# Everything Else > Arts & Entertainment >  OKC Music Scene

## btlsooner

Hello everybody. I am new to the board. I had a few questions that I'm trying to get answered, but I don't really know where to start looking for help. I am born and raised in OKC and love it here, but there is one thing that drives me crazy about this city. I am really into music and if I want to see any type of concert I am forced to drive to either Dallas or Tulsa. I am interested in trying to change the music scene in OKC. I want to try and draw alot of national indie artist into our area.

My questions are where do I begin? Do I have to have my own venue or could I call around to local bars and restaraunts and see if I could do some booking for them? There has to be a demand for this in OKC. Tulsa gets shows all the time at Cains and Brady that they really have no business getting. Can anybody offer me some advice? Thanks!

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## Pete

I would recommend speaking to someone at the Academy for Contemporary Music in Bricktown.  They already have some live performances there.

The Tower Theater on 23rd is a venue with great potential but we already have others (Will Rogers, Coca-Cola Events Center, etc.) that don't seem to have many bookings and I'm not sure why.

Good luck...  I'm sure everyone will agree it's an area with OKC is really lacking.

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## OkieHornet

"if I want to see any type of concert I am forced to drive to either Dallas or Tulsa"? i think you need to open your eyes a little more. what exactly are you looking for? and why do the brady and cain's have no business getting shows? their historical value is what brings a lot of the performers in, and nothing in okc has that...

some upcoming shows in the okc area:
of montreal, sleepy sun, split lip rayfield, dale earnhardt jr jr, white denim, portugal. the man, hayes carll, all american rejects, loretta lynn, mastodon, social distortion, marilyn manson, chevelle, bb king, snoop dogg, george thorogood, willie nelson, peter case, greencards, zac brown band, drake, eric church, red hot chili peppers, alison krauss, bela fleck, joe bonamassa...

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## kevinpate

> ..
> some upcoming shows in the okc area:
> of montreal, sleepy sun, split lip rayfield, dale earnhardt jr jr, white denim, portugal. the man, hayes carll, all american rejects, loretta lynn, mastodon, social distortion, marilyn manson, chevelle, bb king, snoop dogg, george thorogood, willie nelson, peter case, greencards, zac brown band, drake, eric church, red hot chili peppers, alison krauss, bela fleck, joe bonamassa...


Whatever issues may exist in the metro, diversity in the music scene is actually progressing along.  But yeah, a few more current A-listers would be nice too.

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## Jake

I absolutely love the idea! I wish you luck! I always thought OKC should strive for sort of a SXSW (South by Southwest) festival like they have in Austin. Incorporate both a music and film festival. Perhaps attempt to get in touch with Wayne Coyne or something, maybe he would have some good influence on getting some bands in the area.

And I don't necessarily agree with saying that The Brady and Cains gets shows that they have no business getting. Like OkieHornet said, they have a lot of historical value that brings a lot their desirability.

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## adaniel

> "if I want to see any type of concert I am forced to drive to either Dallas or Tulsa"? i think you need to open your eyes a little more. what exactly are you looking for? and why do the brady and cain's have no business getting shows? their historical value is what brings a lot of the performers in, and nothing in okc has that...
> 
> some upcoming shows in the okc area:
> of montreal, sleepy sun, split lip rayfield, dale earnhardt jr jr, white denim, portugal. the man, hayes carll, all american rejects, loretta lynn, mastodon, social distortion, marilyn manson, chevelle, bb king, snoop dogg, george thorogood, willie nelson, peter case, greencards, zac brown band, drake, eric church, red hot chili peppers, alison krauss, bela fleck, joe bonamassa...


Don't forget Drake, which I will be attending on the 28th (woot!)

The simple fact that a nationally known hip hop artist is coming to the CHK Area is a sign that there is demand for a good music scene here in OKC. Just look how big the Norman Music Festival has become. I do agree though that unless you are into red dirt the pickings can be slim, at least if your looking for consistent live acts. 

A good place to start would be for someone to revive DFest here in OKC. While I'm sure it will spark perpetual howling among TulsaNow posters and other 918 boosters, there is simply too much wasted potential for that festival to just sit idle. If not them why not us? 

I think it would do great here, and am kind of surprised nobody has tried to do it already. Anyone got Wayne Coyne's number?

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## BDK

We actually have a pretty good music scene here, you just have to do some rooting around.

http://oklahomarock.com/

http://newsok.com/oklahoma-pair-stak...rticle/3641185

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## Questor

I don't think this board is a good place for this question because others have brought it up and no one knows how to really answer this, or they say everything is fine and it's just you.  But I hear what you are saying and a lot of other folks in OKC do too.  Really there are about three places to see a decent rock show with a modern or indie band... Conservatory, and I think the reason why that happens is the dude who owns that and the record store next to it has connections with musicians and the industry, Norman Music Festival, which is great but extremely infrequent... only happens once a year and because they don't charge admission the size and quality of their acts does have limits, and The Diamond Ballroom which is kind of hit and miss.  One week they'll have a bunch of wretched metal bands that had their hey day 20 years ago, and the next week they'll have something cool.  2009 was a really good year for modern music in OKC especially at the Diamond with many up-and-coming national acts making their way there.  I think that scene got so big is just sort of exploded everywhere.  The last year or two have been more down years with modern music.

