Cross Canadian Ragweed

Sept 2, 2009

By Mario Tarradell / Music Critic / dallasnews.com

By now Cross Canadian Ragweed is so entrenched in the Texas music landscape that the band's Oklahoma roots have blurred into its current Lone Star existence.

Musically, the group (which consists of Cody Canada, Grady Cross, Randy Ragsdale and Jeremy Plato) merges heavy doses of Southern rock with that stripped-down Texas country style and Oklahoma's gritty red-dirt sound.

So Ragweed's annual Red Dirt Roundup continues to gather regional and national artists that represent the same sonic integrity. The fourth installment features performances by the Wallflowers, Robert Earl Keen, Randy Rogers Band, Charlie Robison, Lucero, Johnny Cooper, Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Jonathan Tyler & TNL, the Gourds, Bart Crow Band, Seth James, Brandon Jenkins, Stephanie Briggs and Band of Heathens.

Of course, Cross Canadian Ragweed headlines the outdoor shindig. Canada and his musical mates will be promoting the new CD Happiness and All the Other Things. The disc contains a dozen fresh studio cuts, plus three live recordings – covers of Willie Nelson's "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground" and Kevin Welch's "Train to Birmingham," and the group's own "Soul Agent."