Cross Canadian Ragweed did in fact get back together at Boone-Pickens Stadium to a string of sold out shows in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
They brought along some Red Dirt legends to help them celebrate their return to the big stage too. The legendary Stoney LaRue and the Turnpike Troubadours opened the show perfectly, Coach Mike Grundy introduced CCR, Dierks Bentley even made a surprise appearance, and that was just night one by the way. The event looked like heaven on earth from the videos and pictures that fans posted all over social media.
Cross Canadian Ragweed haven’t appeared on any stage together in years and years and years. Hell, I was in my late 20s, more vibrant and could stay up well past 9:30pm a lot easier in life…era…the last time they played together live. Of course we aren’t going to talk about their little impromptu performance at Mile 0 Fest in Key West earlier this year, because disregarding that, it’s been 15 long years since fans have witnessed the boys play. They were done and never ever getting back together according to them.
CCR is hands down one of the bands who’s probably more responsible for the rise in popularity of Red Dirt music than any other “red dirt” band (which is fact in almost any real Red Dirt Country fans opinion…they were all over CMT back in the day too) hadn’t actually played together since their last show at Joe’s on Weed Street in Chicago back in 2010. So, this week in Stillwater has been a dream come true for CCR fans to say the least.
Whiskey Riff investigated to find some old news on a statement of what one Oklahoma native said thats laughable now to a tv station once. The best part of it is though, is how these CCR shows basically proved how this country legend was completely wrong about playing a show at Boone-Pickens Stadium.
We should also mention how Garth Brooks is an Oklahoma State alumni. I mean the real deal alumni too. The man was a javelin star on the Cowboys’ track and field team, where he earned All-American honors three times, which is pretty damn impressive y’all.
It would make all of the sense in the world for him to return to his old college and put on a massive concert. Well, he didn’t think it was even possible logistically to play a show there when he talked with O’Colly TV:
“Logistically, it’s not possible to play there… The problem with Boone Pickens is it’s built exactly opposite for concerts.”
“It’s not built for how we play in the round stadiums. If we were front on, we’d be fine. But since we’re at 360 (degree angle), the stadium is built more in a ‘U’ and where the opening of the ‘U’ needs to be is exactly opposite of where it needs to be.”
That kind of sounds like some bs excuse to me, but that’s just me here. Garth needs to man up and go play a show back home. Now if it’s truly impossible to play this stadium…then congrats to the “Boys From Oklahoma” for pulling it off. Cross Canadian Ragweed just did the impossible according to Garth.