In what can only be dubbed as a musical tidal wave, fervent fans of the Red Dirt music genre were left flabbergasted as tickets for the Cross Canadian Ragweed's reunion concerts, part of "The Boys From Oklahoma" tour, vanished within mere hours. These tickets were for their scheduled shows on April 11-12 at the Oklahoma State University stadium in Stillwater, with fans witnessing a veritable digital stampede that left many empty-handed and the event website strained under intense traffic, as reported by KOCO.
Such was the clamor for the return of the venerable Cross Canadian Ragweed—it seems everyone and their dog was trying to snag a spot for the band's first performance in nearly a decade and a half—fans reportedly queued online for tortuous lengths, some vying for tickets for up to four hours only to come up empty, KFOR reported. "The girl beside me in class was talking about how one of her friends was like only a little bit behind her in line and like, she got tickets, but her friend didn't," OSU freshman Flinn Burrell detailed to KFOR.
In a swift response to a public outcry, OSU Athletics announced additional shows slated for Thursday and Sunday of the same weekend in April. This decision comes in an effort to pacify the masses of fans left ticketless and hopeful that luck will fall more favorably on them this time round. "I’m so excited, I really hope I get a ticket," OSU freshperson Garrett Buxton expressed their anticipation in an interview with KFOR.
Within the first 24 hours of presale availability, a staggering 104,000 applications bombarded the ticketing site, leading to an additional show date and alterations in the lineup, with the Mike McClure Band stepping in for The Great Divide for the April 11 performance, as noted on KOCO. The feverish demand for a piece of Red Dirt nostalgia even led to the deflation of the OSU mascot Pistol Pete—figuratively speaking, according to a Facebook post from the band themselves, inviting fans to "stay tuned for more information" on further show dates, as echoed by The Oklahoman.
