An Oral History of Red Dirt As Told by Those Who Live and Love It

It was the mid-1990s when Cody Canada first came to Stillwater, Oklahoma. The then-17-year-old ventured an hour or so north from his native Yukon to the small college town to see country elite Chris LeDoux perform live. What he found there, instead, would kickstart the rest of his life.

Opening for the hitmaker was The Great Divide, a local act that was steadily on the rise. As Canada recalls of their performance that night, “The lead guitar player was playing these Van Halen riffs over a Bob Wills song, and I thought, ‘Either I love this or I hate this, but I haven't quite decided yet.’” What they were playing was a misfit blend of old-time swing and arena-ready rock and roll that has become known as Red Dirt music.