Having a good live music scene requires both a quality venue and a good promoter. If you have one without the other, that is a recipe for a subpar music scene. Up until now, OKC has had neither. In the near future this city will have a great promoter and a few venues to choose from. OKC may never be a top-tier live music city like Austin or Nashville, but it will at least now be on the map.

Personally, I don't really define a city's music scene by what come to the market, but more what comes out of the market. Nashville's and Austin's music scene was built on what happens on 6th street and Broadway more than what tours visit their larger venues. I'm very excited about these new venues and the arrival of top national promoters to the market, but I think a good "music scene" is more dependent on bars and clubs booking quality local /regional acts on a regular basis and those shows being well attended by residents on a regular basis. If you have that, then bands actually come and set up base in your town and an actual industry grows up around it.

Really, I think the best catalyst for an improved music scene is ACM. There's some talented people in that program and if anyone is working to improve the music in OKC, it's the people at that school.

Having national acts will also give our local bands the opportunity to open for them, which can spread their name very quickly. (Lots of national acts bring their own openers instead of using local acts, but it is definitely not out of the question.)

DCF has stepped up their game a bit in the past few years but I think its due to the fact they know they have to with other major players coming to town. I think Live Nation will be a total game changer and we can expect great things witht hem involved. Most shows I have been to in the past 5 years have been Live nation related.

I understand what you say about a vibrant music scene being about local artists, and we don't have a 6th street but OKC does have a lot of music playing around town. maybe I see it more because many of my friends are musicians and invite me out almost every night of the week to see them or a buddy play but if you love live music you can findit pretty easy in this town. Ther are lots of great artists here in OKC.

I understand what you say about a vibrant music scene being about local artists, and we don't have a 6th street but OKC does have a lot of music playing around town. maybe I see it more because many of my friends are musicians and invite me out almost every night of the week to see them or a buddy play but if you love live music you can findit pretty easy in this town. Ther are lots of great artists here in OKC.

This is very true. OKC's music scene is not lacking talent. Like just about every other city that does not have industry support, it can often fluctuate, but it's not like it's not there. Honestly, I think people who often complain about the music scene here don't really go and check out the music that is being performed every week in the city (and probably complain about $5 covers for "a band I've never heard of")

Yet another example of how OKC's burgeoning bar scene is making a difference: Many host live music from time to time.

Although not technically live music venues, many places now provide the opportunity for individuals and small bands to perform, make a bit of cash and be heard.

The one night I was at R&J, they had a jazz guitarist that was very talented, and that's the last place you would think of as a live music venue.

Fassler Hall will soon start to feature live music as will the Rabbit Hole and Power House.

Just so many possibilities once you create places for people to congregate, something that is still relatively new to OKC.

Yet another example of how OKC's burgeoning bar scene is making a difference: Many host live music from time to time.

Although not technically live music venues, many places now provide the opportunity for individuals and small bands to perform, make a bit of cash and be heard.

The one night I was at R&J, they had a jazz guitarist that was very talented, and that's the last place you would think of as a live music venue.

Fassler Hall will soon start to feature live music as will the Rabbit Hole and Power House.

Just so many possibilities once you create places for people to congregate, something that is still relatively new to OKC.

That was most likely Maurice Jonhnson at R&J. Both R&J and Bleu Garten have started "Midtown Jazz Crawl" every Wednesday... pretty awesome to hear that as background music every Wednesday night. Those are the only two places I know doing it right now, but I'm sure they're trying to grow that.

Yet another example of how OKC's burgeoning bar scene is making a difference: Many host live music from time to time.

Although not technically live music venues, many places now provide the opportunity for individuals and small bands to perform, make a bit of cash and be heard.

The one night I was at R&J, they had a jazz guitarist that was very talented, and that's the last place you would think of as a live music venue.

Fassler Hall will soon start to feature live music as will the Rabbit Hole and Power House.

Just so many possibilities once you create places for people to congregate, something that is still relatively new to OKC.

I think it always helps when you have places like that which have their own built in draw and the bands can get broader exposure off the regular crowd. What I think OKC currently lacks is a place where people go specifically to see live music because of the reputation of the bar or club, even if they have no idea who the band may be (though the Blue Note might qualify now). At one point in time, VZDs kind of had that going, but I think that dropped off in recent years with new competition and, possibly, the smoking laws hurt them a bit (for whatever reason, the live rock and roll consumer demographic seems to have more smokers). Now, it sounds like live music will be a lower priority for the new operators.

It will be interesting to see if any of the new places develop a reputation as a place to see live music as a primary draw, that is, where people go there specifically for live music instead of it just being a "value add" for the overall experience.