So my suggestion is maybe start by calling those people/venues up and talking to them.  Maybe they'll talk to you.

You're right about Tulsa, and I have often wondered why.  I will go to great concerts at the Diamond all the time and be amazed at how few people are there, and these are bands that would be huge anywhere else.  I think that is part of the problem why there isn't a dedicated venue for what you are looking for, the customer base isn't there.  It is definitely there in Tulsa.  I think part of it is they just have more hipsters who follow things like that, and arguably that goes back to the more eastern city attitude that that city has.  I think it also has to do with the fact that they actually have one or maybe two modern rock radio stations.  We have none... so where exactly are you going to advertise to let the people who would most likely come to your venue know you are even there?  I think because they have this and their venues have been established a while and know how to get those types of bands there, they have put their time in and made the industry in-roads that make that happen (and it's probably much easier now).  But sadly part of the reason why we don't have a modern rock station here is because every time someone has tried to start one it hasn't lasted... if there was a big enough market that wouldn't be the case.

Just know there are others of us out here who have been waiting for a change for a long time and it never seems to come.  Based on all of that it makes me think this will never happen unless some rich dude who lives here and happens to like the same kind of music just goes ahead and fronts the money to make it happen regardless of profit margins.

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## Questor

Oh yeah Opolis in Norman too, they have some decent stuff sometimes probably because a band owns the place and knows industry folks, but man is the venue a total and complete dump.  No air and just dirt floors.  Come on.

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## Questor

Me personally these are the types of bands that I want to see more of here... if a venue promoter happens to read this, please just spend a little time listening to Alt Nation or XMU on satellite radio:

http://www.siriusxm.com/altnation

Of that list I have seen Neon Trees, they hit the Diamond a year or two ago.  But I don't believe any of those other bands have hit OKC.  A few have been to Tulsa.  Probably some of the older bands like The Shins have been here a lifetime ago and someone is going to let me know how annoyed they are at me for not knowing that.

Would love to see Gotye, Foster the People, M83, Grouplove, BBC....

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## BDK

Questor, check out Belle Isle Brewery, VZD's, or the 51st Street Speakeasy, all tend to have great local acts playing every weekend.




> I would recommend speaking to someone at the Academy for Contemporary Music in Bricktown.


Any word on the status of the renovation, by the way?

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## White Peacock

As a metalhead, I've watched OKC go through surges. We'll get loads of good shows for a brief spell, then there will be a lull for years. Right now, there's actually a decent stretch coming up for metal. Dark Funeral is playing the Conservatory; in April, there are two great shows coming to the Diamond - the first one being Mastodon, Opeth and Ghost (f'ing love Ghost!), followed ten days later by a unique conjunction of two national tours meeting at the same venue, creating an all day festival with Cannibal Corpse, Behemoth, The Devil's Blood, Watain, and a truckload of other bands; The Roxy is hosting Kittie and The Agonist, and the Diamond is bringing Marilyn Manson.

If metal isn't your bag, I'm afraid I don't really have any info on that. My only suggestion is to wait and hope (that's what we all have to do!).

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## pure

I've been playing in bands for 12 years and have gone on small "tours" and my opinion is that we don't get the bands that Tulsa and Dallas because we're just too close to Tulsa and Dallas. When bands are routing their tour, they're not going to stop in a city an hour or two away from their last stop. 

Check out www.OklahomaRock.com for sure, best info on local music on the web, Ryan doesn't update the shows page as often as he used to, but the news blog gets updated daily.

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## iMAX386

Count me in as one of those who craves a better music scene in OKC akin to what Cains/Dallas/Kansas City gets.

We talked about this on an OU forum recently and the main points were:
- Need better venues...especially in the urban core
- Indie/Modern Rock radio stations, which is impossible with the corporate stranglehold on OKC radio
- The demand is there, you see it at the Norman Music Fest., but it needs someone to spearhead a movement like this to bring new booking people/venue/whatever it takes.

Link to the thread: http://www.landthieves.com/board/sho...amond+ballroom (Warning: NSFW language/avs)

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## Urbanized

> ...Probably some of the older bands like The Shins have been here a lifetime ago and someone is going to let me know how annoyed they are at me for not knowing that.
> 
> Would love to see Gotye, Foster the People, M83, Grouplove, BBC....


