Almost Almost Famous Stories

Stories Referenced in (Almost) Almost Famous

Foreword by Shelby Stone

• Shelby Stone Is Red Dirt Country’s Blue-Haired Heartbreaker (Rolling Stone)

Prologue

• No homework here!

Finding Charley Crockett at 1 a.m.

• Charley Crockett Fought the Law and Found a Concept Album: ‘I’ve Been Legal Ever Since’ (Rolling Stone)
• Charley Crockett Is Taking Texas to the World (Rolling Stone)
• Charley Crockett Sings for the Caviar Crowd at Cafe Carlyle (Rolling Stone)

Outrunning the Storm with Wyatt Flores

• Wyatt Flores, a Rising Country Artist, Has a Superpower: Tapping Emotions (New York Times)
• Wyatt Flores Can’t Be Your Savior. He’s Barely Saving Himself (Rolling Stone)
• Zach Bryan Blew Up Oklahoma Music. Southall, Wyatt Flores, and More Are Right Behind Him (Rolling Stone)

Wyatt Flores at The Wormy Dog Saloon, December 2025

• No homework here!

No, I Was Never Trying to Get Famous (Why I Wrote This Book)

• OSU alumnus Crutchmer inspires graduates with lessons of strength and resilience (Oklahoma State University)

Koe Wetzel and a Whopper of A Story

• We Went Catfish Noodling With Country Music’s Unpredictable Wild Man (Rolling Stone)

If Margo Price Says It, I’m Doing It

• Margo Price Wants to Be the ‘Soundtrack to Hard Times’ (Rolling Stone)

Ryan Bingham, Cowboy Songs, Hassie Harrison, Table Tennis

• ‘Sad-Cowboy Songs’ Made Ryan Bingham an Oscar Winner. Now He’s Singing About Love (Rolling Stone)
• Ryan Bingham Rode the ‘Yellowstone’ Bump All the Way to His Own Festival (Rolling Stone)

Ryan Bingham and the Texas Gentlemen at the Winstar, December 2025

• No homework here!

The Magic You Don’t See (Behind the Magic You Do)

• Bleu Edmondson Was Set to Become a Huge Texas Country Star. Then He Walked Away (Rolling Stone)
• In the Studio With Whiskey Myers, Country’s Most Rocking Band
  (Rolling Stone)

Kaitlin Butts Has a Bandwagon Now?

• I have yet to fully profile Kaitlin Butts. Please read Marissa R. Moss’s excellent story about her from 2024’s Future of Music project here at Rolling Stone.
• Kaitlin Butts Is Behind TikTok’s Favorite New Kiss-Off, ‘You Ain’t Gotta Die (To Be Dead to Me)’ (Rolling Stone)

Everything I Know About the Music Biz I Stole from American Aquarium

• American Aquarium’s BJ Barham Is OK Not Being a Superstar. Just Don’t Ask Him to Shut Up (Rolling Stone)
• American Aquarium at 20: BJ Barham’s Roots-Rock Band Forges Ahead (Rolling Stone)

How to Be a Roots Music Writer When You Grow Up

• No homework here!

Snider

• Todd Snider Stares Down Pain: ‘I Don’t Think I’m Going to Get Better’ (Rolling Stone)
• ‘We Sure Miss You, Buddy’: Luck’s Todd Snider Tribute Show Was Heavy on Tears and Tales (Rolling Stone)

26 Years Riding Ragweed’s Coattails

• Cross Canadian Ragweed Are Reuniting — At Least for One Huge Show (Rolling Stone)
• Cross Canadian Ragweed Celebrate Resilience and Red Dirt at Massive Oklahoma Comeback Concert (Rolling Stone)
• Cody Canada Is Reviving a Cross Canadian Ragweed Classic Album — But Says the Band Will Never Reunite (Rolling Stone)
• 15 Reasons this is not a Farewell-to-Cross Canadian Ragweed Story (MusicFog)
• ‘Boys from Oklahoma’ take over Austin (O’Colly)

Hangover Ball 2026

• No homework here!

Jenni Rose’

• Being Trans in Country Is Dangerous. It Didn’t Stop This Singer From Coming Out (Rolling Stone)
• Vandoliers Stun Jackalope Jamboree, Festival Responds in Kind to Jenni Rose
  (The Back Lounge)

‘I Cannot Fuck Up an Old 97’s Story’

• Old 97’s Never Put Out an Album as a ‘Cash Grab.’ But Rhett Miller Says It Crossed His Mind (Rolling Stone)
• The Old 97’s’ Rhett Miller Is Happily Living Life in the Middle (Rolling Stone)

Some People Are Simply Going to Hate You

• You’re out of your mind if I think I’m linking to anything in this chapter.

Fairness, the Turnpike Troubadours, and the Doors They Opened

• Turnpike Troubadours’ Evan Felker Says He’s Sober, Focused on Music in New Interview (Rolling Stone)
• Turnpike Troubadours Talk Unexpected Hiatus, Newfound Sobriety, and Surprise Reunion (Rolling Stone)
• Turnpike Troubadours Reunited to Play Their First Show in 3 Years — Grown Men Cried (Rolling Stone)
• Turnpike Troubadours Talk Anticipated New Comeback Album and Real Reason Behind the Breakup (Rolling Stone)
• ‘No Bullshit, No Lag’: Why Turnpike Troubadours Wasted No Time in Dropping Surprise New Album (Rolling Stone)

Turnpike Troubadours and Robert Earl Keen in Philly, February 2026

• No homework here!

Three Twenties and a Ten: Robert Earl Keen at 70

• Robert Earl Keen, Once Retired, Has Become a North Star of the Stage (Rolling Stone)
• Tyler Childers Surprises, Thrills at Robert Earl Keen’s Texas Flood Benefit (Rolling Stone)
• Robert Earl Keen Swore He Was Retiring. Instead, He Got Sober and Returned to the Road (Rolling Stone)
• Robert Earl Keen Has Played His Final Show. He’s Not Kidding (Rolling Stone)

Epilogue: To (The People Who Ruined) A Band That I Loved

• This was a Back Lounge post, and I would absolutely appreciate it if you became a member.