Cross Canadian Ragweed is an American country and rock band formed in

Yukon, Oklahoma Yukon is a city in eastern Canadian County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 23,630 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Founded in the 1890s, the town was named in reference to a gold rush in Yukon Territory, Canada, at the ...

in 1994. The original members of the band is how the name was formed. Cross- Grady Cross, Canadian- Cody Canada, Rag- Randy Ragsdale, Weed- Matt Wiedemann. The band consists of

Cody Canada Cody Jay Canada (born May 25, 1976) is an American rock/alt-country musician who currently is the lead singer and lead guitarist of the rock bands Cody Canada and The Departed since 2011 and Cross Canadian Ragweed from 1994 to 2010, and again s ...

(lead guitar/vocals), Grady Cross (guitar), Randy Ragsdale (drums), and Jeremy Plato (bass guitar). The group released five studio albums and three live albums from 1994 until 2010. The band was at the forefront of the rise of the red dirt music scene in Oklahoma and the Texas Music scene. After almost 15 years together, the group disbanded in 2010. In September 2024, the band announced their reunion after teasing it for weeks on their social media.

History

Formation

Cross Canadian Ragweed started when Randy Ragsdale met Cody Canada, Matt Weidemann, and Grady Cross, who had also been playing together. The four had known each other since grade school and started playing together in Ragsdale's home seven nights a week under the tutelage of Ragsdale's father, Johnny, who had worked with musical artists in the area. After playing together, the band officially formed by combining a part of every band member's last name, coming up with the name Cross Canadian Ragweed. Matt Weidemann left the band, and Jeremy Plato joined the band, playing the bass guitar. After finishing high school, the band moved to the

College Town A college town or university town is a town or city whose character is dominated by a college or university and their associated culture, often characterised by the student population making up 20 percent of the population of the community, bu ...

Stillwater, Oklahoma Stillwater is the tenth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma, Payne County. It is located in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. Route 177#Oklahoma, U.S. Route 177 and Oklahoma S ...

, where acts like Mike McClure's The Great Divide and singer-songwriter Jimmy LaFave had established enough of a local scene to earn Stillwater the nickname North Austin.

''Carney'' and ''Live And Loud at the Wormy Dog Saloon''

The group had already received significant

college radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

before it released its first album, ''Carney'' in 1998 on their own independent label. Initially, selling the band in the market it was based in, was considered by music observers to be far-fetched; however, the fan base's passion and loyalty to the band allowed them to find success in releasing that first album. Carney was well received, then the band released ''Live and Loud at the Wormy Dog Saloon'' in 1999, which was also well received, especially in the local scene.

''Highway 377''

Ragweed released its second studio album Highway 377 in 2001, though it was recorded in 1999. It propelled them into wider audience and into

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, where Canada was born and also where the band had been touring heavily. Though not a released single, the song "Long Way Home" was featured on several

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

Truck Commercials in both Texas and Oklahoma which added to the popularity of the band. The band paid tribute to drummer Randy Ragsdale's father Johnny, who died of cancer in 1997 with the track "Johnny's Song."

''Live and Loud at Billy Bob's Texas''

In 2002 Ragweed recorded the popular live album ''Live and Loud at Billy Bob's Texas'' in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. The songs were mainly live versions of songs off ''Carney'' and ''Highway 377'', with a handful of cover songs.

''Cross Canadian Ragweed (Purple Album)''

In 2002, the group then signed with Universal South Records and released a self-titled album also alternately known as 'The Purple Album'. It was a tribute to the band's "little sister" Mandi Ragsdale, the younger sister of the band's drummer Randy Ragsdale, who had died in an auto accident near

College Station, Texas College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, United States, situated in East-Central Texas in the Brazos Valley, towards the eastern edge of the region known as the Texas Triangle. It is northwest of Houston and east-northeast of Austin, ...

, and whose favorite color was purple. The album produced charted singles "17" and the ballad "Constantly", and released a music video for the hard rock track "Don't Need You."

''Soul Gravy''

Ragweed's 2004 album, '' Soul Gravy'', debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard charts.

Lee Ann Womack Lee Ann Womack (; born August 19, 1966) is an American singer and songwriter. She has charted 23 times on the American ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts; her highest peaking single there is her crossover signature song, " I Hope You Dance" ...

provided background vocals on the popular single "Sick and Tired". The project also saw the re-release of the song "Alabama" (off of 2001's Highway 377) with a heavier electric sound, which appeared on the

Billboard Charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ' ...

as well.

''Garage''

In October 2005 the band released ''Garage'', described by both the band and raters at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

as the group's "grungiest album ever." Two songs, "Fighting' For" and "This Time Around" both became hits off the album. The album charted higher than any studio album the band ever released and for the first time, the band broke into rock radio airplay across the United States due to the song "Dimebag", a tribute to former

Damageplan Damageplan was an American heavy metal band from Dallas, Texas, formed in 2003. Following the demise of their previous group Pantera, brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbott wanted to start a new band. The pair recruited former Halfor ...

and

Pantera Pantera () is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Arlington, Texas in 1981 by the Abbott brothers (guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul), and currently composed of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, an ...

guitarist "Dimebag"

Darrell Abbott Darrell Lance Abbott (August 20, 1966 – December 8, 2004), known professionally as Dimebag Darrell, was an American musician. He was the guitarist of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan, both of which he co-founded alongside his br ...

