Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty North America

Speaking of hats, Chris Young says it’s all about the hat. He only takes his off to prove there is some hair under there, but he likes to keep it on.

David Nail on the other hand sees no need for a hat.

Either way, hats off to People for a great eye candy article.

Lucky Brand Women's Silver Tone Blue Stone Necklace

To enter, simply leave a comment in today’s post at elleinadspir (comments here will not be eligible). Good luck!

Today is our first Happy Hour and it is one we know you’ll love. From 11am to 1pm Central Time*, get 10% off all Men’s Levi’s® Jeans. Qualifying items include all Levi’s® Jeans with item number beginning with 100-BOT.

(* Noon-2pm Eastern, 10am – Noon Mountain, 9am – 11am Pacific)

Langston’s Western Wear has joined the world of facebook. Click the icon above to check it out and become a fan. You’ll get coupons, special savings, sale notices, information about special events, notice of new product updates and more sent directly to your news feed.

To kick off our facebook party we’ve included a special gift (coupon anyone?). Hope to see you there!

Need tickets?
We got ‘em. Come by the autograph session to receive 2 FREE ticket vouchers with every Ariat Boots purchase. This is only available at Langston’s in Stockyards City.

For more information on the event and to purchase tickets, visit the PBR Express Classic information page. In the meantime, check out PBR.TV, a very cool place to get the latest PBR news as well as watch the best rides and wrecks. Here’s the latest video:

One of the latest examples of Oklahoma’s musical ingenuity is found in what is known as Red Dirt Music. Much like its indie rock counterpart, sometimes it is easier to define it by what it is not than to try and nail down one or two characteristics of the genre that set it apart. While Red Dirt is always country music, it is not of the TOP 40 variety you hear in heavy rotation on your FM radio. While the latter seems to have worked hard to polish out or completely ignore its roots, Red Dirt embraces many forms of Americana that have influenced or been influenced by country music, including rock and roll, blues, dixieland, swing, bluegrass, and more. The result is country music that seems more genuine, more real, and more raw. Basically, it is country music with its soul still intact.

Modern Red Dirt has grown past its Stillwater, Oklahoma roots and is now a staple of thriving music scenes across Texas, Tennessee, and throughout the region. To keep up with this exciting and evolving genre, Tony “The Rooster” Brown has graciously agreed to blog about all things Red Dirt for us, including interviews, reviews, and trends while keeping us up to date on the events surrounding his show Red Dirt: Live that is currently in development. You can read Tony’s first post and all his subsequent posts in the Red Dirt: Live section. Take it away, Tony…

Now that I have gotten that out of the way I’ll give you a little background on myself and why I  like this genre of music so much.  My love of Red Dirt/Texas music started back in 1999 with frequent trips to Stillwater, Oklahoma, the birth place of Red Dirt music. My idols have always been Waylon Jennings, Willie, Cash, the outlaws of country music. They had their own way of doing country music which was totally against the Nashville-way, much like these guys in the Red Dirt/Texas music scene, their lyrics and almost rock-n-roll style is profoundly unique.

My grandfather actually enjoyed Red Dirt more than the new pop-country songs that were out there which meant a lot to me growing up because I idolized him as a musician. Working for 93.3 KKNG got me even more involved with the Red Dirt/Texas music scene. I became friends with a lot of the artists and realized how down to earth they were, just like me. When I hear the lyrics, it’s like I’m back home in my one horse town, backroadin’ and livin’ free.

I’ll be using this blog to post interviews from the road and keeping you up to date with albums of the week, upcoming shows and my big trip to CMT in Nashville and let you all know what’s going on and with Red Dirt: Live and the music and musicians of the Red Dirt/Texas music scene.

That’s right. The 47th Annual IPRA & IFR is here, and the festivities don’t stop until Sunday. Starting on the 11th with the Miss Rodeo USA 2009 Pageant and ending with the final rodeo performances and the IPRA World Championship Awards Banquet at the Biltmore Hotel on the 18th. As always, the IFR Western Trade Show will get going on Friday at 6:00p and runs through Sunday, so get out there and see all the great merchandise. I have a feeling you might find something great.

Anyway, round up the family and hit the fairgrounds this week. We’ve linked to the official schedule on the IFR home page, and believe me, there’s plenty to do. So go catch your favorite rodeo starsand see them prove that they’re some of the toughest athletes on the planet, yet again.

Check their website for all the dates and times. Starting at 11:00a on Saturday the 17th, OG&E’s Kid Day will offer lots of great activities including contests, autograph sessions, roping instruction, or you can even see how to make a genuine cowboy hat. All activities at Kids’ Day are free, and most of them are even educational. So come down to the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds this week and get in on the excitement.

From time to time we like to share a little bit about where we’re from. It’s always nice to put a little personality on this too-often impersonal medium called the internet. To help tell you a little about what we’re “all about”, we like to point you to an article in today’s New York Times Travel section about Oklahoma City.

In a recent visit, the author found a city that mixes all the elements commonly associated with the Midwest, the West, and a bit of the South. From the “noirish-cool” Lobby Bar on Western Avenue to the “True West” setting of Cattlemen’s Steakhouse in the Oklahoma National Stockyards (just across the street from us!), the author really stretched his legs and dug into the many facets of the city. A visit to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, with its grand displays of western art, followed by a stop at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, with the largest permanent installation of Dale Chihuly glass sculptures including the 55 foot tall center piece in the museum’s atrium, reinforced that this is a place where many aspects of all types of “western” culture come together in a natural a seamless way.

And it wasn’t just the food and museums that gave him this impression. The author found that the people represented this mixture of cultures as well:

“While I was in town, a nationally known local psychedelic band, the Flaming Lips, screened a homemade movie and music extravaganza, “Christmas on Mars,” to a raucous crowd at the deadCENTER Film Festival. At the same time, the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum was hosting a gathering of contemporary Western artists — imagine a group of people resembling the cast of a Sam Peckinpah movie with paintbrushes. There is also a frisson in the air over the news that the city has managed to snag a National Basketball Association franchise, with the SuperSonics moving here from Seattle next season. “

So, if you plan on visiting us soon or just want to know more about this place where all your Langston’s packages are coming from, check out the NY Times article here. For more pictures check out the Slide Show.

Along with the tough and talented riders and ropers, all of the past favorite merchandise booths will be back, as well as about 30 new additions. The trade show will be located in the gigantified (yes, it’s my word) Cox Pavilion. Booths opened at noon today and will be open until 7pm tonight. From tomorrow until the 8th, the trade show will be open from 9a to 7p, then on the final Saturday of the show, the hours will reduce to 9a-5p. Don’t forget to stop by the Langston’s booth to pick up your coupon for free shipping on all orders over $100, exclusively from Langstons.com.

So, get to the fairgrounds and enjoy the countless events, merchandise booths, and your old buddies, Langston’s. We’re always glad to see you, you know.