Our home state of Oklahoma has produced its share of musical talent over the years. From Woodie Guthrie to The Flaming Lips, Oklahoma has been home to many genre-defining artists that have reached the pinnacle of their field or even changed it forever. Whether they have been inspired by the state’s rustic geography, rugged individualistic culture, or laid back lifestyle, it has been typical for Oklahoma musicians to reinvent the sounds of the past to create something new for today.

One of the latest examples of Oklahoma’s musical ingenuity is found in what is known as Red Dirt Music. Much like its indie rock counterpart, sometimes it is easier to define it by what it is not than to try and nail down one or two characteristics of the genre that set it apart. While Red Dirt is always country music, it is not of the TOP 40 variety you hear in heavy rotation on your FM radio. While the latter seems to have worked hard to polish out or completely ignore its roots, Red Dirt embraces many forms of Americana that have influenced or been influenced by country music, including rock and roll, blues, dixieland, swing, bluegrass, and more. The result is country music that seems more genuine, more real, and more raw. Basically, it is country music with its soul still intact.

Modern Red Dirt has grown past its Stillwater, Oklahoma roots and is now a staple of thriving music scenes across Texas, Tennessee, and throughout the region. To keep up with this exciting and evolving genre, Tony “The Rooster” Brown has graciously agreed to blog about all things Red Dirt for us, including interviews, reviews, and trends while keeping us up to date on the events surrounding his show Red Dirt: Live that is currently in development. You can read Tony’s first post and all his subsequent posts in the Red Dirt: Live section. Take it away, Tony…