Cross Canadian Ragweed

First off, get this straight: There are no Canadians in this band. Cross Canadian Ragweed is an amalgam of several band members' names, starting with Texas-born vocalist/ guitarist Cody Canada, drummer Randy Ragsdale and guitarist Grady Cross (bassist Jeremy Plato is the odd man out). The band likes to think of itself as renegade rockers out to save the world from boring Nashville blandness, but hey, they better get in line behind all the other bands that like to write songs with the word "Highway" in the title. CCR's (what a marketing touch) live show is somewhat Phish-like, in that the band eschews set lists and has a group of fans (would that be Ragheads?) who follow them around. Canada sings with conviction, and likes to trot out the occasional Neil Young cover, so he's okay with the Canucks among us. By the way, stick around for the headliner that night -- local country boy Cory Morrow, who'll debut tunes from his upcoming release, Outside the Lines.