, who had been killed months earlier during a concert, in addition to a heavier rock sound overall.

''Back To Tulsa: Live And Loud At Cain's Ballroom''

In late 2006, Ragweed released their third and final live album, ''Live and Loud At Cain's Ballroom'' in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

. The band's 24 song project was well received and featured songs from their previous projects The Purple Album, Soul Gravy, and Garage. It also featured a handful of covers as well such as

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

The Needle and the Damage Done "The Needle and the Damage Done" is a 1972 song by Canadian-American singer-songwriter Neil Young. The lyrics describe the effects of heroin addiction on musicians Young knew, including his friend and Crazy Horse bandmate Danny Whitten, who would d ...

and

Robert Earl Keen Robert Earl Keen (born January 11, 1956) is an American country singer and songwriter from Houston, Texas. Early life and education Keen was born and grew up in Houston, Texas. As a teenager, he was an avid reader who excelled in writing an ...

's "Lonely Feeling."

''Mission California''

Cross Canadian Ragweed recorded '' Mission California'', their fourth studio album, at the end of March 2007. The namesake of the album was due to the recording taking place in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California. The band spent 25 days in the studio; the first 5 cutting 15 tracks, the next 20 polishing each.

once again laid down background vocals on 4 of the tracks to include the Chris Knight cover "Cry Lonely." '' Mission California'' was released on October 2, 2007. AllMusic reviewed the Album and found that the project was "name appropriately, the band sounds much more a progressive West Coast sound in many of the tracks and less rural rock."

''Happiness and All the Other Things''

The band's tenth and final album, '' Happiness and All the Other Things'' was released on August 31, 2009, commemorating the band's 15th Anniversary. It featured 12 new studio tracks and three live tracks. Recorded in California, this album includes a track entitled "51 Pieces", which Canada penned with Micky Braun. The song was based on an incident where Ohio State police ransacked the band's bus after a stop in Cleveland at the

House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers (film), The Blues Brothers''. The ...

. It also featured "Blue Bonnets" which is dedicated to Cody's oldest son Dierks. '' Happiness and All the Other Things'' was officially dedicated to the late Randall Locke (

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

's long-time stage manager) who suddenly died on May 6, 2009. Other popular tracks were "To Find My Love", "Burn Like The Sun", and "Kick In The Head."

Hiatus and band break-up

In May 2010, Cross Canadian Ragweed announced a hiatus from touring. In a band press release, Ragsdale explained, "Right now, I need to be at home for my family, particularly my son JC, who has autism. He's 10 years old now and still struggling in his development. I feel the only way I can help him is to be more hands on and close to home." Despite Ragsdale wanting to "get another drummer and press on," Canada stated "We’ve always said from the start, we’re Ragweed as the four of us, or not Ragweed at all." In September 2010, Canada officially announced the band was calling it quits by announcing their "Last Call Show" in October 2010 at Joe's Bar in Chicago, IL, stating "as far as that's concerned, Oct 24 is the last one, the last gig."

Post break-up

Since Cross Canadian Ragweed, Canada and Plato formed

The Departed ''The Departed'' is a 2006 crime film, crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is both an English-language remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film ''Infernal Affairs'' and also loosely based on the real-lif ...

with fellow

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

-native Dave Bowen (drums), Seth James (guitar), and Steve Littleton (keyboards), releasing their debut album "This Is Indian Land" in June 2011. Ragsdale and Cross both returned to Yukon. Ragsdale played with Stoney LaRue until 2013 and now works in the oil and natural gas industry, while Cross purchased and operates the bar that was the very first venue Cross Canadian Ragweed performed in 1994. In 2019 Grady Cross and Randy Ragsdale joined singer-songwriter Jason Young to form the band Cross Rags and Young.

Reunion

The band announced their reunion in September 2024, announcing a show alongside Jason Boland & The Stragglers,

Turnpike Troubadours The Turnpike Troubadours are an American country music band from Tahlequah, Oklahoma, founded in 2005. They started their own imprint, Bossier City Records, in 2007 and have released six studio albums. Their self-titled 2015 album peaked at num ...

Stoney LaRue Stoney LaRue (born Stoney Larue Phillips; 1977) is an American Texas country/ Red dirt artist. Life and career Born in Taft, Texas, LaRue was raised in Yanush/Buffalo Valley, Oklahoma, where he still visits regularly and began playing country m ...

, and The Great Divide. The show was originally scheduled to take place on April 12, 2025, at

Boone Pickens Stadium Boone Pickens Stadium (previously known as Lewis Field) has been home to the Oklahoma State University Cowboys football team in rudimentary form since 1919, and as a complete stadium since 1920. Aligned in an east-west direction since 1920, t ...

