Why did Cross Canadian Ragweed break up? Inside band's memorable reunion 15 years later

Cross Canadian Ragweed recently reunited at the Boone Pickens Stadium for a lineup of performances, starting from April 10, 2025. Notably, the final show will be held on Sunday, April 13, as per Kosu.

The country and rock band was active for more than 10 years and worked with record labels like Smith Music Group and Universal South.

The group released 10 albums throughout their career and separated in 2010 as Randy Ragsdale wanted to spend more time with his son, as stated by The Oklahoman.

According to Kosu, Cross Canadian Ragweed’s performances were a part of the Red Dirt Music Week, which was announced by the Stillwater Mayor Will Joyce at a city council meeting on April 7, 2025.

The concerts managed to sell all the tickets, and the Stillwater, Oklahoma-based group was one of the co-headliners of the Boys From Oklahoma concerts alongside other bands such as The Great Divide, The Turnpike Troubadours, and more.

Rolling Stone stated that the band started their career in Oklahoma, and while speaking to the crowd, one of the members, Cody Canada, also said:

“It seems like it was a really long time ago, and not six or seven months ago, that we were talking about how we were gonna do this. Now we’re here. We f***ing did it.”

The reunion of Cross Canadian Ragweed was announced in October last year, and the name of the concert was also confirmed at the same time.

Presale of the tickets alongside the general sale started the same month, and Cody Canada addressed the reunion in an interview with Rolling Stone by stating:

“I should not have said I’d ever do it. When I told you that, I thought, ‘What if we do [reunite]? I’ll have to eat my words. Now, I’m sitting right here with a mouthful of my words. You really never know, and you should never say never.”

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Cross Canadian Ragweed: Formation, separation, and other details

The group gained recognition over the years for their albums and singles, which received a positive response from the critics and audience. The band was originally formed in 1994, and the original lineup included Cody Canada, Grady Cross, Randy Ragsdale, and Matt Weidemann.

However, Matt did not play with the band for a long time and left it around four years later. He was eventually replaced with Jeremy Plato on bass alongside the backing and lead vocals.

Cross Canadian Ragweed’s journey started around three years before they were formed after the group performed at the 50 Yard Line Club, as per The Oklahoman.

The members were in their teenage years, and they shifted to Stillwater after completing their graduation.

The group slowly became a popular face in the local area, following which their debut album Carney came out in 1998.

Starting from their self-titled album, which also marked their third major project, the band began grabbing a spot on the Billboard charts.

While they continued delivering successful projects, Cross Canadian Ragweed suddenly announced in May 2010 that they were going on a break while cancelling their annual jam at the same time.

As per Bam’s Blog, Randy Ragsdale’s son was diagnosed with autism, and the artist wanted to be with his child since he was only 10, which left an impact on his development.

Speaking of his association with the group, Randy said:

“For many years my band has been my top priority. Being in a touring band you have to give it your all, give it 100 percent.”

Four of Cross Canadian Ragweed’s albums were included among the top ten albums in the US Billboard 200, starting with Soul Gravy, alongside Mission California, and Happiness and All the Other Things. They even released live albums like Live and Loud at the Wormy Dog Saloon.

In addition, the group has multiple singles in their credits, Don’t Need You, Sick and Tired, This Time Around, Late Last Night, Cry Lonely, and more.