Tahlequah, OK · red dirt · americana

Turnpike Troubadours

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Red dirt's most devoted following — fiddle-driven story songs a whole field knows word for word.

Turnpike Troubadours were formed in 2005 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, by Evan Felker and R.C. Edwards. Their debut album, Bossier City, was recorded within a month of the band coming together, mainly so they would have something to sell at shows, and Felker later said its arrangements did not really represent what the band became. They started their own imprint, Bossier City Records, in 2007.

Their sound leans on fiddle within a mix of country, folk and rock, with bassist R.C. Edwards describing it more plainly as honky-tonk; critics have also pointed to touches of bluegrass and Cajun music. Songs recur around the same characters and settings across records, a thread that ran from 2010's Diamonds & Gasoline through the self-titled 2015 album, which reached number 17 on the Billboard 200 and re-recorded earlier songs "Easton and Main" and "Bossier City."

Poor performances tied to Felker's struggles with sobriety forced the band to cancel a string of shows in late 2018, and further cancellations followed through 2019, leaving the band's future openly uncertain. Their social media and website went dark by late 2021.

The band reunited in 2022, playing its first shows back at Cain's Ballroom in April before a two-night run at Red Rocks Amphitheatre that May. A Cat in the Rain followed in 2023, and The Price of Admission, their sixth studio album and second produced by Shooter Jennings, arrived as a surprise release in April 2025.

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