Times have changed since the last Ragweed show, eh?
Last night was the biggest night in the history of red dirt country music, with Cross Canadian Ragweed making their triumphant return to the stage after a 15-year hiatus for the first of their massive Boys From Oklahoma shows at Boone Pickens Stadium.
Formed in Stillwater, Oklahoma in the mid-90s by Cody Canada, Grady Cross, Randy Ragsdale and Jeremy Plato, Ragweed became a cornerstone of the Red Dirt movement beginning in 1994, and took off with the release of their debut album, Carney, in 1998. They would go on to release 7 studio and 3 live albums before disbanding in 2010, with Cody Canada and Jeremy Plato going on to form Cody Canada and the Departed.
So as you can imagine, fans were more than ready for them to get back together and fought like crazy to get tickets for the historic event.
The four night run features not only Ragweed but also Turnpike Troubadours, Jason Boland and the Stragglers, Stoney LaRue, The Great Divide, and The Mike McClure Band. It was originally set to just be one show, but after 150,000 people registered for presale tickets for the first night, organizers ended up adding not one but THREE more shows – all of which sold out pretty much immediately.
The anticipation for event was sky-high, and even on a Thursday night, it appears that the energy in Boone Pickens Stadium was at a fever pitch by the time Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy walked out on stage to introduce Ragweed:
@blondeonsports Mike Gundy #blondeonsports #boysfromoklahoma #mikegundy
But Cody Canada and the band didn’t take the stage until after 10 PM – and Ragweed fans aren’t as young as the used to be when they were seeing the band in rock clubs around Oklahoma.
One video posted from the back of the stadium shows a steady stream of people heading for the exits after just a handful of songs into the headliner’s set:
“We weren’t lying when we said we were old.”
Of course I’m sure it didn’t help that the show kicked off at 5:30, so by the time Ragweed finally hit the stage, fans had already been there for over 4 hours. And it was a Thursday night, so I’m sure some of these people had work the next day, or had a long drive back home.
But man, it’s been 15 years, what’s another hour at that point?
The comments couldn’t help but laugh at how different things are for fans who grew up following Ragweed during their early days:
“All my rowdy friends have settled down.”
“Could just be the crowd is old and show should have started at 4 and ended at 8 in bed by 10!”
“Straight facts. I feel like I have a hangover and I didn’t drink. Getting older stinks”
“Looked around at 12:30 and a lot were gone”
“And all the people who left early blows my mind! They haven’t played in 16 years and you leave early?!”
“Everyone is old now”
“someone should have told Cody Canada that we’re too old to stay out that late. We left a little after midnight”
Getting old sucks sometimes…but some things are just worth toughing it out for.
