Elitism Has No Place in Red Dirt: A Response to Saving Country Music’s Stillwater Snub
Last weekend, Stillwater, Oklahoma, hosted a once-in-a-generation moment for the Red Dirt music scene. Cross Canadian Ragweed reunited at Boone Pickens Stadium after almost 15 years apart. The Turnpike Troubadours, Jason Boland, Stoney LaRue, and The Great Divide, some of the genre’s most established voices, shared the stage along with newcomers Wyatt Flores, Kaitlin Butts, and special guests Dierks Bentley and more. It wasn’t just a concert series; it cemented the impact of Red Dirt’s legacy, drawing nearly 200,000 fans across four sold-out nights.
I was invited to attend and cover the show. I was offered my choice of dates, full VIP treatment, green room access, and media credentials for both myself and a guest. Unfortunately I was forced to back out last minute due to personal obligations. It killed me to miss that show this weekend and will probably go down as one of the biggest unavoidable regrets of my career, especially as an Oklahoman. But what I will never regret is the sense of respect and community that came from that invitation; it felt like an acknowledgment of my decades spent supporting this music from behind the keyboard, camera, and sometimes the merch table.
And that’s why I was stunned to read a piece published by Saving Country Music, in which the author Kyle Coroneos, known publicly by the pseudonym “Trigger”, explained his planned absence from the Stillwater event as a matter of principle.
His reasoning was long-winded but boiled down to this: he wasn’t given the level of access he felt entitled to, and therefore the event was no longer worthy of coverage. That opinion, on its own, might be forgivable. What isn’t forgivable is the elitist tone used to undermine the event’s significance, and the petty, personal attacks lobbed at fellow journalists in the process.
I had no desire to attend the final show, and sit politely in the infield or nosebleeds, and be entertained. Saving Country Music’s intent was to show up in Stillwater days before the event, chronicle the impact and preparations by the city, talk to fans and organizers, be present for all four shows to capture the moments and the contrast between the days, and offer a broad perspective on this historic event, as has been done for other events previously over the last 18 years.
If I could not cover the event in this capacity, it probably wasn’t worth covering the event at all, especially just the final day. I never have “tickets” for any of the events I cover. I have press and photo passes. I never sit when covering a live event or festival, except maybe on a stoop to snarf down a sandwich and keep moving. Instead, I’m posting media from events in real time, trying to capture important moments, and sharing those moments with those who can’t be there, or for future recollection.
Basically the “two tickets on Sunday” was taken as an insult, and possibly was meant as one. – Trigger
Independence Is Not Isolation
Kyle… I mean “Trigger” and I started our careers around the same time. Like him, I began with a pseudonym, used in part to shield my day-job identity while building a voice in music journalism. But when I made this work my full-time profession, I put my whole name on the byline of every article and stood behind every word I wrote.
I’ve often wondered how other outlets who are not under the umbrella of a major media company afford to cover the number of live events that they do, and how they carry forward in this business without networking and collaborating with each other. This piece makes it clear that SavingCountryMusic does neither of those things. That the site is not providing enough income for him, as the sole writer, to cover live shows in the way he would like. And that for one reason or another he doesn’t have the relationships in place to get him the access he wants. I am in the same boat at least financially, but the difference is that I don’t blame publicists or artists for that shortcoming. I don’t believe I am “entitled” access to these events, and I am grateful when opportunities come my way. I see it as a complement to my work and a mark of gratitude from the PR teams for the small impact my work might have on an artists’ groundswell marketing.
Reading “Trigger’s” piece inflamed me. His whole tone was that the event was “beneath him” to which I ask… If it was beneath you then why are you writing about it at all? Elitism has no place in promoting modern music. Gatekeeping is a selfish and ugly trait that smothers an artist’s success, and we are here to share and expand the audience for the artist’s we love, right?
To criticize the organizers of The Boys From Oklahoma event for failing to extend what he considers “real access” reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to cover live music, especially as an independent outlet. None of us are owed anything. Press passes are not participation trophies. They’re earned through relationships, trust, and a proven commitment to amplifying the music rather than our own egos. This is an ecosystem where coverage and access are mutually beneficial to both our outlets AND the artists’ and their teams.
Josh Crutchmer Didn’t Steal Your Access. He Earned His Own.
Perhaps most disappointing was the baseless accusation that another journalist, Josh Crutchmer, was hoarding access to the event for his own benefit. While I’ve never met him personally, I can bet that Crutchmer probably didn’t deserve half the shade “Trigger” cast in his piece. I know out here in the blogosphere we don’t give a lot of credit to legacy print media, but to be in a position to help the bands you love make national headlines in established institutions like the New York Times and Rolling Stone Magazine… that’s HUGE. That’s access and fandom at a whole new level, and something I’m sure a kid from Oklahoma never thought he’d be doing when he first started going to those dives and halls 20-plus years ago, and it’s also probably not something that Cross Canadian Ragweed would have ever expected when they called it a day so long ago.
The shows over the last weekend were HUGE. Monumental. They set in stone the history of, and built a foundation for the future of Red Dirt music as its’ own entity. That’s something that took community… community which Josh helped foster and nourish through his passionate writing on the subject. Something that all us music critics and journalists try to do every day when we write about what we love.
And let’s be clear: Crutchmer didn’t create exclusion. He built trust and credibility with both the bands and the fans. That distinction matters.
Going forward, while I recognize that it sucks to not be included, we’re also not entitled. To publicly cry foul because you weren’t showered with access and opportunity is not fostering community; it’s just showcasing a bruised ego.
Gatekeeping Is a Choice. So Is Community.
Music journalism is already a difficult, thankless job. The margins are thin. The hours are long. And most of us work outside the umbrella of institutional media, funding travel out of pocket and chasing affiliate and ad revenue like spare change. We don’t do this for power or celebrity. We do it because we believe in the music. That belief should bind us together, not drive us to cut each other down when the spotlight isn’t centered on us.
Trigger’s piece wasn’t just a critique of an event he chose not to attend. It was a public tantrum dressed in editorial clothing. And it does more than insult hardworking publicists and peers, it undermines all of us in the independent press space by suggesting we only show up when our ego is sufficiently stroked.
That kind of entitlement doesn’t foster community. It fractures it.
If You Can’t Be There, Elevate the Ones Who Can
I couldn’t be there in Stillwater this weekend, and I’ll likely carry that regret for years. But what I won’t carry is resentment. The role of independent media, especially in niche genres like Red Dirt, isn’t to judge who gets the better pass. It’s to help build the foundation upon which artists, audiences, and fellow writers can stand together.
This weekend wasn’t about any one journalist. It was about the music and the fandom that supports it. And if your coverage doesn’t reflect that, then maybe the problem isn’t your access. Maybe it’s your ego.
Because the truth is, Red Dirt doesn’t need a gatekeeper. After this weekend it’s gone mainstream.
