Turnpike Troubadours’ Evan Felker Joins The Red Dirt Rangers To Pay Homage To Small Town Roots With “Red Dirt Town”

An ode to the red dirt towns across the United States.

Some true pioneers of red dirt music are the Red Dirt Rangers. Founded in 1988 in a two-story, five-bedroom, funky old house called “The Farm,” the Rangers have been a staple red dirt band over the last 35 years and have paved the way for many other Oklahoma acts, including Cross Canadian Ragweed, Jason Boland & the Stragglers, Stoney LaRue, the Turnpike Troubadours and many more.

The band took a hiatus from recording after their 2018 record, Blue Door Nights, but 2025 was the year they got back to it, releasing a lot of new music this year, including their most recent release, a full-length LP titled Red Dirt Town.

The title track of the record is a notable listen off the record, as the legendary red dirt band teamed up with another red dirt icon, Evan Felker from the Turnpike Troubadours.

“We’re proud to announce the release of the title track from our album “Red Dirt Town”, co-written by our brother Brandon Jenkins along with John Cooper and Brad Piccolo from the band.

Thanks to dear friend Evan Felker from Turnpike Troubadours for adding vocals and harmonica to the track.”

The heartfelt tune is an ode to the small towns across America, and the dream that many folks raised in these tight-knit communities dream of something more. However, when you make the leap to go to a bigger city or to leave in order to chase your dream, you miss that “Red Dirt Town” fondly, never thoroughly shaking the roots that raised you.

“But the grass didn’t seem as green
As it did on the movie screen
Those streets of gold 
Were boarded up and run down
I dreamed about life at home
In that red dirt town

It’s in your blood, gets on your boots
It’s hard to shake the dirt from your roots
You can tell by the way I look and the way I sound
But I come from a red dirt town”

Even if you didn’t grow up in a red dirt town, I think this song is something anyone who moved away from their hometown can relate to. No matter how far away you are from your humble roots, home is always home.

The traditional vocals of the Red Dirt Rangers combined with the silky twangs from Evan Felker are a match made in heaven on “Red Dirt Town.”

Turn this one all the way up.

The post Turnpike Troubadours’ Evan Felker Joins The Red Dirt Rangers To Pay Homage To Small Town Roots With “Red Dirt Town” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.