If Charley Crockett hadn’t been driving through Wythe County with a tinted window back in 2014, he might be in Saskatoon right now.
Instead, the country music star had to cancel his Canadian tour this week after Canadian authorities twice denied him entry into the country because of his conviction more than a decade ago in Wythe County.
The problem was not that illegally tinted window; it was what that tinted window led to: State police pulled him over and found the car stinking of marijuana, likely because of 6.6 pounds of weed in a suitcase in the trunk.
That was more than enough for a felony charge — and, ultimately, a felony conviction in 2016. He could have spent 30 years in a Virginia prison. Instead, he spent about a month in the New River Valley Regional Jail while waiting to be released on bond. Crockett wasn’t a star back then, just an occasional musician who made a living hauling weed, on that occasion from Nashville to New York, if things had worked out. When Crockett finally returned to court in Wythe County, he had his first album recorded and walked out with a 10-year suspended sentence and a $10,000 fine — pretty typical for a first offender in a case of that type.
Crockett hasn’t tried to hide his past. He’s given multiple interviews where he said the arrest prompted him to get serious about his music career. In a 2024 song, “Good at Losing,” he references the incident with these lyrics:
Lawmen they caught me in Virginia
No need to tell you what I done
Make sure you get your act together
Before you roll up 81
You can read an interview with the state trooper who arrested Crockett here.
Crockett, who now has 15 albums to his credit and this year won a Grammy for Best Regional Roots Music Album (and was nominated for a second), was scheduled to start a nine-city Canadian tour Feb. 21 in Vancouver.
Canadian authorities denied him entry — twice. Crockett posted on social media: “Everybody’s got a past. Mine’s still haunting me. I tried to cross the Canadian border twice in 24 hours. After they denied me entry in Vancouver, I tried again in Kelowna and was rejected a second time.”
He added: “I’ve been advised that it would jeopardize my freedom to try and enter again.”
He also posted a photo of a notice from Canadian immigration authorities that deemed Crockett “inadmissible on grounds of serious criminality.” It referenced the 2016 conviction in Virginia.
Strangely, Crockett has been admitted to Canada before, playing shows there in 2023 and 2024. However, unless a visitor has special permission to enter, individual border agents have discretion on whether to admit someone.
“I know I let y’all down,” Crockett posted. “Canada’s such a beautiful country full of the best fans in the world, and I’ve had the time of my life playing shows for y’all.”
He also vowed to try again sometime: “I ain’t one to quit and I aim to be back one of these days real soon.”
His tour schedule shows him back in Canada for a July 4 gig in Calgary.
In the meantime, Crockett has a new album coming out April 3: “Age of the Ram.”