OKLAHOMA CITY – Have you ever wished for a more direct line connecting bands, fans, and venues, and a more symbiotic and supportive scene that encourages audiences to really engage beyond some social media tags and some dollars dropped on drinks and door charges?
If you’re a band, a fan, or a venue, then I’m just going to go ahead and assume that you said “yes.”
Well, for the past two years (and change) that’s been the goal of Fanwave.io, an OKC-based app and online platform that’s aimed to simplify and aid the booking process on either side of the artist/venue divide by encouraging concertgoers to log their concert-going in exchange for perks and incentives. The result would be a clear way for bookers to see a band’s draw and for fans to connect more directly with artists.
But while it’s been a noble effort to address a stubborn issue in the indie music scene (the challenges of booking for emerging artists,) the constant shifts in show-going habits and a generally wary app-engaging public have made the current iteration of Fanwave an admittedly tough sell.
So it’s going back to drawing board a bit to retool and reconsider how better to engage with fans across the scene, but not before a blowout night of high-octane live music at Resonant Head Friday, March 6th to show appreciation for the bands that best adopted the platform and to garner some new feedback about the kind of platform that audiences might embrace.
“Fanwave definitely isn’t dead,” creator Tanner Smith told me, “but it’s been stagnant and it’s really evolving now. We’re trying to move to where the customers need us to be, and we’re honestly still figuring out where that is.”
So in order to give back a bit to the scene and to launch this new period of reconsideration and reimagining, Smith has invited the four bands that he says engaged most heavily and enthusiastically with this first version of Fanwave for a one-night Artist Showcase at Resonant Head.
That means party punks Limp Wizurdz, indie introspectionists Late Night Messages, rock n roll space explorers Major Good, and alt-metal maestros Visions of Afterlife are all set to converge on Capitol Hill’s coolest indie venue.
“It’s kind of a party, but it’s also a way for me to show appreciation to the bands that used Fanwave the most to promote and log their shows,” Smith said. “But then it’s also about the future, about what’s happening next and where we go from here.”
What’s next is still all about finding a way to better support and bolster the local music scene, and ideally the national touring scene as well, helping to streamline not only the ability for venues to find solid acts for solid bills, but also for bands to better connect with one another, making it easier for touring artists to find like-minded acts and similar audiences.
With the touring industry currently bowing under the weight of soaring travel costs, venue scarcity, and audience ennui, finding a more sustainable and reliable way to book artists and to actually encourage fans to leave the house has become an industry-wide dream.
And maybe this first version of Fanwave didn’t solve those problems, but it served as a small step and a giant leap for Smith in what he says is a quest that he intends to continue.
“The goal is always to help artists discover more fans, help fans discover more shows, and help venues book more responsibly with data that really backs up their booking decisions,” he said. “And so far, Fanwave has been a good experiment, and it gained a lot of traction. But now it’s time for the next step.”
The Fanwave Artist Showcase, featuring Limp Wizurdz, Major Good, Late Night Messages, and Visions of Afterlife, is set for Resonant Head in Capitol Hill Friday, March 6th.
For times, tickets, and more, visit resonanthead.com.
You can find out about local music and performance happenings in the OKC metro weekly in this music column by Brett Fieldcamp. | Brought to you by True Sky Credit Union.
Brett Fieldcamp is the owner and Editor in Chief of Oklahoma City Free Press. He has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly two decades and served as Arts & Entertainment Editor before purchasing the company from founder Brett Dickerson in 2026.
He is also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
