Concerts in Oklahoma City

[baralheia]

Odesza Oct 12th paycom arena, curious how many attend

Odesza is pretty dang good. They have this really nice electropop/future bass kind of sound, and were one of the headliners at Backwoods Music Festival in 2015 (back when Backwoods was still in Oklahoma). Their track, "Say My Name", is a good intro to the kind of music they play. Definitely thinking about grabbing tickets myself.

[Tyson]

Paycom Center just announced Olivia Rodrigo coming to OKC a few hours ago. I am, by no means, a big fan but I thought that was good news for OKC haha.

[Urbanized]

Not sure if it will be on this leg, but I’ve heard that Breeders are the opening act. I’d go just for them if so. But Olivia Rodrigo got some (poppy) punk cred if you ask me. I ignored her for a long time because I thought she was something she’s not. IRL the girl’s a rocker.

[chssooner]

Paycom has been killing it. Adam Sandler, OR, Fall Out Boy, TobyMac, Rod Wave, and Jeff Dunham all announced this week. Not a bad week.

[SEMIweather]

Not sure if it will be on this leg, but I’ve heard that Breeders are the opening act. I’d go just for them if so. But Olivia Rodrigo got some (poppy) punk cred if you ask me. I ignored her for a long time because I thought she was something she’s not. IRL the girl’s a rocker.

The Breeders are only opening for her LA shows, I think.

[Urbanized]

Aw, dang. Would have liked to see them again after a lot of intervening years.

[midtownokcer]

Paycom Center just announced Olivia Rodrigo coming to OKC a few hours ago. I am, by no means, a big fan but I thought that was good news for OKC haha.

Definitely a huge get. Glad we got a show like this over Tulsa/BOK. She is definitely a super talented singer-songwriter for her age.

[Tyson]

Definitely a huge get. Glad we got a show like this over Tulsa/BOK. She is definitely a super talented singer-songwriter for her age.

For sure, she is very gifted! I’m very impressed with what she has accomplished. Just not what I listen to, that’s all.

[warreng88]

For anyone in the know, why would a tour like this come to Paycom versus BOK besides date availability? I looked at the BOK website and it doesn't look like they have anything scheduled for that date, but that doesn't mean something isn't currently in the works for those dates. And it doesn't look like she has been to Tulsa before. I know on a some bigger tours, acts will go to Tulsa on the front end and OKC on the bankend or vice versa.

[chssooner]

For anyone in the know, why would a tour like this come to Paycom versus BOK besides date availability? I looked at the BOK website and it doesn't look like they have anything scheduled for that date, but that doesn't mean something isn't currently in the works for those dates. And it doesn't look like she has been to Tulsa before. I know on a some bigger tours, acts will go to Tulsa on the front end and OKC on the bankend or vice versa.

Maybe the Paycom is trying harder now. Or there isn't as elaborate of a stage. So they don't need 4 or 5 tour trucks.

[BoulderSooner]

For anyone in the know, why would a tour like this come to Paycom versus BOK besides date availability? I looked at the BOK website and it doesn't look like they have anything scheduled for that date, but that doesn't mean something isn't currently in the works for those dates. And it doesn't look like she has been to Tulsa before. I know on a some bigger tours, acts will go to Tulsa on the front end and OKC on the bankend or vice versa.

OKC is a bigger city and market

[warreng88]

OKC is a bigger city and market

I know that, but that doesn't seem to stop a lot of tours from going to Tulsa and not OKC. Just looking at pollstar.com, Nickelback, Jonas Brothers, Aerosmith, Travis Scott and Tim MCGraw are all playing Tulsa and not OKC. On the other hand, Odesza, Adam Sandler, Jeff Dunham, Fall Out Boy and OR are playing Paycom and not Tulsa. Again, just trying to understand why that happens.