That would be me. Shins were here maybe '06 at the Diamond (saw it). Others on the list (which has probably changed since you posted) include Jack White and The Black Keys. The Black Keys played upstairs in the Bricktown Ballroom or whatever it was called at the time, alley entrance above the canal. Would have been maybe '05 or '06. I saw that show with maybe 75 other people. It was crazy. That venue also hosted a few other good shows around that time; Blonde Redhead, Ben Kweller, Peelander Z, Electric 6 and others.

I believe the Wombats, Mute Math and M83 have all been here, but I missed them if I'm correct about them being here.

Lots of great acts make it through both the Opolis and the Conservatory, but generally they are emerging or on the cusp. You have to watch for them. They won't be big shows, but on the next tour they might be playing Cain's or the like. I've seen great shows at those places from people like Architecture in Helsinki, Band of Horses, Low, Rogue Wave (a couple of times), The Melvins (!!!!!!), Silversun Pickups, Starlight Mints (members own The Opolis) and many, many others. Fantastic bands come through, but again, you just have to catch them before they're big-ish.

In addition to The Shins, the Diamond had some good shows come through for a while (I made it to The Rapture, Toadies, Neko Case and others), but alt-indie bookings there seem to have slowed.

Another place that has a lot of promise is ACM@UCO's Performance Lab. They have had some really solid acts come though. Ra Ra Riot, The Black Angels and others. Of Montreal is there next month. I was lucky enough to catch Heartless Bastards there a while back. They are highly connected to the industry through their executive director (also manager of The Flaming Lips) and other staff members, so they are able to lure some quality shows in and I only see that increasing.

But the best advice anyone gave you was to check out www.oklahomarock.com . Ryan stays on top of everything here and in Tulsa, and there is no better resource for great LOCAL music (he is also a professor at ACM and hosts the Oklahoma Rock Show on www.thespyfm.com on Thursday nights). There is a great EMERGING (far from mature) music scene here, but I really do see it going up, up, up. TONS of great local talent, and lots of great local veterans nurturing that talent.

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## Easy180

The Diamond has had some solid shows over the past few years...Looking forward to Cake in April

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## Questor

Looks like most of the folks who are agreeing we need more music here all seem to be fans of the indie scene.  

Oklahoma Rock is a good website.  I just wish that when nationally known indie bands came through they somehow made that more obvious on their pages.  The front page currently has Portugal the Man on it, so that's a good start.

ACM@UCO frustrates me.  I can never find out anything about it, and if they are having live music there it is difficult to see that from their web page.  There's a note about a pending redesign so maybe they are about to address that.

The Spy is a real, respectable station.  It's a shame that they are no longer on radio, but I'm glad they are still around on the web.

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## Urbanized

I think this site keeps up-to-date with ACM Performance Lab shows. I know there are also is a regular ACM showcase night at Blue Note, and there is a weekly showcase night (often featuring ACM bands, but always quality originals-playing locals) at Whiskey Chicks in Bricktown.

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## Urbanized

I still haven't figured out why that place isn't named Whiskey Chix or Whiskey Chikz.

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## EBAH

> I've been playing in bands for 12 years and have gone on small "tours" and my opinion is that we don't get the bands that Tulsa and Dallas because we're just too close to Tulsa and Dallas. When bands are routing their tour, they're not going to stop in a city an hour or two away from their last stop.


This is 100% accurate. It is true that Oklahoma City is lacking in a good proper theater venue and there are a few other little problems. But, a lot of this is just market and location. Tulsa is very close, and it's also close to MO and AR so a larger semi major label act can get a better draw in Tulsa than in OKC from the many people who will drive in from OKC as well as the close smaller metro areas of MO and AR.  As our market grows in certain areas, so too will the shows.  

But hey, more power to you! We only get bigger and better shows by someone taking the risk, doing the booking and the promoting. I'd be happy to go to them and to play them!

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## OkieHornet

on the "no stops in both tulsa and okc" thinking...

red hot chili peppers
oct 22 - okc - chesapeake arena
oct 24 - tulsa - bok center

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## Questor

> I think this site keeps up-to-date with ACM Performance Lab shows. I know there are also is a regular ACM showcase night at Blue Note, and there is a weekly showcase night (often featuring ACM bands, but always quality originals-playing locals) at Whiskey Chicks in Bricktown.


Thanks, this is exactly what I needed.

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## Urbanized

> Thanks, this is exactly what I needed.


You're welcome!

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## Urbanized

> on the "no stops in both tulsa and okc" thinking...
> 
> red hot chili peppers
> oct 22 - okc - chesapeake arena
> oct 24 - tulsa - bok center


I think it probably has less effect on large, arena-type headliners. If someone like RHCP can sell out or largely sell an arena in any major city in the US, they probably don't mind at all playing T-town and here, as both will be heavily attended.