I think it always helps when you have places like that which have their own built in draw and the bands can get broader exposure off the regular crowd. What I think OKC currently lacks is a place where people go specifically to see live music because of the reputation of the bar or club, even if they have no idea who the band may be (though the Blue Note might qualify now). At one point in time, VZDs kind of had that going, but I think that dropped off in recent years with new competition and, possibly, the smoking laws hurt them a bit (for whatever reason, the live rock and roll consumer demographic seems to have more smokers). Now, it sounds like live music will be a lower priority for the new operators.

It will be interesting to see if any of the new places develop a reputation as a place to see live music as a primary draw, that is, where people go there specifically for live music instead of it just being a "value add" for the overall experience.

A friend from California was in town and asked if there was a place they could go see live music. Aside from country and specific events, there wasn't a single place we could think of. Is there any place I'm not thinking of?

A friend from California was in town and asked if there was a place they could go see live music. Aside from country and specific events, there wasn't a single place we could think of. Is there any place I'm not thinking of?

As of right now, probably Blue Note Lounge would be the best bet. They probably have the best set up for it and pretty much always book Friday and Saturday and a couple of days during the week. Grandad's dabbles in it and the Speakeasy and the Hi-Lo have bands about once a week.

Whiskey chicks regularly has live music. Truly it's hard to find a place on the weekends that doesn't have a band. Heck Baker Street pub on memorial always seems to have acts playing and the majority of the time it's a variety of acts and not just country. We have a great rock scene here and there seems to be a perception going around that the only live music you can see is country and frankly that's just not true.

Belle Isle usually has bands on the weekends

I went to the Arts Festival twice last week and both times sat down and listened to live music on the main stage and both times was very impressed by the performances.

Last weekend, Norman had a music festival that seemed to be wildly successful.

There is certainly all types of live music out there and there are many more places coming on-line.

JJ's Alley has live music on the second floor when I go most of the time and Tapwerks also has a stage on its second floor as well, although I've never been there while it was utilized.

I really am not sure how JJ's does it.. but they have live music 7 days a week. thats a commitment to the live music scene in OKC.

Definitely. I also enjoy the intimacy of live music at JJ's. You are literally right in front of them in a sliver of a room.

my friends play JJ"s a lot. the only draw back is how smokey it is in there. if its a weekday I will come in and see them as they usually play downstairs during the week. On the weekend however its so gross upstairs with all the smoke i just can't take it.

I always liked the mix of both local and national acts that The Bricktown Brewery had in the 90's.

my friends play JJ"s a lot. the only draw back is how smokey it is in there. if its a weekday I will come in and see them as they usually play downstairs during the week. On the weekend however its so gross upstairs with all the smoke i just can't take it.
Is there any real Okc talk about doing away with smoking in bars?

Is there any real Okc talk about doing away with smoking in bars?

The state legislature passed a law stating that cities can't enact smoking laws more strict than the state, so until the state of Oklahoma decides to visit the matter, I don't think things will change.

Is there any real Okc talk about doing away with smoking in bars?

Yes.

http://www.okctalk.com/general-civic-issues/39942-oklahoma-smoking-laws-set-change.html

The state legislature passed a law stating that cities can't enact smoking laws more strict than the state, so until the state of Oklahoma decides to visit the matter, I don't think things will change.

That was good, not bad. Legislation is going to be statewide.

They just tweeted that they've started to pour concrete on their construction site.

They also have a basic website now up:

CRITERIONCriterion Theatre OKC (http://www.criterionokc.com/)

I'll try and get some photos this weekend. This project is so under-the-radar it's like the entertainment version of The Metropolitan.

Partnership with Live Nation is confirmed:

Live Nation partnership to spotlight entertainment at Bricktown venue | News OK (http://newsok.com/live-nation-partnership-to-spotlight-entertainment-at-bricktown-venue/article/5432784)

Yeah buddy!

As a huge music lover and someone who has been spoiled by arguably the best live music scene in the world, this is as big as news as anything else that has happened in OKC in recent years.

I still think Live Nation will be involved at the Tower and maybe even the venue at Chisholm Creek, so the OKC music scene could go from about a 1.5 to an 8 or 9 pretty darn fast.

Anybody else get blocked by Steve on Twitter for saying they heard this on OKCTalk first?

You troll someone on Twitter and you're surprised when they block you? What did you hope to accomplish by tweeting that at him anyway?

I noticed that other people mentioned the same thing to him. I counted 3. Seems like a pretty unnecessary thing to say. Just adding fuel to the fire.

