about sharing; sharing the love, sharing the music, and sharing the stage, so it comes as no surprise that Ragweed’s set features many of their friends throughout their performance. “For a lot of our friends to be there with us…means the world.” Canada explains. “We have always shared the stage, and we always will.” As the guys gear up for the return to what is sure to be the sequel to another epic event, the love and reverence continues to mount. “For me, this is a way to honor my son first off.” explains Ragsdale. “He wanted the band to be together and didn’t understand why we weren’t. He watched us on the iPad all the time. His passing right before the first show…it was an honor to him. Second, it was a dream come true for me. I didn’t think this would happen again. I am completely honored to be able to do it again.” Cross is also very humbled. “I’m more than grateful. I’m happy for all our families, happy for our band. I’m still on a high from the last one. I may never come down.” Canada feels a large debt of gratitude to the town itself. “I grew up in Yukon, but if it weren’t for Stillwater, I wouldn’t have anything. Not my wife, my kids, or my career. For the shows to be there, to be that size, that easy…that shows me that Stillwater and Ragweed was really meant for each other.”
About Cross Canadian Ragweed:
After a whirlwind year of sold-out stadium shows in Stillwater, Oklahoma and Waco, Texas, a few select special appearances, and stepping in for Tim McGraw to headline opening night at the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Last Cowboy Standing event in Colorado, the powerful clamor from fans to see Cross Canadian Ragweed back on stage after 15 years remains undiminished.
About Turnpike Troubadours:
Pioneers of the Red Dirt music scene and one of America’s most beloved bands, Turnpike Troubadours has amassed a massive following throughout their renowned career with more than 2.2 billion streams globally and over 1.7 million equivalent units sold. Since their debut in 2005, the band has released seven studio albums, performed countless sold-out headline shows, appeared in Paramount’s hit show Yellowstone and were inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. Most recently, Turnpike Troubadours added to their historic career with the release of their new surprise album, The Price of Admission, which debuted at #1 on the iTunes all-genre and country charts and earned them their highest Spotify chart debuts to date. The eagerly awaited follow up to their widely acclaimed 2023 album, A Cat in the Rain, The Price of Admission further cements the band as an undeniable force in the music world and led Rolling Stone to praise, "The Price of Admission serves as a reminder that Turnpike is still the genre’s torchbearer…The band is at its lyrical and musical peak across the board," while Whiskey Riff declared “Turnpike Troubadours have continued to prove time and time again that they are the greatest band of all time.” Originally from Tahlequah, OK, Turnpike Troubadours is Evan Felker (vocals, guitar), Kyle Nix (fiddle), Ryan Engleman (electric guitar), RC Edwards (bass), Gabe Pearson (drums) and Hank Early (steel, accordion).
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