The problem is with shows that are in the 250 to 2,500 range. They are quite correct in assuming that if they don't play here, OKC people will drive to go see a show at Cain's or the Brady. I personally have done it many, many times, and always see tons of OKC folks I know at those shows. I also think that fewer Tulsa people would "lower themselves" to come to a show here (though I have hosted plenty of Tulsa friends), so I think we bolster their numbers more often than they do ours. Tulsans are going to generally (and often correctly) assume that if a band came here instead, they'll still be through Tulsa soon too. We can't make the same assumptions. Since Tulsa has the track record and better venues, it's easy for a band's management to choose them over OKC when booking.

If you'll notice, most medium-sized shows play here or Tulsa on weeknights or weekends. Even when we get a great show in-state, we're often just a fill-in date between weekend shows, added in to bide time and make a few bucks between weekend engagements that might look like Austin/Dallas/Saint Louis/Chicago, for instance.

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## Easy180

Yup. All of my bands play Cains on Sun, Mon or Tues...Just too damn old to pull those off any more

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## psychwardmedia

acm@uco is a music and recording college...it shouldn't be that hard.

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## Urbanized

Oops. I meant to say "weeknights NOT weekends" rather than "weeknights OR weekends." Obviously Easy180 new what I meant.

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## BDP

> I am interested in trying to change the music scene in OKC.


I think you mean you want to bring in more from the outside. Usually, the music scene refers to local bands. In that situation, we have a lot of good bands. Just start going to shows on Friday and Saturday and within a few weeks you will see bands you want to see again and, the best part, is that you will get to see them for less money and in more intimate settings as many times as you want.

And, it never fails, many of the bands people complain about not coming here already came here.

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## Questor

Diamond Ballroom has just announced Young the Giant and also Sleigh Bells are coming here next month.

http://www.diamondballroom.net/

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## Bigrayok

I think Oklahoma City's live music scene is better than a lot may think. Sure, maybe we do not get every group of every genre all of the time but we do have some decent live music venues if you look hard enough. The Gazette, The Look, and the Friday Oklahoman have good lists of venues and performers.The Conservatory has a lot of up and coming and in some instances, old alternative type bands (Whatever that term means). I can remember when the White Stripes played there on their way up. Joe Bonamassa Played a bar on Route 66 (39th Expressway) between Meridian and Portland a few years ago before he became more famous after his Royal Albert Hall concert. He is a great blues guitarist and will rock the Civic Center in April.  

The UCO Jazz Lab in Edmond and the ACM@UCO have a variety of acts. I think the ACM lab in Bricktown will increase the number of acts in the future as the school grows and develops. Ray Manzarek of the Doors recently played at the Jazz Lab. I plan on seeing Edgar Cruz with the California Guitar Trio on Monday there. The Opolis in Norman has a lot of bands. Two of my favorite local music venues are the Rodeo Opry in the Stockyards for a variety of local country acts and the Blue Door by OCU for singer songwriters. The Blue Door only seats about 100 people but fairly big names such as Jimmy Webb (Oklahoma native and one of the most successful songwriters of all time), Arlo Guthrie (Playing there tonight), Susan Cowsill of the successful 60's group the Cowsills. Lucinda Williams, Alejandro Esposito, Dave Alvin and a variety of Oklahoma and Texas acts play there that are usually really good.

For larger, more well known acts, casinos such as Riverwind, Firelake Grand, and Lucky Star have a lot of concerts, as well as the Civic Center, Chesapeake Arena, and the Coca Cola Events Center. I realize there do not seem to be as many concerts at these venues as there used to be because the Thunder have a major effect on the ability to book concerts in these venues. Oklahoma City will see more concerts in Chesapeake when the renovations are finished. 

I am just scratching the surface for live music in the Oklahoma city area. There are colleges, churches, bars, etc. that offer a variety of music. Even Armstrong College in Edmond has a nice performing arts center with nationally known classical music acts. Live music venues and music trends change all of the time. I can remember when up and coming bands that became well known used to play places like the Bowery and the place on 10th and MacArthur that used to be Quicksilvers. The Red Hot Chili Peppers played both places. The Samurai on May had a lot of bands that became well known including the Flaming Lips who played there regularly. 

Just because Oklahoma City does not get the same high profile concerts the BOK Center in Tulsa or the bands that play Cain's have does not mean we do not have a thriving local music scene. I would argue the music scene in Oklahoma City is just as good or better as it is in Tulsa. Someone mentioned Kansas City. I have friends that live in Kansas City that are musicians that think the live music scene in Kansas City is not very strong except for a few places in Westport where a small number of bands play. Dallas is not what it used to be for lesser known bands. Deep Ellum is still going but has lost some of its live music steam it had a few years ago. It may have changed since then, but I went to college in Nashville for a while in the 80's where you would think there was a thriving live music scene. There were a few places to see live music such as the Grand Ole Opry and a few bars but it was not as easy to find as one may think. I actually think Oklahoma City had a better live music scene at the time than Nashville. Talk to people all over the country and they will complain about the local live music scene, especially if they can not find the bands of their genre they want to see in their hometown. There is a lot of good live music in Oklahoma City.