OKCtalk was first, as many times. No need to rub it in.

Live music is my favorite hobby, super excited for OKC to start getting some good exposure to it.

I imagine people were poking at Steve about it because of his tweet (https://twitter.com/stevelackmeyer/status/619331474119114752) regarding the story:


MAJOR BREAKING NEWS - ONLY @NEWSOK HAS STORY: Live Nation partnership to spotlight entertainment at Bricktown venue

Which is kinda sorta not true.

I imagine people were poking at Steve about it because of his tweet (https://twitter.com/stevelackmeyer/status/619331474119114752) regarding the story:



Which is kinda sorta not true.

Wow. I rescind my last comment, no wonder so many called him out. Much deserved.

Awesome!

He has been doing more tweets like that lately, but who cares. That is his job. To get people to read the articles he writes. We know people will read here regardless, so it shouldn't really matter.

Why is it that instead of celebrating all the choices for news and information and understanding their different rolls we get caught up in the petty bickering? This Steve/Oklahoman vs OKC talk nagging is just childish. We heard it here and it is confirmed through Steve. Great.

He has been doing more tweets like that lately, but who cares. That is his job. To get people to read the articles he writes. We know people will read here regardless, so it shouldn't really matter.

Lying & ethics don't matter in journalism now? All that matters is getting clicks from bait? Its OKCtalks job to get people to read here also, and we don't get nearly the amount of traffic he does. Pete gets the story first, he deserves credit for reporting it first.

I appreciate the support but let's please get back to discussing this project.


Live Nation is a big deal -- very exciting stuff.

Great news for sure. and if Live nation also gets a few other venues that is even better. I know they like to have several venues in a market and it gives them more flexibility to book with more dates and different layouts and sizes of venue. this will be a huge change to the OKC music scene which is much needed. I am a huge music fan and travel for concerts all the time due to the bands I want to see not playing locally.

Sorry to derail this Pete, I was just surprised that a member of the media doesn't have thicker skin. I did not troll I sent 2 tweets because I found it unnecessary to act like OKCTalk doesn't exist. I have strongly supported Steve and OKCTalk both great assets. Anyways not a troller just not happy with the disrespect, then Brianna said it was a d*** thing to say.

Anyways very excited for quality of love nation coming to OKC!

Construction site courtesy of David:



http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/criterion072515.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/criterion072515b.jpg

Steel going up (from https://twitter.com/CriterionOKC):

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CPDAbFuVAAAP_P6.jpg

Little by little those weed - filled fields are going away!

Steel going up quickly, west to east view this morning. 11510

Taken this morning:

11549

This building is taller than I expected it to be - which I think is pretty cool. I have high hopes for this project!

I ONLY wish that the sides had retail storefronts blended in, so the building could be 'active' for more than just concerts. .. Just imagine if the walls fronting Sheridan and the side street (I forget) with restaurants and a few shoppes; which you can enter from the street and from inside the Lobby of the concert hall. ...

I really am hoping OKC will start thinking in this way for developments; consider all money making/activity uses for a development and not JUST the primary function in its design. IMO, retail should be built in to nearly every development in the downtown and near downtown areas as a norm. We have some great examples (even in LBT there's the Cintenneal Condo project which adopts this and I'm hopeful the new Cumming's tower will bottom with retail), but we need even large scale formerly singular purposed projects like this to have street fronting retail as well.

Other than that, this project is a home run (just missed out on a grand slam).

Holy cow, this thing is big in person.

Also, note in the second pic how you can actually see the Bricktown Even Center behind it.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/criterion092415a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/criterion092415b.jpg

I ONLY wish that the sides had retail storefronts blended in, so the building could be 'active' for more than just concerts. .. Just imagine if the walls fronting Sheridan and the side street (I forget) with restaurants and a few shoppes; which you can enter from the street and from inside the Lobby of the concert hall. ...

Logistics would probably preclude that - the entrance to the restaurant(s)/shop(s) would allow possibilities of unauthorized access to the concert inside if you can get to them from both inside and outside, and I doubt they'll want to mess with that (extra security, etc.). Oh wait, you said "Lobby", not sure if the "lobby" would extend that far, and I still doubt they'd want to mess with that.

Remember, there will be quite a bit of restaurant/retail along Sheridan directly across the street at the Steelyard.

There is only so much of that type of space the area can support.

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I was taking pictures a few Sunday back and uncovered this old brickroad that runs behind the new Criterion in Bricktown. It was pretty cool you can tell it was a old roadway. Looks like the it was uncovered during the construction. you can see where it was covered with dirt when it was not in use after all these years. There is a cutout leading onto Sheridan and everything so it was a former brick road at one time. It was pretty cool to see this road from the original area.