[soonerguru]

I know that, but that doesn't seem to stop a lot of tours from going to Tulsa and not OKC. Just looking at pollstar.com, Nickelback, Jonas Brothers, Aerosmith, Travis Scott and Tim MCGraw are all playing Tulsa and not OKC. On the other hand, Odesza, Adam Sandler, Jeff Dunham, Fall Out Boy and OR are playing Paycom and not Tulsa. Again, just trying to understand why that happens.

I don't have any special insight, but OKC has been a sleeping giant for live music for a long time. Cain's got a lot of street cred with all kinds of tours in the early aughts and then Tulsa opened the new arena. Then, Tulsa got a lot of national pub for its music scene as a a result.

Conversely, OKC's venue situation was quite a mess. Tours would just bypass OKC because there weren't appropriate places to play. On top of that, multiple concert tours had to bypass OKC because Chesapeake / Paycom was already scheduled for Thunder games.

Since the pandemic, the venue situation in OKC is like 100 times better than it was, and it continues to improve. The laws of gravity will eventually take over here, and to Boulder's point, this is just a bigger city than Tulsa.

I went to Sylvan Esso at Jones the other night and I was super impressed by the variety of the crowd, the sophistication of the audience, and how packed the place was. Just about every meaningful show I've been to in the last year or so has been extremely well attended. OKC's concert scene is growing quickly, and this will feed on itself as OKC gets more of a rep with artists as a great place to play.

It sounds trite but when I saw Snail Mail in April, Lindsey Jordan said sincerely that OKC was the best show on their entire tour. I think a lot of artists just have no idea what to expect here so when it's so great like that, they tell other artists.

I've never been more excited about the concert / live music set-up in OKC as I am right now.

[warreng88]

I don't have any special insight, but OKC has been a sleeping giant for live music for a long time. Cain's got a lot of street cred with all kinds of tours in the early aughts and then Tulsa opened the new arena. Then, Tulsa got a lot of national pub for its music scene as a a result.

Conversely, OKC's venue situation was quite a mess. Tours would just bypass OKC because there weren't appropriate places to play. On top of that, multiple concert tours had to bypass OKC because Chesapeake / Paycom was already scheduled for Thunder games.

Since the pandemic, the venue situation in OKC is like 100 times better than it was, and it continues to improve. The laws of gravity will eventually take over here, and to Boulder's point, this is just a bigger city than Tulsa.

I went to Sylvan Esso at Jones the other night and I was super impressed by the variety of the crowd, the sophistication of the audience, and how packed the place was. Just about every meaningful show I've been to in the last year or so has been extremely well attended. OKC's concert scene is growing quickly, and this will feed on itself as OKC gets more of a rep with artists as a great place to play.

It sounds trite but when I saw Snail Mail in April, Lindsey Jordan said sincerely that OKC was the best show on their entire tour. I think a lot of artists just have no idea what to expect here so when it's so great like that, they tell other artists.

I've never been more excited about the concert / live music set-up in OKC as I am right now.

I haven't really thought about it that way and that makes sense. I grew up in the Tulsa area and Cain's was like a second home to me. I can't tell you how many concerts I saw there. In three years from 1997-1999 through Junior and Senior year in high school and as a freshman in college at TCC, I think I went to shows once a week and knew the bouncers by name. Then as those acts grew bigger and knew what to expect in Tulsa, they probably moved from the Vanguard to Cain's to Brady to River Parks and then to an arena.

I would love to see what the OKC music scene looks like in ten years after Beer City, Tower, Criterion and Jones get some more notoriety about them. Another place that is little under the radar is Resonant Head. They have a ton of shows coming up through the end of October. Now, they aren't any I have heard of, but the fact that they are booking four shows a week there is pretty impressive. It will only get better when the owners start working on the Opry next door.

[TheTravellers]

...

Since the pandemic, the venue situation in OKC is like 100 times better than it was, and it continues to improve. The laws of gravity will eventually take over here, and to Boulder's point, this is just a bigger city than Tulsa. ...

Actually, the pandemic has nothing to do with it. It started when Criterion, Tower and Jones were built/remodeled, back in 2016. Those and the booking organizations kickstarted it all.