Bigray in Ok

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## dankrutka

> Oh yeah Opolis in Norman too, they have some decent stuff sometimes probably because a band owns the place and knows industry folks, but man is the venue a total and complete dump.  No air and just dirt floors.  Come on.


The Opolis does not have dirt floors. Did you just make that up? Lol.

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## VinnyTheShark

Some of the venues Vinny frequents are The Wormy Dog, Grady's 66 Pub in Yukon, The Deli in Norman and of course The Diamond Ballroom. Plenty of good bands come thru the OKC area.

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## TheTravellers

I have to chime in here because I am one that believes the music scene in OKC still sucks.  I moved away in 1995 and that was one of the main reasons I left.  

Radio in OKC is almost all classic rock, country or jocks blathering mindlessly with a few exceptions like a top 40 station and hiphop station with some talk and classical thrown in.  Sadly, the Spy couldn't make it on the airwaves, and when they left, I stopped listening to OKC radio, with the exception of the Martini every so often.

The live music scene in OKC can be broken down this way (IMO, of course) - local bar bands playing at local bars, "red dirt" bands playing at the Blue Door and local bars, metal bands playing at the Conservatory and Diamond Ballroom, past-their-prime bands playing at the casinos, and classical/pops stuff at the Civic Center and Armstrong Auditorium).  There are occasionally new, "alternative" bands that play at the ACM@UCO (Boris is one that was magnificent, but there were so few people there that it was ridiculous), Conservatory, Diamond Ballroom, and a few other places.  That's about it.  If you aren't into country (which I'll stick "red dirt" in with), bar bands, metal, or Journey/REO/Molly Hatchet/etc., there just isn't much of a scene here.  See what's popular on the charts, on the video channels (yes, there are still channels which play videos), selling at record stores, etc. and you might find a few of those acts playing here in OKC, but not many.  I guess people can still get excited about seeing Edgar Cruz play, but I saw him at the first Opening Night decades ago and it's cool he's still playing and making a living, but I have absolutely no desire to ever see him again.

Having said that, I have seen some decent shows since we've moved back, but nowhere near the quality I would like to have here in OKC.  I'm glad I saw the Pixies in Tulsa at the Brady because I would've been so disappointed if I had to see them at the Bricktown Events Center.  I have seen the Lips (Myriad), Shelby Lynne (Blue Door), Lady Gaga (Ford Center), Boris (ACM@UCO), Wilco (Bricktown Events Center), and probably a couple of others that escape me right now, and am going to see Sleigh Bells, but with my wide spread of taste in music, I still can't find too many bands coming here that I want to go see.

Seems to me there just isn't enough of anything to get more bands (and more of a variety of bands) coming here - not enough people willing to go see those bands, not enough promoters willing to bring them in (maybe because there's not enough of an audience), not enough really good venues (ACM@UCO is just a concrete box, so is the Bricktown Events Center, Blue Door is good but very small, Conservatory is a dump, not sure about the Diamond since the last time I was there was for Skinny Puppy and Godflesh, and the rest seem to be casinos, CHK Arena, and bars).  I agree with whoever mentioned Hard Rock Cafe - I'm not always a fan of huge corporate things, but that would probably help to bring bands in.  A mid-sized HoB with good acoustics, run well, with good bookers would change the concert scene here immensely.  Can't count the number of bands that played at the Chicago HoB that I wanted to see (and did see some of them), it was just enormous.

Not sure if everything can all come together to make OKC's music scene better.  It hasn't gotten better since I got disgusted with it back in the 90s, IMO, and it might not ever due to the economics and audience makeup of OKC.

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## Bullbear

I think the statement of saying what bands you want to see here and the fact that they have in fact played OKC speaks volumes as to a need for better venues and promoters. I am a music junkie who travels a lot to see shows and would love to spend that money locally. The Granada Theater in Dallas is one of my favorite Venues, it would be awesome if the tower theater was turned into a similar venue. there are also similar venues in Denver that host great shows. I am looking forward to some of the shows at the Diamond this year as well and I think we do get some good names now and then but would be great to see busy venues and more buzz about upcoming acts. I do notice a lot of the show I go to at Cains aren't all that well attended and same for some of the ones I have been to in OKC. So better promotion means bigger crowds for shows, More money made and better acts booking. When I saw Nikka Costa at bricktown live the attendance was horrible but like the guys who was there at the gate said to me. " how do you get the word out in this town. nobody really listens to any of the radio stations so the options are limited"

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## Bigrayok

Anyone remember when they first remodled the Will Rogers Theater and were using it for concerts? They quit having concerts and started using it for special events like high school reunions. I thought it had the potential to be like the Granada in Dallas, the Brady in Tulsa or other old movie theaters converted to concert halls.

