OKLAHOMA CITY — Just when you thought the local concert calendar might be winding down and making way for the summer’s continuing tour slate, here comes a whole new batch of hometown heroes to storm some indie stages and take to the streets.
In just a few-week stretch, OKC stages are set to pack in as much diversity of sound and style as you can handle, from roots rock to punk-rap to driving Americana and even a brass-led Second Line free-for-all.
This late-July/early-August period is bringing some big concert firsts for the scene, with the launch of a new mini music fest experiment and one of the hottest local acts hitting one of the best local stages for the first time and for a good cause.
But it‘s also bringing at least one big “last” as well, as a rule-breaking, era-defining hip-hop institution calls it quits (potentially) for good.
Sativa Prophets farewell show – 51st St. Speakeasy – Friday, August 1st
After more than a decade, insatiably rebellious OKC hip-hop collective Sativa Prophets say they’re officially hanging it up.
Granted, as any one of the group’s longtime fans will quickly point out, they’ve said such things before and it didn’t quite stick.
But this time it feels real, with each of them exploring new creative avenues, professional footholds, and families.
Huckwheat has gotten quite a bit more chill and introspective on recent solo outings and has been developing a solid non-music career. Rod Malone is pursuing his new heady, conceptual multimedia project They Move the Moon. Caj has been slinging solo rhymes and guitar theatrics all over stages as big as the Norman Music Festival.
And the Prophets’ de facto recent ringleader, Mars Deli, has been dedicating more of his time to providing advice and guidance to other up-and-coming artists, encouraging young rappers to keep their heads in the game and not to get distracted by unnecessary stall-outs and momentum-killers.
So it’s in that same spirit that he wants the Prophets to go out on top, still at the height of their energies and of their electric love for one another and their fans.
“I think Sativa Prophets is part of Oklahoma music history,” Mars told me about the legacy he hopes the group leaves behind.
“Keeping a group together for a decade is hard work, and rocking shows is even harder, and I think we get an A+ on both,” he said. “I hope that the city is left with warm memories of when their knees didn’t pop, memories of stomping, clapping, and shaking, memories of the first time they saw us and the last time.”
And when it came time to book the farewell gig, the venue was a no-brainer.
“Speakeasy was our home base for more than a decade,” he said. “It was a bucket list venue for me before I joined the Prophets and it was the first place I ever played with them, on Jabee’s Gift Raps. It’s our house.”
For more, visit 51stspeakeasy.com.
Out West Music Fest – West Village – Friday, July 25th
OKC’s West Village District – the little pocket of Downtown around Sheridan and Main from NW 1st to SW 2nd that also includes the historic Film Row – already hosts a monthly Fourth Friday block party.
But this month, they’re pulling out all the stops, blocking off Sheridan, and attempting a full, one-night mini music festival for the first time.
They’re calling it Out West Music Fest, and they’re definitely packing in as many different sounds and styles as they can into the businesses all up and down the district.
But unlike the usual twenty to thirty minutes of stage time that acts tend to get on a festival lineup, most of the acts will be doing extended sets throughout the evening, giving each location its own little musical character.
That includes Americana duo Sorry Darlin’ plucking out some tunes at DayClub, the hushed pop-folk of Gabee Rolla Danley brightening up The Study, local legend DJ Reaper closing things out with a late-night after party at Flashback, and plenty more all over the district.
And that’s all in addition to the Main Stage on Sheridan showcasing the rootsy throwback alt-rock of Cowboy Jr. and the infectious Second Line-style New Orleans bop of the King Cabbage Brass Band.
The inaugural Out West Music Fest is entirely free. For more information, visit westvillageokc.com.
Beau Jennings & The Tigers w/ Sorry Darlin’ – Resonant Head – Friday, August 15th
Speaking of OKC songsters Sorry Darlin’, they’ll also be taking the Resonant Head stage alongside a major local group and a great cause.
That’s because Americana rockers Beau Jennings & The Tigers are finally hitting Resonant Head for the first time, bringing the homespun, down-to-earth honesty of their songwriting to the otherworldly hyper-color stage of Capitol Hill’s premier indie venue.
It’s all in service of an important cause, raising funds for Positive Tomorrows, an OKC-based outreach providing education and school resources to families experiencing homelessness.
For times, tickets, and more information, 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 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.