[HOT ROD]

I don;t think he's saying the Pandemic had anything to do with it, he's only using it as a timeline marker noting when things finally started to gel because the venues have been open for a while. Back in 2016 when they opened, it was still very cheap pickings in OKC for concerts (remember Criterion was empty for so long. ..) but now (or since the pandemic) the venues are known and "mature" so there's more action overall in the city.

[Cocaine]

I haven't really thought about it that way and that makes sense. I grew up in the Tulsa area and Cain's was like a second home to me. I can't tell you how many concerts I saw there. In three years from 1997-1999 through Junior and Senior year in high school and as a freshman in college at TCC, I think I went to shows once a week and knew the bouncers by name. Then as those acts grew bigger and knew what to expect in Tulsa, they probably moved from the Vanguard to Cain's to Brady to River Parks and then to an arena.

I would love to see what the OKC music scene looks like in ten years after Beer City, Tower, Criterion and Jones get some more notoriety about them. Another place that is little under the radar is Resonant Head. They have a ton of shows coming up through the end of October. Now, they aren't any I have heard of, but the fact that they are booking four shows a week there is pretty impressive. It will only get better when the owners start working on the Opry next door.

I’m also gonna have to agree with resonant head. I went to a concert there a few weeks ago and it’s a pretty chill small venue. I’m not sure there’s anything else to compare it too.

[soonerguru]

Actually, the pandemic has nothing to do with it. It started when Criterion, Tower and Jones were built/remodeled, back in 2016. Those and the booking organizations kickstarted it all.

Ugh. You are exhausting. I didn't say the Pandemic was the reason. It seems to have metastasized since the Pandemic. But, thanks for weighing in.

[soonerguru]

I don;t think he's saying the Pandemic had anything to do with it, he's only using it as a timeline marker noting when things finally started to gel because the venues have been open for a while. Back in 2016 when they opened, it was still very cheap pickings in OKC for concerts (remember Criterion was empty for so long. ..) but now (or since the pandemic) the venues are known and "mature" so there's more action overall in the city.

Thank you. That is exactly what I was trying to say.

Anyone trying to say the OKC music scene was anything noteworthy on a regular basis, with critical mass, prior to the pandemic must have been living in a different city than I was.

So, yes, when you throw in random places like Resonant Head, the reopening of Blue Note, Beer City, and more, it's obvious that there is a critical mass of live music right now, post-pandemic, that exceeds anything in memory for OKC.

[Richard at Remax]

Tool announced for Feb 3 at Paycom. Really excited to finally see them here.

[sooner88]

Turnpike Troubadours and Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit at Paycom was announced for 1/19 and 1/20 with presale starting tomorrow. Presale password is CHIPPINGMILL.

[TheTravellers]

Tool announced for Feb 3 at Paycom. Really excited to finally see them here.

I've never seen them, but I know my brother has, so I thought "finally" was strange to say, so I checked, and yes, they've been here before: 1992, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010.

[Richard at Remax]

I've never seen them, but I know my brother has, so I thought "finally" was strange to say, so I checked, and yes, they've been here before: 1992, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010.

Apologies for the lack of context. I became a legit fan post that 2010 concert. I was going to see them in June 2020 at Paycom but it was eventually canceled. I have seen them in 2019 in Tulsa and 2022 in Dallas. So just glad to see them in my home city.

[TheTravellers]

Apologies for the lack of context. I became a legit fan post that 2010 concert. I was going to see them in June 2020 at Paycom but it was eventually canceled. I have seen them in 2019 in Tulsa and 2022 in Dallas. So just glad to see them in my home city.

Gotcha, and yeah, I remember my brother being bummed about that cancellation...

[Brett]

OKC adjacent Midwest City is hosting Tommy Emmanuel at the Hudiburg Center on the campus of Rose State College November 29, 2023. He is a truly phenomenal and entertaining guitarist that many people do not know about.