 The Tower Theater has potential but it will obviously take a lot of money to refurbish it. The Will Rogers has a lot more onsite parking than the Tower which makes me wonder if the lack of parking is one of the reasons no one has made serious efforts to remodel the Tower. I know the Dillons who own the building want someone to come in and put up the money refurbish it. I do not know if anything specific is happening these days.

Bigray in Ok

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## iMAX386

I bet there's enough of a groundswell of those wanting more music in OKC and a venue worthy of that demand to get the attention of a few investors...problem is right now there's nothing to unite that demand and we're all spread out so it seems like the demand isn't there.  We need someone passionate and with connections in the music/show industry to lead some drive to get a new venue built that all the music fans (who go to shows in Tulsa/TX/KS) can galvanize around.

I reject the notion that OKC's music scene is healthy.  Expanding the venue slate will add to the revitalization this city's undergone that will keep the young people from moving away. 

I had mentioned recruiting a House of Blues, but man if we can renovate the Tower Theater or use the Will Rogers (never been inside it to see if it's a viable option) that would be just as cool if not cooler since they both have that historical character.  Wonder if Wayne Coyne would be interested in helping invest in this.

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## Bullbear

Id love to see the Tower turn into something like the Granada. If you haven't seen it here is the link.

http://granadatheater.com/venue-info/virtual-tour/

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## BDP

> Diamond Ballroom has just announced Young the Giant and also Sleigh Bells are coming here next month.
> 
> http://www.diamondballroom.net/


And Cake will be here too. I think DCF and the Diamond are starting to branch out a bit. Hopefully, all the people who complain about the lack of music that comes here are going to these shows. _That's_ the way you change it, with your wallet.

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## progressiveboy

> I think it probably has less effect on large, arena-type headliners. If someone like RHCP can sell out or largely sell an arena in any major city in the US, they probably don't mind at all playing T-town and here, as both will be heavily attended.
> 
> The problem is with shows that are in the 250 to 2,500 range. They are quite correct in assuming that if they don't play here, OKC people will drive to go see a show at Cain's or the Brady. I personally have done it many, many times, and always see tons of OKC folks I know at those shows. I also think that fewer Tulsa people would "lower themselves" to come to a show here (though I have hosted plenty of Tulsa friends), so I think we bolster their numbers more often than they do ours. Tulsans are going to generally (and often correctly) assume that if a band came here instead, they'll still be through Tulsa soon too. We can't make the same assumptions. Since Tulsa has the track record and better venues, it's easy for a band's management to choose them over OKC when booking.
> 
> If you'll notice, most medium-sized shows play here or Tulsa on weeknights or weekends. Even when we get a great show in-state, we're often just a fill-in date between weekend shows, added in to bide time and make a few bucks between weekend engagements that might look like Austin/Dallas/Saint Louis/Chicago, for instance.


 It seems Tulsa has OKC beat. OKC not on the list.



http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/artic...0_Tulsai908513

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## Bullbear

> And Cake will be here too. I think DCF and the Diamond are starting to branch out a bit. Hopefully, all the people who complain about the lack of music that comes here are going to these shows. _That's_ the way you change it, with your wallet.


I try every chance I get. even for some shows that may not be my first choice in Music. I am sad I am missing CAKE but i had already purchased tickets to see the Ting Tings in Dallas prior to that show being announced.

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## UncleCyrus

> Seems to me there just isn't enough of anything to get more bands (and more of a variety of bands) coming here - not enough people willing to go see those bands, not enough promoters willing to bring them in (maybe because there's not enough of an audience),...


I have to relate a story here.  One of my favorite bands, Gomez, played at the Diamond a while back.  They had played to over 1200 in Austin a couple of days previous.  Here, maybe 50 people showed up, and several of them that I met drove in from somewhere else.  To the band's credit, they still played a great show and even hung out afterwards to greet fans.

Unfortunately, I don't know what the answer is either.

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## kristella

I think the reason why everyone is upset with the OKC music scene is because people keep talking about commercial acts like Marilyn Manson, Lady Gaga, RHCP, etc. Tour for any artist is already in the red; their tour managers are going to try to recoup a lot of their losses in bigger cities. No big deal. Classical and jazz music is extremely lacking, mostly because it all happens in accordance with some university, college, or professional OKC Philharmonic concert that no one has any money to go to. Really, the UCO jazz lab and a few other clubs are all we have as far as jazz goes.

