Jason Boland: 'These bands are your brothers'

Jul. 20—Fans aren't the only ones looking forward to what amounts to a Red Dirt music reunion on this weekend's July 22 Dancing Rabbit Music Festival in downtown McAlester.

So are the artists who are performing during the free Saturday night concert presented on the festival's outdoor stage at Third Street and Choctaw Avenue.

Jason Boland, leader of the headlining band Jason Boland & The Stragglers, is looking forward to it himself.

He and his band will share the stage with other Red Dirt music giants, including Cody Canada and The Departed, the Red Dirt Rangers and a newer act, Kody West.

Sure, they sometimes cross paths on the road, but to have so many Red Dirt music artists onstage for the same concert is something special.

That's how Boland said he felt when he saw the lineup for the July 22 show and thought about all of the aforementioned bands performing at the same event.

"These bands are your brothers," said Boland. While they might occasionally run into each other on the road, Boland said "It doesn't happen enough."

He said it's great when they do get to perform together. "Especially at an Okie fest," Boland added.

Like Cody Canada's previous band, Cross Canadian Ragweed, and the Red Dirt Rangers, Boland got his start in Stillwater.

"Stillwater was always a music town," Boland noted.

Boland considers the music he and some of his fellow Red Dirt musicians perform as a backlash to the Top 40. They prefer to write and play their own type of music, instead of constantly aiming for hits.

"I always try to keep it original," said Boland.

From his 1999 album, "Pearl Snaps," up to his 2021 release "The Light Saw Me" about an 1890s cowboy's alien abduction, Boland has certainly kept his music original.

It's what's kept his early followers with him, along with all the new ones he's gained along the way.

With his songs including "Hard Times Are Relative" to "Dark and Dirty Mile" and "Comal County Blue," Boland has stayed true to his muse, releasing a series of acclaimed albums.

His musical authenticity has inspired others to work with him, including Shooter Jennings, who produced "The Light Saw Me."

Boland and Canada are unique, because like the great Bob Wills, the former roommates are claimed by both Oklahoma and Texas.

Wills was born in Texas but found some of his early successes when Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys performed a regular radio show over KVOO in Tulsa, augmented by numerous live performances at Cain's Ballroom.

Canada was born in Texas but his family moved to Oklahoma. He found his first initial success in Stillwater with Cross Canadian Ragweed, and now lives in Texas.

Boland is a native Oklahoman, who like Canada, found his first musical success in Stillwater and who now also lives in Texas.

Boland talked about how Red Dirt music is a favorite in both states.

"It became a regional thing," he said, noting the arc of Red Dirt music after its origins in Stillwater.

"Several Okie bands started playing in Texas," Boland said.

He mentioned the late Jimmy LaFave as another example of a cross-pollination of music between Oklahoma and Texas. LaFave was a native Texan who moved to Stillwater, got into the Red Dirt music movement, was a regular performer at the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah, and later returned to Texas.

Referring to Red Dirt music's Stillwater origins, Boland said "It's a very musical area."

Is Red Dirt music known as a thing when Boland performs in other parts of the U.S. and in Europe?

"There are people hip to the scene," Boland said. "I think people from our region would be surprised at how many fans there are."

In addition to the main concert on the outdoor stage, the July 22 Dancing Rabbit features After Hours shows. Early James at Spaceship Earth Coffee and Droptines at Downtown 312 are also presented free to festival-goers.

Boland gave a shoutout to those who put together the Dancing Rabbit Music Festival. He said he's looked at some of the previous lineups and felt impressed by the artists who've performed at the event.

"I don't know if there are ever enough festivals," said Boland.

"It's hard work," he said, giving another nod to the Dancing Rabbit crew.

"They've got good people taking it on."