VI Productions is bringing a double-dose of Red Dirt music to the Gallatin Valley for the new year, as Cody Canada and the Departed and Jason Boland and the Stragglers hit the stage at the Silver Spur Arena on Jan. 16.

Cody Canada is not a Canuck--he was born in Pampas, Texas, in 1976. A self-professed, very early fan of country music legend George Strait, Canada started playing guitar when he was eight years old. The Canada family moved to Yukon, Oklahoma, while Cody was still a teen; by the time he was 20, Canada and three other like-hearted Yukon musicians formed the “alternative country” band Cross Canadian Ragweed, with Canada taking on lead guitar and vocals, as well as writing much of the band’s original material. Cross Canadian Ragweed gained wide popularity on the Americana music concert circuit, and also released 10 albums before disbanding in 2010.

In 2011, Canada and fellow Ragweed founder Jeremy Plato formed Cody Canada and the Departed. By the next year, the band was simply billing itself as The Departed, but the Cody Canada handle often gets attached in the mix. The Departed releases their third album, HippieLovePunk, in January 2015, and the band seems to be maintaining the popularity that Cross Canadian Ragweed brought to the fore.

Jason Boland and the Stragglers join Canada and crew at the Silver Spur Arena on January 16, another band with red dirt roots in Oklahoma. Currently operating out of Austin, Jason Boland and the Stragglers have been rocking the Texas alternative country music scene since 1998, when Boland and fellow band member Brad Rice (percussion) formed the band. A ruptured vocal cord Boland suffered in 2008 couldn’t keep he and the Stragglers down; they have released nine albums and one music video in the interim, and always keep the fans at their live shows hopping and happy.

VI Productions and the Silver Spur Arena are also dedicated to keeping their Americana and Country music fans hopping and happy. Leif Oiestad and company at VI Productions do their best to bring the Red Dirt AKA alternative country music makers to Big Sky Country. Much of this music emanates from Austin, Texas, with acts like Todd Snider, Reckless Kelly, Robert Earl Keen, The Texas Troubadours, Micky and the Motorcars, and the Stragglers and the Departed in the forefront. VI Productions has brought almost all of these bands to the Treasure State already.

“I started booking bands about four years ago,” said the 36-year-old Oiestad, who hails from Big Timber. “The [Yellowstone River] Boatfloat-a-Palooza was what really got the ball rolling. From there, things progressed in sort of an accidental fashion--but rapidly.” Since then, Oiestad has helped produce dozens and dozens of shows, from fundraisers and fraternity events to shows at the Silver Spur Arena just west of Belgrade.

“I like the Silver Spur Arena,” Oiestad said. “It’s a venue with great potential. There’s been a lot of work done already, and the owner of the facility has been very proactive to make sure the venue improves. We will be adding more and more [at the Silver Spur] with each show--we really want things to keep rocking and rolling out there.” Oiestad thinks the venue’s pursuit of Red Dirt musicians will pay off.

“It is my hope we’re connecting with people,” he said. “I think we are. The music is good enough that all we have to do is get it started--get more people exposed to it--and that music makes its own fans. Red Dirt is a huge musical community you become a part of. One real cool thing about this journey is connecting with others that this music means something to.”

Come connect with your fellow Red Dirt scene enthusiasts and enjoy Cody Canada and The Departed and Jason Boland and the Stragglers on Jan. 16 at the Silver Spur Arena. The Arena is located at 115 Dirt Road. The easiest way to the venue is via the Frontage Road (Highway 10) heading west out of Belgrade. Turn south on Thorpe Road and head over the tracks and under the Interstate for about a mile and a half, then turn left on Richmond/Dead End Road, then left on Dirt Road. The Silver Spur Arena also serves as a venue for weddings and equine events, and the big building is hard to miss. Music kicks off at 7 p.m. For ticket and other information, go to silverspurmt.com; tickets will also be on sale at Cactus Records for this show. See you at the Arena!