I can't speak for the entire punk scene here, but I know people who've been in it for over 15 years and he's been a major player in paving our local scene. Here's his blog of selected flyers so you can see what's really been going on in that time-frame. (http://loudcity.blogspot.com/) As for me, I co-run Komarov Records out of a friend's house with a couple of graphic designers and we put out local bands that play at Bad Granny's, the Conservatory (on occasion), and house shows. DELO Creative (Wayne Coyne's production-house, now picking projects on their own) has a huge video-reel of a lot of local, mainstream bands who usually play at the Opolis and house shows. 

If you're looking for local talent in the pages of the Gazette and the Diamond Ballroom, you're not looking for music, you're looking for how well music is being marketed. That's fine too. We need that. Marketing genre-specific bands helps tourism. What you should be paying attention to are facebook invites that your friends are accepting and events being spread by word-of-mouth.

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## Emily

I would have to agree that the music scene could be better.  I do think, however, that we have some good local bands that play around town.  My husband is in a band that plays around town and we always enjoy seeing them and other bands as well.  I know it's not the big names, but I agree that supporting the local groups is beneficial to our city.

Also, if anyone is interested in learning an instrument, my husband is the owner of Anderson Music Studios (AndersonMusicStudios.com).  They teach pretty much anything- guitar, bass, drums, piano, keyboard, ukulele, violin, sax, etc...

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## soonerguru

Steve recently commented about making the Farmer's Market "our Cain's." I agree with him in principle.

The biggest problem I see in OKC is we don't have the promoters willing to really make a run at a true three-to-five day a week Indie club. Opolis is in Norman, and mostly caters to bands on the way up. 

Then we have the Diamond Ballroom. Junky place in the middle of nowhere. It's OK to see a show there as a novelty once in a while, but it's not a good urban venue.

So...even if we began using the Farmer's Market space as our mid-size venue, there still really aren't promoters willing to do this full time to make it work. 

We get the off-tour Pixies shows and Wilco shows at Coca-Cola Bricktown, but the Brewers aren't really serious music people. 

There's no reason to cede this argument to Tulsa. OKC is a bigger market and with the right venue and promoter we could -- and should -- have a far better music scene than we do today.

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## Easy180

Diamond ain't bad when you get in...Inside is somewhat similar to Cain's just doesn't have the name

Diamond has nabbed some pretty good talent the past couple years...Just need the Zoo to get some quality non 80's non country bands...Phish on the 29th is a good start

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## okcboy

With Oklahoma being a secondary market, mid level artists will mostly only play one date in the state. This is after the major markets have been covered.  Other than the casinos, we only have one promoter that really has the "history" with major agencies. Since the promoter is taking the risk, they generally choose which market and venue the artists' play in. This promoter controls the Diamond, Brady, and has great rent arrangements with Cain's and the Zoo. Also, the Tulsa market seems to have a better radio environment and tend to support the shows more. I wish OKC had a House of Blues but could it survive?. You're talking 10+ Million dollar venue versus a 1 - 2 Million like the Event Center or Diamond. The Civic Center was a 50+ Mil in just a remodel in the first MAPS project. Its an expensive and risky game and it all boils down to money in the end.

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## OkieHornet

> Diamond ain't bad when you get in...Inside is somewhat similar to Cain's just doesn't have the name
> 
> Diamond has nabbed some pretty good talent the past couple years...Just need the Zoo to get some quality non 80's non country bands...Phish on the 29th is a good start


new management next season at the zoo. i'll be curious to see who they bring in - they're affiliated with remington park.

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## soonerguru

Diamond sucks and is not the solution.

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## jrod

My wife and I just moved back to OKC from a 2 year stint in OH. We saw TONS (I'm talking our 4-6 favorite bands, multiple times) of good shows between CLE and Columbus. There is a venue in Columbus (Newport Music Hall) that the Tower Theater on 23rd *could* be very similair to. NMH is very urban, and on a very busy street with Ohio St.'s campus on one side and a neighborhood on the other. They have bands basically every night, for any taste. Every show I saw there was sold out (the campus next door helped).

Are we 100% what Tower will be once it is complete? I, personally, think it would make a fantastic mid-sized venue.

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## RadicalModerate

Having never moved from OKC since arriving here in '73, I look forward to the upcoming concert at either VZD's or The Blue Door featuring Spinal Tap, The Dewey Cox Review, and Trout Fishing in America. (if the "OKC Music Scene" isn't limited to "local" bands.)

If OKC Music Scene IS limited to "local bands" then I'd like to go to a concert by the groups that used to provide the background music to that cutting-edge OETA program from a few years back . . . Utopia Joe.

I suppose that I will have to settle for missing Devo and Blonde tomorrow night at The Zoo (amphitheater).

