Last Updated on April 24, 2024, 11:25 AM | Published: April 24, 2024
OKLAHOMA CITY (Free Press) — When Arts Council OKC’s 58th annual Festival of the Arts kicks off this week on April 25th, much of the focus will be on the visual artists, with painters, photographers, sketch artists, and sculptors generating upwards of $1 million in art sales.
But the festival exists to celebrate art and artists in all their forms, and that means shining a massive, multi-day, multi-stage light on music and the performing arts as well, bringing together a wide range of diverse and creative musicians and dance acts throughout the weekend.
As 2024 is the festival’s first year since some management and staff shakeups behind the scenes of Arts Council, the lineup and staging will look a little different than in previous years.
There’s a bit less focus on the city’s buzzing rock and pop scene, more recurring artists performing multiple times over the fest’s (recently reduced) four-day run, and a new, somewhat experimental incorporation of the Art Moves program, placing performers in various unexpected places all across the festival grounds.
So if your Festival of the Arts plans consist less of fine arts dealings and more of grabbing some food and drinks and soaking up a weekend’s worth of fantastic free concerts, these artists can’t be missed.
Kendrik McKinney Jazz Collective – Festival Main Stage – Thursday, April 25th – 7:30 PM
Still the reigning king of OKC’s recently exploding young jazz scene, McKinney unquestionably has the performance and directorial chops to entertain as one of the city’s best bandleaders. But he’s also able to collect and showcase the best jazz talent in the community, pulling from a long roster of collaborators and regular players at his multiple weekly jazz nights and jams.
It’s no surprise, then, that when McKinney headlines the festival’s Main Stage on Thursday night, it’ll be alongside a full “collective” of players culled from all across the scene.
Whether you’re a recent jazz convert or a lifelong diehard, this is the set to catch during Festival of the Arts and likely during the entire spring and summer season in OKC.
The Powell Brothers – Paycom Stage – Thursday, April 25th – 7:30 PM
One of the highest profile out-of-town acts to take the stage at this year’s festival, country duo The Powell Brothers (feature photo) are bringing their Houston-bred Texan brand of country music to OKC audiences on the east-facing Paycom Stage at the back of City Hall.
If you prefer Southern twang, cowboy dancing, and electrified energy to the more heady, jazzy improvisation over at the Main Stage, then this is where you’ll need to be on Thursday night.
Relevo Blindado – Main Stage – Friday, April 26th – 4:00 PM
One of the best things about the Festival of the Arts’ music lineup has always been a commitment to multiculturalism and multi-genre booking, and though 2024 sees the schedule reduced by two full days, organizers have stayed true to that ethos of diversity with acts like Mexican Folk outfit Relevo Blindado.
Friday is set to be the hottest day of this year’s fest – with temperatures inching up above 80 – and what better way could there be to enjoy the heat than with some fiery genre-bending, as Relevo Blindado crosses traditional Mexican folk with rock, pop, and big brass horns.
Rod Porter – Paycom Stage – Friday, April 26th – 6:00 PM
One of the festival’s mainstay artists, soul-singing powerhouse Rod Porter tends to blow the roof off of Bicentennial Park every year.
Porter’s voice is pure passion and full-throated fire, even when backed simply by a single guitar, and if you’ve never heard it live, it’s definitely not to be missed.
It’s a surprise to not see him headlining a stage this year, but here’s hoping that he’ll be claiming his rightful spot at the top of the Paycom Stage or taking the Main Stage by storm in 2025.
Sarafina Byrd – South Civic Center Steps – Saturday, April 27th – 12:00 PM
One of the city’s very best, most soulful forces in the R&B scene, Sarafina Byrd is another Festival of the Arts veteran, and this year, she’s popping up no fewer than three times throughout the weekend.
In addition to her anticipated Main Stage spot on Friday night, Byrd will be appearing in non-stage locations around the festival as part of the newly re-imagined Art Moves element, which will see performers giving sets in surprising places around the park.
Getting to see her in a more intimate, early afternoon solo set on the steps of Civic Center is likely to be a breath of fresh air, and a perfect way to kick off the weekend proper at the festival.
Lunar Division – Paycom Stage – Saturday, April 27th – 5:00 PM
One of the city’s most awesome and unstoppable straight-up, no-frills rock bands, Lunar Division are still on a high from the release of their new album “Monuments” late last month, and they’ll be bringing all that energy to the Paycom Stage on the festival’s jam-packed Saturday evening.
The lineup is a bit lighter on heavier, full-on rock stylings this year, so if you’re ready for some big-chord/big-drum singalongs to bring the sun down on Saturday, Lunar Division will have you covered.
OKC Philharmonic & OKC Ballet – Main Stage – Saturday, April 27th – 8:00 PM
Arguably the main event of the entire performing arts lineup for this year, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic – led by Maestro Alexander Micklethwate – will be collaborating live with the Oklahoma City Ballet, combining the awe-inspiring talents of our city’s best classical musicians and dancers.
The opportunity to see these musical, performing forces outside beneath the moonlight is a rare one, surely not to be missed.
LABRYS – Paycom Stage – Saturday, April 27th – 8:00 PM
Of course, if you’ve come to rock, then no amount of orchestras and ballet dancers is going to hold a candle to LABRYS.
I’ve said countless times in this column before that LABRYS (AKA Penny Pitchlynn) is very likely Oklahoma’s best and most powerfully raw songwriter, and now with long-awaited album “10:10” finally released to the world, she and her band are riding a wave of renewed intensity and purpose.
Brad Fielder – Main Stage – Sunday, April 28th – 5:00 PM
Another recent recurring character in this very column, Fielder is something of a junkyard blues madman, harnessing some barely-wrangled chaos into his own brand of raw, weirdo blues music.
Even the festival organizers clearly have a hard time defining Fielder’s sound, listing his genre as “Folk/Country Blues/Ragtime/Jug Band.”
Seeing him bring all of that wildness and near-unhinged energy to the Main Stage on the festival’s closing evening should be one for the books.
For more info, including a complete lineup of performing artists at the 58th annual Festival of the Arts, visit artscouncilokc.com.
Brett Fieldcamp has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly 15 years, writing for several local and state publications. He’s also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
