‘Never Say Never: Cross Canadian Ragweed, the Boys From Oklahoma, and a Red Dirt Comeback Story for the Ages,’ Josh Crutchmer

In 2024, Cross Canadian Ragweed singer Cody Canada swore to Rolling Stone contributor Josh Crutchmer that under no circumstances would the influential Red Dirt band ever reunite. Canada swallowed those words this year when the group played a series of highly successful comeback concerts that, to this day, still seem highly unlikely, given Ragweed’s bitter breakup. In Never Say Never, Crutchmer documents the hard road back to the stage and why it matters not just for Canada, his bandmates, and the group’s fans, but for the very state of Oklahoma — ground zero for the Red Dirt movement. Crutchmer, a native of Okmulgee, has been churning out books about Red Dirt artists since 2020. This one, triumphant in its message, reads like a story even the author can’t believe. —J.H.