. Due to pre-sale ticket demand a second show was added for April 11, 2025. After the two shows sold out on Monday, October 7, 2024, two more shows were added later that day for the Thursday before and the Sunday after. After tickets sold out on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, a grand total of 180,764 tickets were reported sold for the weekend of April 10–13, 2025. The band played a surprise set at Mile 0 Music Fest in Key West, Florida in January 2025. This was the band's first live performance in over 15 years.

Influences and sound

The band was influenced by

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

of the 1990s along with early

southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. History 1950s and 1960s: origin ...

acts as well as outlaw country. Canada said that rock bands such as

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots, commonly abbreviated as STP, is an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1989. Originally consisting of lead vocalist Scott Weiland, guitarist Dean DeLeo, bassist Robert DeLeo, and drummer :Songs ...

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

, and

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced on drums initially ...

all were a part of the influence on the band's sound as well as country music influences

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...

, and

, in addition to southern rockers

Marshall Tucker Band The Marshall Tucker Band is an American rock band from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Noted for incorporating blues, country and jazz into an eclectic sound, the Marshall Tucker Band helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s. Whi ...

, and

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...

, among others. Due to their unique sound, the band often had a hard time getting radio airplay on either mainstream rock or country stations.

Notable appearances

The band frequently played with other stars of the Red Dirt and Texas Music scene including

Stoney Larue Stoney LaRue (born Stoney Larue Phillips; 1977) is an American Texas country/ Red dirt artist. Life and career Born in Taft, Texas, LaRue was raised in Yanush/Buffalo Valley, Oklahoma, where he still visits regularly and began playing country m ...

, Jason Boland & The Stragglers,

Micky & The Motorcars Micky & the Motorcars is a Red dirt (music), red dirt band formed in Stanley, Idaho, now based in Austin, Texas. They have released nine albums, including two live albums. Background The two founding members, Micky and Gary Braun, are the sons ...

, Reckless Kelly, (Canada's brother-in-law)

Wade Bowen Paul Wade Bowen (born 1977) is an American Texas Country/ Red Dirt singer from Waco, Texas, United States. Bowen was a member of the band West 84 with friend Matt Miller until 2001 when the group became known as Wade Bowen and West 84., AllMusi ...

, No Justice, Johnny Cooper, Seth James, and

Brandon Rhyder Brandon Ryder Cristina is an American Texas Country/Red Dirt (music), Red Dirt singer from Carthage, Texas, United States. Education Brandon Ryder Cristina graduated from the University of Texas at Tyler with a degree in Industrial Technology. ...

. The band played with country music star

Dierks Bentley Frederick Dierks Bentley (; born November 20, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Bentley moved to Nashville in the late 90s to pursue a career in music, leading up to his releasing the self-funded and independent album Do ...

numerous times. Bentley referenced the band in his song " Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)", singing that "Ragweed's rockin' on the radio".

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

Ryan Doumit Ryan Matthew Doumit ( ; born April 3, 1981) is an American former professional baseball catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played the first seven years of his career for the Pittsburgh Pirates, then two for the Minnesota Twins, and one ...

comes to bat to their song "Alabama". "Cry Lonely" is a playable track in '' Rock Band Country Track Pack''. The song "Boys from Oklahoma" plays as the credits roll in the movie

Leaves of Grass ''Leaves of Grass'' is a poetry collection by American poet Walt Whitman. After self-publishing it in 1855, he spent most of his professional life writing, revising, and expanding the collection until his death in 1892. Either six or nine separa ...

starring

Edward Norton Edward Harrison Norton (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. After graduating from Yale College in 1991 with a degree in history, he worked for a few months in Japan before moving to New York City ...

and

Susan Sarandon Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actor. With a career spanning over five decades, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to ...

. The film is a Stoner Comedy set in Oklahoma. "Anywhere But Here" is played during the Season 2 Episode 6 of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

television series ''

Grimm Grimm may refer to: People * Grimm (surname) * Brothers Grimm, German linguists ** Jacob Grimm (1785–1863), German philologist, jurist and mythologist ** Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859), German author, the younger of the Brothers Grimm * Christia ...

''.

Band members

Current members *

– lead and occasional backing vocals, lead guitar, harmonica * Grady Cross – rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Randy Ragsdale – drums, percussion * Jeremy Plato – bass, backing and occasional lead vocals Former members * Matt Weidemann – bass, backing vocals Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Singles

Music videos

Honors and Awards

2025 Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame Inductions

The Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame inducted

, Jason Boland & The Stragglers, The Great Divide, and Cross Canadian Ragweed during a special ceremony held on Saturday, April 12, 2025, during the Boys from Oklahoma concert series. The induction took place between performances by the

and Cross Canadian Ragweed, celebrating the legacy and influence of Oklahoma's Red Dirt music scene. All four inductees are regarded as pioneers of the genre, known for shaping the musical identity of the region. Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame announces 2025 inductees
(April 12, 2025). Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 14, 2025.

References

External links

Cross Canadian Ragweed's Official Web Site
* * {{Authority control American alternative country groups Musical groups from Oklahoma American country rock groups Show Dog-Universal Music artists Musical groups established in 1994 People from Yukon, Oklahoma 1994 establishments in Oklahoma