OKLAHOMA CITY — Across the city, stages are heating up through February and March, getting an early start to the year in live music at a time when a lot of us are still licking our New Year’s wounds and clinging hopelessly to our resolutions.
But it’s not just all the locally focused concerts around town that are driving the live music options over these next couple months. There are also tours galore traveling through and bringing a wide range of tastes and styles to some of our biggest stages.
From a country legend to a blues workman and from indie-rock royalty to some modern monsters of metal, February and March tours will be bringing just about anything you could want.
Dwight Yoakam – Paycom Center – Friday, February 21st
Surely one of the living legends of American country music, Dwight Yoakam has seen his share of ups and downs throughout his career, both personally and professionally, especially when it comes to public interest in his brand of traditionalist, emotional storytelling in country and western song.
Just a handful of years ago, he rolled through OKC at the Jones Assembly, a respectable stage, to be sure, but nothing compared to cavernous Paycom Center, where he’ll take up residence for a night late this month.
The past few years have seen a major resurgence in the popularity of 80s and 90s country, with the stars of that time enjoying another round of rousing success. And as one of the most respected songwriters of that period’s country scene, Yoakam is once again back on our city’s biggest stage.
For times, tickets, and more, visit paycomcenter.com.
Tab Benoit – Tower Theatre – Sunday, March 2nd
If the dirtiest, swampiest blues is your thing, then you better be at the Tower on March 2nd to catch one of the circuit’s most unstoppable guitar-wielding journeymen, Tab Benoit.
Born and based down in Louisiana, Benoit brings a kind of baptized-in-sweat ferocity to his playing that’s become unfortunately rare to find in the modern age of coif-haired YouTube “blues” players all angling to be the next John Mayer.
Benoit is the antidote to all that.
While all those other blues hobbyists are busy buying gear and chasing their perfect tones, Benoit plugs straight into a screamingly loud amp – no pedals, no toys, no fuss – and just wails on his fiery, no-frills Delta sound.
For times, tickets, and more, visit towertheatreokc.com.
Band of Horses – Criterion – Saturday, March 8th
If introspective, Millennial indie-rock is more your speed, then the odds are high that you’re already well aware of Band of Horses.
Driven by the heart-on-the-floor songwriting and ascendant, reverb-engulfed vocals of leader Ben Bridwell, Band of Horses have spent the past two decades carving out a space for themselves on the outskirts of the rock scene, occasionally poking their heads into the mainstream to prove they’re still kicking.
Well, they’ll be kicking once again when they ride through OKC and hit The Criterion, where Bridwell’s unmistakable soaring voice should find plenty of hard surfaces and high ceilings to bounce around.
For times, tickets, and more, visit criterionokc.com.
Violent Femmes – Criterion – Tuesday, March 25th
How about some introspective Gen-X indie-rock instead?
Violent Femmes are one of those bands that have been monumentally influential and consequential in the annals of underground rock and folk, but that have arguably never carried that weight into the mainstream.
Save for the short, glorious mid-90s period where their 1983 single “Blister in the Sun” suddenly found itself in a momentary slew of movies, the Femmes have always been relegated to counterculture kings, reliably plugging away at their weirdo, frantically strummed, acoustic punk sound.
But now the indie love and street-cred reputation they’ve built are leading them to one of OKC’s biggest stages as they stomp and howl their way into The Criterion next month.
So prepare your hands for clapping, because that big double-tap kickoff to “Blister” reaches the stratosphere with a little audience participation.
For times, tickets, and more, visit criterionokc.com.
Pallbearer – Beer City Music Hall – Friday, March 28th
One of the tentpole acts of modern doom metal, Pallbearer have created something of an institution out of their crushing, soul-churning downtuned riffs and long-form progressive structuring.
While many in the current age of metal are content to chug endlessly or assault your ears with ceaseless blast beats and finger-tapped guitar scales, Pallbearer have carried the torch of truly powerful, psychedelic doom, with aural quests and dark side spirit journeys through hell.
They can definitely still pick up the pace and blast through some shredding and head-spinning energy, but it’s the patience and atmosphere that they wrench out of their brain-worming riffing and affected, unmistakably Sabbath-esque vocals that make the trip more important than the destination.
It’s tough to believe that the small footprint of Beer City will be able to handle the sheer intensity and gravitational weight of Pallbearer, but even if they blow the walls out and open up the ground beneath, it’s bound to be worth it.
For times, tickets, and more, visit beercitymusichall.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 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.
