JOSH CRUTCHMER is an author and journalist covering American roots music. He covered the rise to prominence of Cross Canadian Ragweed for The Oklahoman and the band’s final show in 2010 for an entertainment arm of The Chicago Tribune. During the process of writing Red Dirt Unplugged, Crutchmer also chronicled Wyatt Flores’s 2024 rise and struggles in a New York Times profile, and later stumbled upon the news of The Boys From Oklahoma concerts and 2025 Cross Canadian Ragweed reunion — breaking that with an exclusive interview in Rolling Stone and turning the tale into Never Say Never in 2025.

HE IS BEST KNOWN for his 2020 book, Red Dirt, but his career predates Red Dirt by 20 years. He was tapped to write obituaries for Merle Haggard and George Jones for The Plain Dealer and Nashville City Paper, respectively. Today, he is a regular contributor to Rolling Stone.

TODAY, CRUTCHMER IS THE PLANNING EDITOR at The New York Times, responsible for the organization of the newspaper as well as the look and content of the Times’ front page — and he gets the occasional byline. Prior to joining the Times, he was the assistant managing editor of The Plain Dealer in Cleveland where he oversaw production of the coverage from the annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductions. Previously, he worked at The Chicago Tribune, The Buffalo News, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Omaha World-Herald, The Arizona Republic, and The Oklahoman.

MR. CRUTCHMER made a very important Post Malone-Hootie Tweet in early 2021.

A NATIVE OKLAHOMAN and graduate of Oklahoma State University, Mr. Crutchmer has had a close relationship to the state’s Red Dirt Music scene since 2000. His experience in Red Dirt extends not just to the artists but to the crew members, sound engineers, bar owners and tour managers behind the scenes whose efforts embody what it means to live and work with a love of music.