Here’s your guide to the can’t-miss music at Plaza Fest 25

OKLAHOMA CITY — It’s safe to say that OKC’s historic Plaza District on NW 16th Street has been seeing some serious changes lately.

New businesses have been popping up to change the district’s character and clientele, established businesses have been hopping between Plaza spaces like a game of musical storefronts, and longtime district businesses are preparing to move out of the Plaza for the first time.

So it’s with that sense of sea change and evolution that the district’s annual Plaza Fest – the yearly showcase blowout for Plaza businesses, partners, and performers – is celebrating its 25th year late this month with a musical lineup that feels particularly diverse and wide-ranging.

The day-long festival will shut down 16th Street on Saturday, September 28th, and see two stages offering music and dance performances from noon until well after dark.

With a slate that runs from heavy rock to Latino pop to vibe-soaked instrumentals and some of the state’s very best hip-hop, this year’s Plaza Fest is aiming to show off the district’s wide cultural appeal through the sheer diversity of music on display.

Everything Goes Dance  – Plaza Fest Main Stage – 12:00 PM

Everything Goes Dance Studio has been a mainstay in The Plaza for decades, but is actually moving out of the district now for the first time amid changing plans and evolving intentions for the property ownership in the area.

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Everything Goes Dance

But the all-ages, all-styles dance school and studio – arguably one of the district’s formative cultural businesses – is set to retain an indefinite presence in The Plaza, particularly at the annual festival, with performances and showcases for young dance students to show off their moves.

Merry Walkers – ACM Stage – 12:30 PM

Kicking off the rock n roll side of things early in the afternoon is heavy-hitting three-piece Merry Walkers, one of the city’s perennial best bets for battering, fuzzed-out hard rock.

This power trio drops just a touch of stoner metal into their semi-throwback, Hendrix-style of relentlessly guitar-driven rock, promising an especially loud start to the day.

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Merry Walkers

Lee Hernan – Plaza Fest Main Stage – 3:00 PM

Showcasing the district’s (and the city’s) rich, historic Latino community and culture, Puerto Rican-born singer Lee Hernan is bringing her soulful Boricua pop to the Plaza Fest Main Stage.

You can expect Spanish-language singalongs, infectious dance moves, and the kinds of Latin rhythms that’ll make it practically impossible to keep your own body from moving.

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Lee Hernan

Speak, Memory – Plaza Fest Main Stage – 5:00 PM

Bringing some cinematic, instrumental post-rock vibes to the early evening is Speak, Memory.

The scene veterans are still hot on the heels of their recent release of “Adirondack Remixed,” a re-imagined take on their 2021 “Adirondack EP” featuring the original tracks remixed by the creative likes of Bronte, Buzzcut, and Young Weather.

They’ll be dropping all the angular guitar riffs and big sweeping post-rock builds that you can handle just as the day’s heat hits its dramatic peak.

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Speak, Memory (photo by Samuel Morrison)

Elephunk – ACM Stage – 6:30 PM

Could funk-rock fusion upstarts Elephunk be one of the most fun young bands on the OKC scene right now?

Well, if you’re into saxophone jamming and electrified, funky R&B, then the answer is resoundingly “yes.”

Bring your dancing shoes and your best strut and get ready for some high-energy fusion and a sprinkling of some stone-cold classic funk-soul songs to light up the festival’s second stage just as the sun begins to set.

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Elephunk

Original Flow and the Wavvez – Plaza Fest Main Stage – 8:00 PM 

I’ve said it before and I’ll keep screaming it from the rooftops if I have to: Flow and the Wavvez are the most exciting act in Oklahoma right now.

Marrying Flow’s dramatic, rhythmic storytelling with some of the best musicians culled from all across the scene, incorporating funk, gentle soul, hard rock, and even progressive jazz, the sheer scope of talent and passion on stage is palpable.

There might be no other act on the scene right now that so fully encapsulates the cultural and sonic diversity of OKC itself, and they’ll be showcasing that range in what’s guaranteed to be an electrifying Main Stage performance for the fest.

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Original Flow and the Wavvez

Skating Polly – Plaza Fest Main Stage – 9:00 PM

This year’s festival headliners are shining a wild, punk-rock floodlight on the breakout appeal of OKC’s musical community for the wider world as sibling rockers Skating Polly close out the Main Stage with what’s sure to be an energetically fiery set.

With the original “Pollys” – step-sisters Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse – now joined by their brother Kurtis on drums, the family band is continuing to explode on the national stage with 2023’s “Chaos County Line” garnering praise for its irresistibly fun and chaotic flair.

They’ll be hitting the Plaza Fest Main Stage with an experience and veteran confidence normally reserved for performers twice their age, proving once again just how unexpectedly creative and left-field Oklahoma City music can be.
For more information about the 25th Annual Plaza Fest, including the full lineup and schedule of musical performers, visit plazafest.org and plazadistrict.org.

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Skating Polly (photo by Christopher Riggs)

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.


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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.