OKLAHOMA CITY — Navigating the holiday season each year, with all the pressure of gift-giving and events for family and friends, can be stressful.
It can all be so overwhelming, in fact, that too many people end up disregarding a couple of the most important things you can do during the holidays: treating yourself and helping to support and give back to your community and the less fortunate.
Well, this year, you can cross both those entries off your list thanks to the generosity and diversity of Oklahoma’s own remarkable music scene.
With a few wide-reaching projects from across our state’s music community, you can catch an energy-packed live show or grab a loaded digital album and know that you’re supporting some resoundingly important causes at the same time.
From rootsy classic rock and blues to adrenaline-pumping hip-hop to stomping, wailing Americana, these community-minded shows and releases are bound to help your heart grow three sizes this season.
Tribute to Jesse Ed Davis: benefitting The Music Moves Mountains Foundation – The Standard – December 1st
You might not know the name Jesse Ed Davis, but if you’re a fan of Oklahoma’s music history – or even just a fan of blues-rock or the electric guitar itself – you definitely should.
Davis was one of the most sought-after and recorded session men and touring guitarists of the 1970s, hand-picked to back up giants across the genre spectrum like Jackson Browne, Taj Mahal, Conway Twitty, Albert King, and even Bob Dylan.
He was so in demand, in fact, that he played and recorded with three of The Beatles – John, George, and Ringo – on separate occasions.
But Davis was also a Norman-born Kiowa Native with ancestry tracing through Seminole, Comanche, and Muscogee. Before touring the world with some of the most legendary acts in American musical history, he grew up in and around Norman and OKC and graduated from OU.
Since his tragic death in 1988 at just 43 years old, Davis has become an icon of the tremendous yet overlooked Native contribution to America’s pop culture and modern music.
On the afternoon of December 1st, his hometown is set to celebrate his life, music, and memory when a slew of artists and musicians descend upon The Standard in Norman to pay tribute with songs, stories, and more.
Artists and performers like The Redman Blues Band, the Redstone Singers, Terry Tsotigh, Mike Hosty, Chebon Tiger, and even recent breakout from “The Voice,” AJ Harvey, will all be on hand alongside loads more.
But most importantly, the whole affair is benefitting the Music Moves Mountains Foundation, an Oklahoma and Texas-based non-profit focused on music therapy and education, with donations and a silent auction at the event raising funds for a Native American music scholarship named for Davis.
It’s a stacked local show, an education in some integral local music history, and a benefit for a vitally important community cause. What more could you ask for?
For more information, visit musicmovesmountains.org.
‘The Hell of Helene: Songs for Appalachian Relief’ – Available Now
If you’re a fan of the foot-pounding, guitar-bashing brand of folk and Americana and you want to get yourself a little something while still giving back, then look no further than this nation-spanning collection benefitting North Carolina relief and recovery efforts in the devastating wake of Hurricane Helene.
It’s a monster, 27-track collection anchored and curated by Oklahoma’s own “junkyard blues” master Brad Fielder and featuring contributions from Oklahomans like Ryan Lawson, JV’s Fillin Station, and Hosty, who included his brand new “Helene,” written explicitly about the recent disaster.
But in addition to the Oklahomans, there are inclusions from across the full Americana world, with artists from Pennsylvania, Florida, Tennessee, Texas, and loads more. Even the Netherlands’ Moonshine Brigade dropped a track to help out.
Helene blew through all the way back in September now, but the historic destruction and life-changing effects will be felt for years to come, so it will never be too late to contribute.
Proceeds from Bandcamp sales of “The Hell of Helene” raised over $1600 for the United Way of Asheville, NC and Buncombe County’s Hurricane Helene Relief Fund in just the first 50 hours, and now the compilation is available for free download alongside a full list of organizations and ways to continue donating.
“The Hell of Helene: Songs for Appalachian Relief” is available now at thehellofhelene.bandcamp.com.
Gift Raps – Hip-Hop for the Holidays 10th Anniversary: benefitting LiveFree OKC and OK City Center – Resonant Head – December 27th
For the 10th year, OKC’s undisputed king of hip-hop, Jabee, presents Gift Raps, a packed night of live music aimed at raising funds, gifts, food, and awareness for Oklahoma City’s homeless and unhoused population.
The city’s homelessness numbers continue to climb, increasing by more than 400 people in just one year, according to January 2024’s Point-in-Time count.
So it’s never been more important for the community to come together to lend a hand with donations, outreach, and fundraising, and what better way to get people excited than a loaded live lineup of rap royalty?
For the event’s 10th Anniversary, local legend Jabee (hot off his brand new “The Spirit is Willing, but the Flesh is Weak”) will be joined by Willis Writer, Chloe Hart, Dezzy, and the inimitable Original Flow. So it’s not just a great event for an important cause, it might just also be the year’s best rap show.
Tickets are only $5, but as always, it’s fully free with a donation of any non-perishable food item or unopened, giftable toy.
Of course, you could always pay the $5 and drop a donated item as well to help out a community desperately in need and to make this 10th-anniversary installment of Gift Raps the biggest ever.
For 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 is our Arts and Entertainment Editor. He has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for 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.