The all buildings should get retail only makes sense along primary corridors and at this particular point on Sheridan, it's not a primary corridor.

Broadway, Walker, Classen & Reno, NW 4th, NW 10th should very very rarely have a non-active and non-INTERactive street front, but Sheridan becomes a road to nowhere one block away east of Lincoln, so putting in 4,500 more square feet of retail/restaurant is just sucking resources from higher traffic areas. OKC is growing quickly, but that doesn't mean that every new business is going to make it, and I really don't think a clothing shop is going to make it here.

What OKC would be better off doing is learning to take more advantage of the sidewalks. If there were a 20 foot sidewalk between Sheridan and the Criterion then perhaps some cart vendors could pitch tent in the area and make a go at it when concerts are at the venue, roll the car around toward Bricktown Events when there's something there, and generally find good hours of operation that help serve Bricktown in the area and at large (Hotels and Steelyard particularly). There's more than one way to activate a street without incurring the costs of formalized lease-space.

I don't disagree in execution Teo, yes OKC is young and we don't want to overdo it. BUT, Im thinking forward when the city is more mature and the core really fills in, it would be cheaper to build out retail now even if it sits empty or under-utilized for now. Also, I was thinking from a building owner prospective that retail fronting the criterion would provide additional revenue from those 4000+ patrons who come for the concerts. From a city prospective, I was thinking about retail eliminating those blank walls. Retail also encourages walking, particularly if you have a street that has retail frontage.

Another thought, I agree that city owned buildings generally shouldn't have retail as they are institutions and generally are monuments/instrumental design. However, private/commercial use buildings in general SHOULD have as many uses as can be had; and OKC is rather short on retail space downtown (although this is rapidly becoming a non-issue). This thought is best illustrated when you look at a city like Vancouver, OMG, there's retail EVERYWHERE; just about every building has it and there aren't many blank walls. Of course, the city has the population and business to support so much retail but I wish OKC would plan ahead here and Vancouver has excellent examples from which we could benefit from.

Anyway, I see your point but I do hope we can plan for the future too and consider retail as much as possible. Everybody wins, eventually.

Just posted these new renderings on their Twitter feed:



https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CRXp_ePUsAA0N0b.jpg


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CRXp_ayUYAA2blY.jpg


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CRXp_dZUsAAhALT.jpg


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CRXp_hRU8AA4ZKQ.jpg

Last weekend I went to a concert at Gas Monkey Live! (not the bar and grill) in DFW, which is supposedly a 2500 "seat" venue, and that has bar spaces and furnishings like this. So I now get what they're trying to do, I think. If we're able to get the kind of shows they're getting at that venue, I will be lobbying for a "season ticket package" or something because they might just be getting way more of my money than what is probably reasonable...

Last weekend I went to a concert at Gas Monkey Live! (not the bar and grill) in DFW, which is supposedly a 2500 "seat" venue, and that has bar spaces and furnishings like this. So I now get what they're trying to do, I think. If we're able to get the kind of shows they're getting at that venue, I will be lobbying for a "season ticket package" or something because they might just be getting way more of my money than what is probably reasonable...

Those pictures look a lot like the Chevy event center to me.

Those pictures look a lot like the Chevy event center to me.

This was my initial reaction as well.

Also, are the columns not going to disrupt the views?

I agree it looks similar to the CEC as it currently is.

Also, are the columns not going to disrupt the views?

Looks like those are off to the side connected to the balcony. So anyone on the main floor should not be affected.

Hard to know for sure of anything from those renderings, imo. Possibly similar to CEC, but I don't think it needs to be different than that venue to be good, it just needs to be booked better.

Looks like those are off to the side connected to the balcony. So anyone on the main floor should not be affected.

Hard to know for sure of anything from those renderings, imo. Possibly similar to CEC, but I don't think it needs to be different than that venue to be good, it just needs to be booked better.

I dunno, I think those columns will for sure impede views. I'm not sure how they couldn't if somebody was behind them. The good thing is though there will only be GA or VIP/Balcony seating, so you won't be forced to be stuck behind them.

the CEC remodel and the layout of this place have always been similar. its very similar to venues of this size around the country. I've seen several HOB set up very similar as well. Being affiliated with Livenation and hopefully being booked better will be the biggest difference. That coupled with being built from ground up with this layout in mind as apposed to CEC doing a remodel to achieve it should make for good sight lines. These type of venues often have the lower columns as well but are usually GA so you can easily avoid the column if you want.