'The Great Divide' to perform in Midland next week

Jun. 2—MIDLAND — While some people have considered "The Great Divide" as "The Godfather's of Red Dirt Music," lead singer Mike McClure doesn't exactly agree with that label.

While he acknowledges that the band was one of the earlier groups playing in the Red Dirt Country music scene in the early 1990s, he also said that other bands were beginning the new genre of country music.

For those who may not know, Red Dirt is a genre of country music that gets its name from the color of soil found in Oklahoma.

Many Red Dirt acts, including "The Great Divide" got their start in bars in Stillwater, Okla.

"Well, red dirt was already going on," McClure said in a phone interview. "I wouldn't say we were the Godfathers of it. We were the first band through the wall, the first band to secure a major record deal out of the Stillwater scene."

Godfathers or not, the band will be performing in the Permian Basin next week with a show at 6 p.m. June 9 at The Tailgate in Midland.

"That's going to be a cool one," McClure said. "We put out a record called 'Providence.' We haven't put out a record in 20 years so that was pretty cool. We're excited to come back to Midland and play. It's been really cool getting back together. We've played shows here and there but not until we did this record last year have things really started to come together for us. We put out a single and our first single went out to No. 1 on the Texas Music Chart. That was really cool to be out of the game for 20 years and then come back and do that. That was great."

"The Great Divide" got its start in 1992, with its first gig actually taking place in Perry, Okla., a small town 32 miles from Stillwater.

As the band got started, many Red Dirt County Music groups were also getting recognized such as Bob Childers, The Red Dirt Rangers and the The Medicine Show that were also around Stillwater.

"There were a bunch of singer-songwriters around town," McClure said. "They were calling their music 'red dirt' and I loved that because of Oklahoma and the red dirt. It was a flag that we grabbed onto and started flying. We got discovered."

The band soon took off and was playing close to 200 shows a year and releasing five albums together in the early 2000s.

Along with McClure, the band included bassist Kelley Green and brothers Scott and J.J. Lester on rhythm guitar and drums.

McClure would leave for a solo career in 2003, marking the end of the band for awhile during which he would go on to release nine albums on his own.

Fast forward a decade and the group found themselves reunited and playing shows again.

Fast forward another decade and they've added a new member, keyboardist Bryce Conway and the group soon released their first new studio album in 20 years with 'Providence.'

Last year, McClure was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame along with Randy Crouch, Don White and Don Byas.

The ceremony took place at the Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa.

"When I first heard the news, I was floored," McClure said. "There's such a distinguished group of people already in there from Merle Haggard, Bob Wills, Garth Brooks and Toby Keith. It's a who's-who of Oklahoma music and to be included in that is such an honor. It was a real special night. Everyone got up and performed a few songs. My parents are still around and they were there for it as well as my kids. It was a special night."

McClure talked a little bit about next week's show.

"It's all the original guys from when we first started in 1992 so that's incredible," McClure said. "We do songs that cover our entire catalog. There's 'Never Could' and 'Pour Me a Vacation'."

The band will also be performing some of their newer singles such as "Infinite Line."

"That's a song about getting older which we all are," McClure said. "We started the band in my early 20s and now I'm 52. This whole album is about coming to terms with getting older and asking yourself what you want to do with the rest of your life. For me, I got sober four years ago. That really changed my life as far as taking a good, clear look at everything and deciding what I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing. Part of that is playing in The Great Divide. It's nice to go out and play shows now. People are bringing their kids to our concerts because their parents listened to our music. People like to tell us those stories and we try to meet as many people as we can. It's really rewarding."

For tickets and more information about next week's show, go to tinyurl.com/2p8hpphb.