Friday, April 18, 2025
Best songs performed at ‘The Boys From Oklahoma’ concerts RAYNEE HOWELL
despite the changing world. The upbeat groove of the song and the catchy chorus kept the crowd engaged, and it showed the true spirit of a Boland record. To slow it down, Boland Nothing could be more performed “Proud Souls,” perfect than Jason Boland which was produced by walking out to “The Boys Cross Canadian Ragweed. Are Back in Town.” The lyrics gave a glimpse The walk-up song for into the reality of drinking Boland’s band at “The Boys alone and realizing what From Oklahoma” concerts you’ve lost. set the scene for the next six The third song has to hours of performances. The be “Blowing Through The songs that followed were Hills.” Is a song really true some of the best created to Oklahoma if it’s not in the Red Dirt scene, and about extreme weather and the boys indeed brought it tornadoes? The crowd was back to the town where it the rowdiest so far in the set all began. with this one, most likely The O’Colly attended the relating to letting the horses concert Sunday and narloose and running for the rowed the setlist into three cellar. best songs for each set. It was hard, but here it is: The Great Divide The band walked out Jason Boland & The to “Mama, I’m Coming Stragglers Home.” As one of the bands The Harrah-native kicked that laid the groundwork off the festivities with for bands like Ragweed and a 30-minute set, but he Turnpike Troubadours, it caught the attention of the was only right that it would crowd once “Pearl Snaps” come home to a stage in began. It painted a perfect Stillwater. picture of an old cowboy ASSISTANT NEWS & LIFESTYLE EDITOR @RAYNEEHOWELL
Connor Fuxa
On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Building, killing 168 people, including 19 children.
‘American Terror’: New documentary revisits tragic Oklahoma City bombing 30 years later HAYDEN ALEXANDER NEWS & LIFESTYLE EDITOR
At 9:02 a.m. on April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Building in downtown Oklahoma City, killing 168 people, including 19 children, and injuring hundreds. Thirty years later, in his new The sound of an elevator door Netflix documentary “Oklahoma and the flash of a handheld cam- City Bombing: American Terror,” era capture the day-to-day life of director Greg Tillman tells the the men and women working at story of the people who lived the Alfred P. Murrah Building in through the deadliest domestic Oklahoma City. terrorist attack in U.S. history. As the footage rolls, people Tillman has been working smile into the camera and in documentary film since his wave, laughing as they say college days at the University “Hi, mom,” into the lens. It’s a of Southern California. He said routine Wednesday for many. meeting people and learning An employee makes her usual about their stories drives his morning calls, a reporter gets work. ready for her first day anchoring, “It’s fascinating to me to do a doctor wraps up the night shift that, to constantly be allowed to and a mother drops her son off at enter into worlds that are comdaycare. pletely foreign to me and to meet Three minutes and thirty sec- people that I otherwise wouldn’t onds later, an explosion changes have had a chance to meet,” Tilleverything. man said.
Tillman decided to take on the Oklahoma City bombing documentary after his work on Netflix’s “Waco: American Apocalypse” with producer Tiller Russell. After the documentary, Netflix asked Tillman if he would consider covering the Oklahoma City bombing. “It’s an incredible story,” Tillman said. “I think every time you address it, you’re going to have a different take on it, and there are so many people that were affected by this. There’s so many different stories that came out of it, and there’s a real need to remember it.” Tillman was in film school when the bombing took over the news in America and worldwide. “It was the biggest story in the world when it happened,” Tillman said. “This is 9/11 before 9/11; it had that impact.”
See BOMBING on page 6A
keeping it true to his roots
See SONGS on page 7A
Payton Little
Cody Canada (left) brought out Jason Boland for a performance of “17.”
‘Heaven Passing Through’: Red Dirt music fan honors late cousin during concert BELLA CASEY
Germany said. Novak planned it all — she booked an Airbnb and reserved a hotel, scoped out places she wanted to eat and battled it out in the ticket queue to buy four Sunday tickets. It was a blend of Evan Felker directed the crowd to pull out its flashlights — but Brittney her favorite things: making plans with her loved ones, food and music. Germany waved something else. Novak’s sister, Ashton Wright, Teary eyed, she swayed to the tune of “Diamonds & Gasoline,” holding a remembers their father playing “Tiny sign featuring her late cousin Simone Dancer” on the guitar for them growNovak’s photo surrounded by rainbow ing up, crediting him for fostering Novak’s appreciation for music. She letters that said “One seat is empty, loved it all — classic rock, country, rap, but your memory takes up the whole Christmas music. room.” “Music would be playing all the Sunday night, it filled a stadium. time, you know,” Wright said. “CleanNovak and her boyfriend died in ing, in the shower, on in the car. She a motorcycle accident in October, always had music on, and I do as well.” but she had already bought tickets to Even on her Facebook posts. attend “The Boys From Oklahoma” Novak’s post about the tickets was concert with Germany and their boyaccompanied by Cross Canadian friends. “When we bought these tickets, she Ragweed’s song “Sick and Tired” in really was like, ‘Man, I cannot wait to the caption. Now, it makes Germany go,’ but I remember the last thing she emotional to hear it. posted on Facebook was the tickets,”
STAFF REPORTER @BELLACASEYYY
Courtesy Brittney Germany
Brittney Germany’s sign featuring her late cousin made it on the big screen during the Sunday concert.
See COUSIN on page 5A