Summer is just around the corner, and with that comes the festival concert season, or all-day, outdoor concerts around the nation featuring numerous bands in front of thousands people.

The four members of Oklahoma-based Cross Canadian Ragweed will be playing at a number of those shows. But they'll also find time on the latest leg of their seemingly never-ending tour to play a few clubs, such as Thursday's stop in Salt Lake City.

For guitarist Grady Cross, as much as he enjoys playing the large festivals, playing small clubs suits him just fine.

"We're a bar band. We've been playing them a long time," he told the News recently in a phone interview. "We love the bar. It's more personable. You can actually see (the crowd). Festivals are cool, don't get me wrong. But they're not as personable as a bar. We can see faces and the excitement of people. We feed off that."

Although they see themselves as a little bar band, fans know Ragweed gives an arena-like performance every night, no matter the venue. Their constant touring has helped Ragweed develop a strong legion of fans despite not getting a lot of play on commercial radio.

Thursday's show at Paladium marks the second Utah concert for the band this year. The first was in January. In the past, the band played Utah once a year, usually while making a stop in the Beehive State on the way to Las Vegas. But Cross said the last Utah show went well, and the band likes to play as much as they can, wherever they can.

Cross Canadian Ragweed is one of those bands that has developed a healthy following partially by mixing up their set list every night. Canada makes a list up just prior to show time.

"We didn't really used to have one," Cross said. "But after we kept making more albums, we decided we should really sit down and start doing (a set list), that way everyone knows what's going on," he said with a laugh.

Sometimes Canada will just pop his iPod on before a show and use it to help decide a set list, Cross said.

Ragweed is still touring off its latest CD, "Mission California," which has received decent airplay on satellite radio. The album found the country-rock band exploring a slightly different vibe with its songs than its previous efforts.

"I think, for the most part, everybody was pretty happy," Cross said of fan reaction. "A lot of times, too, people would say, 'I wish you'd do more of the old stuff.' But in the set list we try to touch on each album."

"Mission California" also contains some of lead singer Cody Canada's most personal lyrics as he doesn't shy away from conflicts with record labels to even member of his own family.

"He writes how he feels. Some of those songs touch you a little deep," Cross said. "He's not angry. It's just experiences."