As we await the full lineups and schedule drops for April’s annual deluge of diverse music festivals like the Norman Music Fest and the Arts Council’s Festival of the Arts, we can still plan for some high-energy, high-emotion standalone shows over the next month.
Often, a lot of our locals will slow down a little before heading into festival season, giving themselves a bit of time and space to build buzz around an anticipated festival slot. But this year, there’s no shortage of exciting shows happening just before all the late-month festival kick-offs.
The next few weeks around OKC are set to be loaded with sentimental indie-rock, fuzz-blasted shoegaze, epically mindful hip-hop, and more.
So if you’re looking for a good excuse to get out and warm up for the impending festivities, or if you’re looking to discover some new artists before all the multi-day, multi-stage mayhem begins later this month, here’s a handful of opportunities to do so.
Starling / Some Fear / Bliss – Resonant Head – Wednesday, April 9th
Hazy, textural Los Angeles-based indie-gazers Starling are set to float through OKC this week, and it’s tough to think of any venue better suited to their spaced-out, kaleidoscopic sound than the colorful and otherworldly Resonant Head.
But the night is also set to be filled out with two of the city’s best collective purveyors of dense, atmospheric alt-rock with Some Fear and Bliss.
Some Fear hit the ground running earlier this year with their debut album dropping back in January, all loaded with fuzzy texture and pleading emotionalism, and Bliss have proven themselves to be some heavyweights of building and exploding shoegaze-y intensity.
This is a lineup bound to keep your head swimming for days.
For times, tickets, and more, visit resonanthead.com.
Juneteenth on the East Mixer at Mix-Tape – Factory Obscura – Friday, April 11th
How about a little mini-fest to help support another of the big festivals later in the year?
With Love OKC, the organizers behind the mammoth Juneteenth on the East festival, will be taking over Factory Obscura’s Mix-Tape location for an all-night hip-hop and R&B blowout, fashion show, and community mixer to raise funds for this year’s Juneteenth celebration on the historic Eastside.
The lineup for the evening boasts some of the city’s heaviest hitters, including scene superstar Nia Mone, R&B songstress Bella Burns, soul-funk singer Dezzy with the masterful DJ Reaper, and of course the unstoppable Original Flow.
All donations and proceeds collected will go to With Love OKC to not only help fund Juneteenth on the East, but all of their community events, outreach efforts, and art shows.
For more information, follow @withloveokc on Instagram.
Gabriel Hancock / Donovan Funk / Maddie Razook – 51st Street Speakeasy – Saturday, April 12th
Maybe what you need is a night of heart-on-sleeve folk-rock and some raw, intimate songwriting to help weather the outside world right now.
Gabrial Hancock and the Sick Forms will be leading the pack, celebrating the release of some new tracks full of all the barely contained fire that defines Hancock’s songwriting.
He’ll be joined by the cinematic indie stylings of alt-rocker Donovan Funk and the refreshingly honest and confidently vulnerable folk-rock storytelling of the wonderful Maddie Razook.
This is the kind of homegrown, fiercely independent local show that the Speakeasy was made for.
For more information, follow @the_speak on Instagram.
Mix-Tape Vol. 6 Listening Party – Factory Obscura – Thursday, April 17th
Each year, the Factory Obscura team brings together a selection of local artists to write and record some brand new tracks, each inspired by one of the interactive, emotionally oriented rooms inside the permanent Factory Obscura immersive experience Mix-Tape.
And then, fittingly, those songs are recorded and released together on an annual mix tape of their own, not only showcasing some of the best in OKC’s musical talent, but also showcasing the full emotional and stylistic range and diversity of the scene.
This year, that includes brand new tracks from YZMN, Sky Hemenway, Berta B, Mad Honey, Kae, and Cowtippers. And on this one special night, adults will not only have the chance to hang out and explore Mix-Tape after hours, but will also be able to hear each of the tracks inside the immersive room that inspired it.
For times, tickets, and more information, visit factoryobscura.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.