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## OkieHornet

> Having never moved from OKC since arriving here in '73, I look forward to the upcoming concert at either VZD's or The Blue Door featuring Spinal Tap, The Dewey Cox Review, and Trout Fishing in America. (if the "OKC Music Scene" isn't limited to "local" bands.)
> 
> If OKC Music Scene IS limited to "local bands" then I'd like to go to a concert by the groups that used to provide the background music to that cutting-edge OETA program from a few years back . . . Utopia Joe.
> 
> I suppose that I will have to settle for missing Devo and Blonde tomorrow night at The Zoo (amphitheater).


the oh johnny girls did the theme song to utopia joe, and i think they're still playing shows around town every once in a while.

and devo/blondie is sept 20, so you won't miss it!

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## RadicalModerate

That's my birthday.  I have to work.

I'm old. I confused the dates of Blondie/Devo with the one including John Fullbright that happens tonight. Downtown. That's the one I have to miss now.

But thanks for setting the record straight.  =)

BTW: Didn't "Hosty Duo" have some connection with The Utopia Joe Show?

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## OkieHornet

> That's my birthday.  I have to work.
> 
> I'm old. I confused the dates of Blondie/Devo with the one including John Fullbright that happens tonight. Downtown. That's the one I have to miss now.
> 
> But thanks for setting the record straight.  =)
> 
> BTW: Didn't "Hosty Duo" have some connection with The Utopia Joe Show?


i think hosty may have been a musical guest on the show? if i remember right, there were a few bands he had on the show - the boom bang rings a bell.

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## RadicalModerate

I miss the Utopia Joe Show. OETA never should have sold out to The Papa's Fiddle cabal.  =)
(just kidding.)

BTW: The last event I attended at The Zoo Amphitheater involved a swarmherd of Semi-Simian Biker Wannabeez posing as "Security" and confiscating umbrellas and whatnot just prior to a torrential, monsoonesque rainstorm that occurred during an appearance by a touring company of A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor involving music.  Has the new management of The Zoo Amphitheater raised the bar a bit? SecurityEnforcerWise?

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## soonermike81

anything new on the okc music scene in regards to venus?  my buddy's band from denver is looking to do a small concert in okc in a few months, and wanted some ideas on where they can play.  he's currently looking at the conservatory.

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## TheGhosts

Hellloo OKC folks.  The Ghosts Along the Brazos will be playing The Blue Door tonight at 8.  We are 3 singer-songwriter-instrumentalists playing piano/organ/melodica, guitar and upright bass.  We were fortunate to receive 4 Austin Music Awards.  Feel free and mag us if you are interested in coming out to the show.  Thanks OKC music scene for your time.

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## ShiroiHikari

I ended up at VZD's last weekend because a friend invited me to see her brother's band. I'm 29 and I felt like I was about 10 years too old to be hanging out there. 

And yes, I'm aware that 29 - 10 = 19, which is underage. That's...kind of my point. 

Also the place is on the small side, but the music was still LOUD. I've been to some concerts in my day, but man, this was easily the loudest one I've ever been to. You know it's too loud when it causes physical pain in your ears. Either that or I really am just getting old.

I like the idea of supporting local bands but...maybe I need to try a different venue next time.

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## White Peacock

> I ended up at VZD's last weekend because a friend invited me to see her brother's band. I'm 29 and I felt like I was about 10 years too old to be hanging out there. 
> 
> And yes, I'm aware that 29 - 10 = 19, which is underage. That's...kind of my point. 
> 
> Also the place is on the small side, but the music was still LOUD. I've been to some concerts in my day, but man, this was easily the loudest one I've ever been to. You know it's too loud when it causes physical pain in your ears. Either that or I really am just getting old.
> 
> I like the idea of supporting local bands but...maybe I need to try a different venue next time.


When I lived in Portland, I went to see Aldebaran, a great local doom metal band, at the famous Satyricon venue. I'm a life long metalhead, and I've been to loads of metal shows and had my fair share of tinnitus, but this one was loud at unsafe levels. It hurt, and I was functionally deaf for a few days. I thought it was permanent. Now I wear earplugs at shows.

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## iMAX386

God I would love to see the Tower Theater or Farmers Market turned into a midsize venue.  It would suffice while my heart dreams of the day we could pull in a House of Blues or something like that.

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## RadicalModerate

I can't seem to locate the thread on The Spy FM so I'll ask this here: Last night, about 8:15pm, on my way home from work, I tuned into The Spy (on KOSU).  What was on the air was what I suppose was a rebroadcast of a show called Oklahoma Rock.  They were playing a mesmerizing tune that featured an insistant bass line reminiscent of the Beatles "Obla-di Obla-dah" along with a "wall of sound" that reminded me of old Phil Spector productions except for the arrangment was more like Reggae mixed with Tejano music.  And I mean all that in a GOOD way.  The problem is that I never caught the name of the--presumably--Oklahoma-based band that put all this together.  Any ideas on what the song or the band might be? (I already checked The Spy and Oklahoma Rock for playlists but came up empty).

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