The Smokin' Oaks

If Red Dirt has a family tree, The Smokin’ Oaks are growing from one of its strongest branches.

The Yukon four-piece formed in early 2023 with Colton Blake on vocals and rhythm guitar, Slaid Cross on lead guitar and harmony vocals, Noah Morris on drums and Conner Pattison on bass. Their sound sits somewhere between Red Dirt, Southern rock and the kind of grungy country music that sounds best when the guitars are turned all the way up.

And yes, the Cross name means something here. Slaid is the son of Cross Canadian Ragweed drummer Grady Cross, who now manages The Smokin’ Oaks. That makes this one of those rare Oklahoma music stories where the family connection runs from behind the drum kit to behind the scenes.

The band’s own list of influences includes Cross Canadian Ragweed, Austin Meade and Southall. You can hear pieces of that foundation in songs like “Outer Space,” “Please Accept Me,” “Banditos” and the fan favorite “Call Me Demented.” But The Smokin’ Oaks are quickly building a sound and a story that belong to them.

Their rise has moved fast. They’ve played Born & Raised, Mile 0 Fest, Cain’s Ballroom and The Jones Assembly. In July 2026, they stepped onto the stage at Red Rocks ahead of Cross Canadian Ragweed. For Slaid and Grady, that had to feel bigger than another name on the calendar. It was one generation of Oklahoma Red Dirt bringing the next one along with it.

Then came Rock the Route in their hometown of Yukon. The band talked from the stage about Southall once playing that same event, back before Southall became one of the biggest names to come out of Oklahoma’s modern rock and Red Dirt scene. Later, Grady Cross and fellow Ragweed drummer Randy Ragsdale joined The Smokin’ Oaks onstage.

Southall had stood there before them. Grady had helped build the sound that inspired them. And now The Smokin’ Oaks were playing Route 66 in the town where their own story started.

That’s about as full circle as Oklahoma music gets.