Why Saving Country Music Won’t Be at The Boys From Oklahoma

Radio/Media 113 Comments


The massive Boys From Oklahoma extravaganza is happening in Stillwater, Oklahoma this weekend. This is where Cross Canadian Ragweed will officially reunify, and stalwarts of the American Red Dirt music scene will also perform, namely the Turnpike Troubadours, Jason Boland and the Stragglers, Stoney LaRue, and The Great Divide.

After announcing the first reunification concert on April 12th at Boone Pickens Stadium, it sold out so fast, they eventually added three more shows, with the four dates between April 10-14 selling a total of 183,000 tickets. If you’re one of those ticket holders, congratulations. You will be part of what will likely turn out to be a historic event, no matter what transpires.

Lots of folks have been reaching out, wondering what Saving Country Music’s plans are for the event, or where they could perhaps meet me. But unfortunately, I will not be there, and for a host of reasons.

What will proceed here will be a bunch of shop talk, inside baseball, and personal stuff that’s not really written for mass consumption, but stuff that I feel needs to be said to explain my absence. It’s a side bar, so don’t misunderstand it, or act like it’s not self-aware.

There will definitely be some serious FOMO happening this weekend at SCM headquarters, and if big breaking news transpires in Stillwater worth covering remotely, that will happen. But if for no other reason than to get some stuff off my chest, here are the reasons I won’t be there.

And for those that did make it to Stillwater, bask in these moments. This is what music is all about!


1. Generally speaking, Saving Country Music does not cover arena or stadium shows, with the philosophy being that once music has reached that level, it’s out of the purview of Saving Country Music. This outlet is a stepping stone for talent, not a vehicle for clout chasing. Though some arena-level artists have been covered here when they headline festivals and such, so are many of the other artists in opening slots and on side stages.

Granted, this stadium show is very unique and a once-in-a-lifetime historic event, so an exception definitely could have been made. But this did create a philosophical conflict of how to approach this event, and if it should be covered in-person.

2. As was explained earlier this year in a State of the Union Address, Saving Country Music is having to be more fiscally responsible in 2025. Though traffic remains strong to the website, costs are skyrocketing. Though covering live events is still a priority, a bit more austerity is necessary, and this was just one event where the expenses were going to be too steep compared to others, while it didn’t line up on a circuit to share travel costs.

If everything else had aligned logistically, then those costs would have been endured and justified due to the historic nature of the event. But they didn’t (see below), and so driving to Stillwater to only experience the final of the four shows felt like the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze, so to speak.

3. Anyone who’s followed Saving Country Music over the years knows that it offers extensive, industry-leading coverage of live events from all across the United States. What’s essential to making this happen is access and permission granted by the organizers. In the case of The Boys From Oklahoma, after multiple followups with the publicist for the event and very little communication back, I was told last week that the only show I would be given access to was the final one on Sunday, April 14th.

Specifically, I was offered two tickets for Sunday. For those without any tickets, it might seem scandalous or ungrateful to turn these tickets down. But in truth, I didn’t want or need a ticket, let alone two. Accepting them would have been robbing either a paying customer/fan out of something I wouldn’t even use, or a fellow journalist.

I had no desire to attend the final show, and sit politely in the infield or nosebleeds, and be entertained. Saving Country Music’s intent was to show up in Stillwater days before the event, chronicle the impact and preparations by the city, talk to fans and organizers, be present for all four shows to capture the moments and the contrast between the days, and offer a broad perspective on this historic event, as has been done for other events previously over the last 18 years.

If I could not cover the event in this capacity, it probably wasn’t worth covering the event at all, especially just the final day. I never have “tickets” for any of the events I cover. I have press and photo passes. I never sit when covering a live event or festival, except maybe on a stoop to snarf down a sandwich and keep moving. Instead, I’m posting media from events in real time, trying to capture important moments, and sharing those moments with those who can’t be there, or for future recollection.

Basically the “two tickets on Sunday” was taken as an insult, and possibly was meant as one. Either way, it was insufficient for what I wanted to do, misunderstood the scope of Saving Country Music’s live coverage of events, and it was deemed those tickets should instead go to someone who could get more out of them than I could, especially since tickets to this event were so sought after.

In fairness, if I would have leaned harder into trying to cover this event, I probably could have secured the access I requested. But I probably would have needed to go through a band contact, and I never want to be in the back pocket of any band or feel like I’m in a quid pro quo. Though the hope is that everything goes well in Stillwater, if things get sideways, it’s imperative the press remains independent and objective, and covers whatever happens honestly.

And for the record, I did try to purchase tickets for the original April 12th show, but they sold out almost immediately. And if I would have secured them, or been offered a ticket for one of the first two days, I probably would have gone.

4. To be completely honest, Cross Canadian Ragweed just doesn’t loom large enough in my personal ethos, or the ethos that governs Saving Country Music to expend a bunch of resources to see/review the last of four shows. It’s a stoner rock band with some country inflections. Let journalists like Josh Crutchmer who have a greater affinity and history with this particular band take the lead. That doesn’t mean if I had chosen to be there, I wouldn’t bring 100% passion for the event, or that I don’t recognize Cross Canadian Ragweed as the Red Dirt legends they are. But frankly, they’re on the periphery of the Saving Country Music beat, and I already covered/witnessed Ragweed’s initial reunification down in Key West. It was awesome. But I’ve been there, and done that.

That said, I do feel that the continued unethical behavior of journalist Josh Crutchmer remains disturbing. My guess is Crutchmer will have a little more than two tickets on Sunday to cover The Boys From Oklahoma event. But somehow other journalists that have a deeper history of covering live events more expansively are getting completely locked out.

This all falls in line with Crutchmer’s “exclusive” approach to journalism, where he wants to starve all other outlets of information so that he can push pre-orders to his books, including by directly feeding people information embargoed from the rest of the press in exchange for these pre-orders, while hubristically characterizing his book as playing a “central role” in the Boys From Oklahoma event, and Cross Canadian Ragweed’s reunification announcement.



Though this practice might be great for Josh Crutchmer’s pre-orders and media brand, it’s a deleterious practice that takes attention away from the artists, and discourages other outlets from writing about these performers by always being in arrears with information. The attention should be on the music itself, not on the journalists covering it.

If you’re a fan of an artist or band, you should want EVERY media outlet covering them. Every journalist should insist on equal access, not a system where if you write obsequious puff pieces for performers, you’re then granted all access, while if you actually do your job as a journalist and remain impartial and objective, you get two tickets on Sunday, and told you should feel lucky you got that.

It’s awesome that Josh Crutchmer is writing about Texas/Red Dirt artists for Rolling Stone. The more people writing about these artists, the better. But that’s not what’s happening in Stillwater. Some journalists and outlets are getting excluded. And that’s a problem that goes deeper than this Boys From Oklahoma event as actual objective journalism continues to lose access to live spaces.

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But let’s not let any of this inside baseball and unpleasantness sully what should be an incredible time in Stillwater. I would love to be there celebrating, chronicling, and commentating with readers, fans, and colleagues. It just wasn’t in the cards. But I will use the resources and time I would have spent in Stillwater on other events that understand and respect the importance of live, objective journalism, and how critical it can be to cultivating the community, and grassroots aspect that has been so important to the rise of independent country music.

Party on.

© 2025 Saving Country Music

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