Canada and the Departed at Rolling 7’s

Called “a poster child of the Red Dirt scene” by Rolling Stone Country magazine, Cody Canada is on a tour that brings him to Odessa on Wednesday.

Along with his band, The Departed, Canada released his first LP of new material in three years with the album’s first song “Lipstick.”

Canada is a native Texan (born in Pampa,) who rose to fame as lead singer and lead guitarist of the rock/alternative country group Cross Canadian Ragweed from 1994 to 2010.

His musical background goes back to age 4 when he attended a George Strait concert with his parents and asked for a guitar the next day. Canada first started playing guitar at the age of 8.

He formed The Departed in 2011 with Jeremy Plato.

The singer/songwriter has performed or recorded with Cross Canadian Ragweed, The Departed, Mike McClure, Jason Boland & the Stragglers, Stoney LaRue, Dierks Bentley, Randy Rogers, Reckless Kelly, Robert Earl Keen, James McMurtry, ZZ Top, Shooter Jennings, Seth James, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Medicine Show and Todd Snider.

His website detailed that he grew up in Oklahoma and as a teenager was drawn to rock bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam and also outlaw country. In 1994, Canada along with fellow musicians Jeremy Plato (bass), Grady Cross (guitar), and Randy Ragsdale (percussion) formed Cross Canadian Ragweed in Yukon, Okla. The band was named after three of its original members with Canada taking on the role of lead guitarist, lead vocals, and prominent songwriter. They would later move to Stillwater. From the time of Ragweed’s formation until its end in 2010, the band released seven studio albums as well as three live albums.

In 2010, the band broke up.