Red Dirt comes home to Block 34

Red Dirt started in Stillwater, and these are the songwriters most often credited with setting its tone. Visit Stillwater calls Childers the godfather of the sound, Skinner a forefather and LaFave a legend. The Stillwegian puts it this way: they gave more to the music than they ever took out of it.

John Cooper of the Red Dirt Rangers decided they should have a day of their own. During the show, people were set to speak about each of the four, and each band planned to play songs by all of them. So it's a concert, but it's also a thank-you.

The Smokin' Oaks, 6:30 p.m. The newest name on the bill. The band formed in 2023 in Yukon, and the family tree runs straight through Cross Canadian Ragweed: lead guitarist Slaid Cross is Grady Cross's son, and singer Colton Blake is Grady's nephew.

Red Dirt Rangers, 7:30 p.m. They've been at this since 1988, right here in Stillwater, and were one of the first bands from the scene to tour nationally. The set was to draw on songs from across the decades plus the title track of "Red Dirt Town," their album from last October. Turnpike Troubadours' Evan Felker sings a verse and plays harmonica on it.

Mike McClure Band, 8:45 p.m. McClure got his start at the Wormy Dog Saloon, started The Great Divide in 1992, and has produced records for Cross Canadian Ragweed, the Turnpike Troubadours and Stoney LaRue. Cooper said the set would lean toward rock and roll. "It is a full-on rock and roll show," he said.

Ask anyone in the scene where Red Dirt began and you'll hear about The Farm.

In 1979, two Oklahoma State students, John Cooper and Danny Pierce, rented a run-down farmhouse on 149 acres outside town. It turned into the place everyone ended up. There were jam sessions in the living room, on the porch and around campfires, and in the garage, which people called the Gypsy Cafe. Childers and Skinner were regulars, along with the Rangers, and over the years so were a young Garth Brooks, Robert Earl Keen and Cody Canada.

The farmhouse later burned down. The name stuck, and so did the party: the Bob Childers Gypsy Café festival still fills Stillwater stages every year.

Cooper told The Stillwegian that Red Dirt "is a scene more than musical style." The bands sound different from each other, he said, but there's a brother-and-sisterhood among them and among the fans who follow them. That's the thing the night was really about.

Cooper built the sponsor list on purpose from businesses that have been around town a long time. "Businesses that have track records that show they love this community," he said. Sponsors include the Stillwater Community Foundation, The Hideaway, Chris' University Spirit (which also designed the poster), Stillwater Building Center, Stillwater Medical Center, District Bicycles, Stonecloud Brewing, Kicker, Simmons Bank and Visit Stillwater.

Stonecloud and Iron Monk Brewing were set to have food trucks on site. And when the music wrapped, the after-party moved to Velvet Fudge, 916 S. Lewis St., with Maddox Ross and Dylan Moss and The Middle Class.

Block 34 was barely a year old. It opened in July 2025 downtown between Main Street and the arts corridor, and a free night like this is what a new park is for. Cooper said that if the first Roots Fest went well, he'd like to see it grow into a full weekend and spread out to venues across town.

Not bad for a music that started with a rented farmhouse and a garage full of people playing guitar.