DUNCAN — Download some songs by No Justice into an Internet music store like iTunes, and the debate about Red Dirt Music becomes obvious: How do you categorize this music?

If you download No Justice’s first album “Far From Everything” into iTunes, in the “Genre” column, up comes the description “Country.”

However, download the single “Horseshoe Lake,” from No Justice’s best-selling CD “Live at Billy Bob’s Texas,” and the “Genre” column says you’re listening to a “Blues” song. “Spinning Wheel,” another chart-climbing single from the Stillwater-based quintet’s newest album, gets dubbed an “R&B;” tune.

Red Dirt. What is it? Is it country? Is it rock? Is it folk? Is it blues or rhythm & blues?

Is Red Dirt an expansion on the country/rock genre that began in the 1970s? Maybe it’s a country/rock/folk/blues/R&B;/blu-egrass hybrid.

There seems to be myriad interpretations of where Red Dirt falls into the grand scheme of music. But you know what? Steve Rice doesn’t really care.

The Duncan born-and-bred lead singer and guitarist, who joins his No Justice compadres in opening the 2008-09 Live From the Center concert series Saturday, just loves playing Red Dirt music — no matter how it’s defined.

“I hate for music to be pigeon-holed into genres,” said Rice, an original member of the group that formed in Stillwater in 2001.

“The majority of us who play (Red Dirt) don’t have an idea what it is anyway, because it’s not so much a genre as an atmosphere.

“Brandon Jenkins says if you’re wondering if the music you’re playing is Red Dirt of not, if you’ve never played in Stillwater, you’re probably not playing Red Dirt.”

Regardless the genre debate, there’s no doubt the Oklahoma version of Red Dirt was spawned and grew up in jam sessions, club gigs and concerts by seminal artists like Jimmy LaFave, The Great Divide, Cross Canadian Ragweed, the Red Dirt Rangers and Jason Boland & The Stragglers.

The music has blossomed into a Midwest and Southwest phenomena through the emergence of artists like Jenkins, Todd Snider, Stoney LaRue, Johnny Cooper, Mickey & The Motorcars, Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers, Dierks Bentley, Reckless Kelly, Jack Ingram and Randy Rogers. Some of those artists are native Okies, some have Texas roots and some, like Clyne & The Peacemakers, are from outside the Oklahoma-Texas beltway.

Still, but they fall somewhere within the wide parameters of Red Dirt

Despite the crowded field, in just over six years, No Justice has been able to cut a singular place in the pack. The group — which includes vocalist and rhythm guitarist Brandon Jackson, lead guitarist Jerry Payne, drummer Armando Lopez and bass player Joey Trevino — was named Best Red Dirt Newcomer of the Year in 2003, following the release of “Far From Everything.” “The Toast,” a single from the debut CD, was in the Texas Music Top 10 chart for 27 straight weeks in 2005.

The band’s self-titled 2006 release “No Justice” raised the bar even more, producing crowd favorites like “Never Come Back,” “Bend Don’t Break,” “Don’t Walk Away” and “Breath.”

In 2007, “Never Come Back” became the group’s first No. 1 single on the Texas Music Chart, a spot it occupied for an unprecedented six straight weeks, and although it’s been on the racks for nearly a year, “Live at Billy Bob’s” is still No. 11 on the Texas Music album chart.

The band’s been on a great ride, and it’s been somewhat of a surprising journey for Rice. When he graduated from Duncan High School in 1996, Rice hadn’t dreamed of being a music star.

“I got an acoustic guitar my junior or senior year (at DHS), but I didn’t start singin’ until I got in college at Oklahoma State, and I did after-party things with a couple of friends, just sitting around playin’ and singin’,” he said.

“I think the last music class I had was at Plato Grade School! I’m danged sure not a trained singer or guitar player!”

No Justice has played in Rice’s hometown several times over the years, but Saturday will be its first performance as part of the Live From the Center series, which is presented by the Chisholm Trail Arts Council. The band will take the stage in the Simmons Center auditorium after Lander Ballard, a longtime singer/songwriter on the Kansas music scene, opens the concert at 7 p.m.

“We’re looking forward to playin’ in Duncan. I’ve got lots family and friends there, and it will be great playin’ for them,” said Rice.

Returning to the genre debate, Rice noted, “I think of our music as ‘Americana.’ We’re not really a jam band, we’re a lyric-driven band, and with Joey and Brandon, we have solid three-part (vocal) harmony.

“I like that style. It’s a sound we spent a lot of time developing, and it put us on the radio. We’re still a work in progress, but we want to be our own deal. That’s what we worked for, and that’s how you get somewhere in this business.

“We don’t want to be Ragweed, we want to be us.”

When it’s mentioned No Justice’s sound has hints of John Mellencamp, the legend of what’s sometimes called Midwest rock, Rice doesn’t mind conceding to a comparison.

“I’ve always listened to Mellencamp and I really like him,” he said. “I guess, if we’re going to be compared to anyone, Mellencamp is a good one.”