Red Dirt Unplugged: Josh Meloy Artist's Edition

This edition will remain on sale through December 31, 2024. All orders ship in real time, subject to inventory.

This is the ultimate book for fans of Josh Meloy. This special edition will take the original release of Red Dirt Unplugged and add on a further 20 pages dedicated to Meloy's dedication to independent music and his sudden red-hot rise. You'll get the same side-stage seat for the story of Meloy growing up in small-town Oklahoma and the inspiration he found in Stillwater that launched his career. You'll get plenty of behind-the-songs segments about songs like "Washington Street" and "Porchlight" among others, and a review of a pair of fired-up Meloy performances in 2024. If you're on the Josh Meloy bandwagon, you won't want to miss this edition.

All Artist's Editions feature a back cover photo of the artist, and a dedication from the artist. A portion of all proceeds from Artist's Editions benefits the artist directly.

About the book

Singers, Songs and Stories Shining a Spotlight on Heartland Roots Music

Red Dirt Unplugged is the view from the wings as the Red Dirt music scene reaches heights never-before thought possible. At the crossroads of country, roots rock, and Americana, artists in the scene are enjoying sustained worldwide attention at a large scale for the first time in history. Wyatt Flores, Kaitlin Butts, Southall, Josh Meloy and more are walking through the doors opened by The Turnpike Troubadours and all the artists before them who first put the cracks in those same doors. As Red Dirt became less of an Oklahoma-centric scene and more of a catchall term for original, from-the-heart songwriting, harmonies and melodies, artists like Dylan Gossett, Vincent Neil Emerson, Courtney Patton, Bri Bagwell, Them Dirty Roses, and Vandoliers have been made welcome into the same fold, and find themselves thriving. Meanwhile, Red Dirt's oldest guard — The Great Divide — is in the midst of the finest moment of its three-decade career. Over time, John Moreland and John Calvin Abney only found a stronger grip on heartstrings. Even Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, themselves torchbearers for Arizona's roots rock scene, have made themselves inseparable from the musicians who claim Red Dirt. Venues like Tulsa's Mercury Lounge and Cain's Ballroom have combined history and swagger to become must-visit showrooms for artists and fans alike.

Red Dirt Unplugged gets into all of this. Structured around The Great Divide's 2023 homecoming concert at the Tumbleweed Dancehall in Stillwater, Oklahoma, it seamlessly connects the young artists in the midst of "blowups" like never before to the tradition, history, and confident arrogance that built Red Dirt. Author and journalist Josh Crutchmer had a front row seat to it all, and shares his perspective through an endless stream of artist interviews, side-stage musings, and thoughtful, old-fashioned concert reviews.

The natural sequel to Crutchmer's 2020 debut book, Red Dirt, this one is a can't miss for diehard fans and casual observers of this red-hot music scene.

The book is 294 pages, including 30+ pages of photography featuring the artists showcased in Red Dirt Unplugged.

This book will ship via USPS Priority Mail or the equivalent.