Tributes and dance parties: your guide to the nostalgia craze

Last Updated on May 23, 2023, 10:24 PM | Published: May 23, 2023

OKLAHOMA CITY — A lot can be (and often is) said about the sometimes lackluster response to many local concerts and the frequently low turnout that has frustrated promoters and local artists alike for years in Oklahoma City.

Ask any venue owner or booker, and they’ll tell you it’s hard to get people out to concerts, especially for lesser-known acts, and more especially in the face of rising ticket and drink prices.

But there’s one element that has clearly proven lucrative beyond anyone’s expectations, drawing crowds frequently and consistently enough that it’s seemingly permeating and grabbing hold of every great stage in the city:

Straight-up nostalgia bait.

Tribute bands and decade-themed dance parties are nothing new, of course, but recently it feels that they’ve been making up a near-majority of bookings at many city venues (in particular, a couple of notably popular ones,) and it’s easy to see why.

Whether it’s the familiarity of singing along to the hits from your favorite legendary band (even if it’s not really them) or the harmless fun of dressing in your best bygone fashions and dancing to the songs of your long-gone youth, tribute events are pure, uncut comfort food.

And of course, any events built on mass singalongs or teenage dance crazes of yesteryear are guaranteed to encourage a lot of drinking to get the self-esteem up and the inhibitions down.

No wonder the venues love booking them so much.

90s/00s Dance Party – 51st St. Speakeasy – Saturday, May 27th

We can all agree there is only about 30 years’ worth of pop culture, right? After that, it all just kind of recycles.

But if you’re the kind of “90s kid” that isn’t bothered by the objectively bleak implications of all that, then you might love nothing more than dancing like nobody’s watching to all the Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, and Boyz II Men that you can fit on a Sony MiniDisc.

These recurring dance parties have proven so successful at Speakeasy that they’ve already spun off a few artist-specific events, such as the genuinely fantastic Daft Punk tributes they’ve hosted, complete with robot helmets and a pyramid stage.

Bad Bunny Rave – Beer City Music Hall – Saturday, May 27th

Okay, sure, it’s a little weird to have a whole event billed around simply playing the music of a very current and very much active artist who will not be there, but that’s not really what this is all about.

As Puerto Rican megastar Bad Bunny has become, by some metrics, the single biggest music star on Earth, he’s carried the Reggaeton style onto the international stage like arguably no one before him, and his music has quickly come to represent a seismic acceptance of Hispanic dance culture worldwide.

As Reggaeton-centric dance party organizers Gasolina well know, you throw on a Bad Bunny track at a party, and the crowd goes wild. Why not keep that energy going all night long?

It’s not exactly nostalgia, sure, but it’s feeding that same “close as you’ll get to the real thing” mentality that seems to drive attendance at these events.

Thin White Dukes (David Bowie Tribute) – Tower Theatre – June 10th

Few stars in the history of popular music have ever been as influential or as enigmatic as Bowie, so it’s no wonder that any number of tribute acts worldwide would scramble to fill the unfillable hole that his passing left in the world.

One of those acts is the Dallas-based Thin White Dukes, who will be bringing the starman’s hits to the Tower Theatre stage on the prime Saturday night of June 10th.

Do they nail the Bowie sound? Well, aside from what might be a touch too much “impersonation” in the vocal delivery, they actually do largely achieve the multi-layered, creatively orchestrated texture of Bowie’s best works, especially with a sax and all kinds of keys in the mix.

Do they nail the Bowie mystique? Nope. Not at all. Don’t expect costumes or theatrics or really any of the legend-defining style that made Bowie a multi-generational icon.

But if you like the songs and you want an excuse to get drunk and sing along in your best nasally Bowie impression, then here’s your shot.

Hotter Than July: A Night of Stevie Wonder – Tower Theatre – July 14th

This one might actually be a night you can’t miss.

Organized by OKC’s jazz scene leader and musical wunderkind Kendrik McKinney, this night of reverence for the masterful Mr. Wonder at the Tower (notice a pattern here?) comes on the heels of McKinney’s successful Prince tribute from a few months back.

As McKinney knows seemingly everyone that plays at a “Stevie Wonder” level of musicality – both in OKC and elsewhere – you can expect a night packed full of staggering musicianship, surprise guests from the local and regional scenes, and of course untouchably beautiful songs.

Rather than a simple nostalgia grab, this one promises to be a night of real celebration and respect among musicians.

Damn the Tigers: The Music of Tom Petty w/ Beau Jennings & the Tigers – Tower Theatre – August 12th

Again, this one looks to be something significantly more meaningful and honest than a jukebox musical excuse to sell drinks.

OKC’s local rock legends Beau Jennings & the Tigers will be damning the torpedoes at (once again) the Tower Theatre with their own heartfelt takes on the work of one of rock’s most indelible songwriters and one of America’s most respected musical figures.

With Petty now sadly gone, there’s likely no better opportunity to hear his songs live than performed by an act with the genuine grit and integrity of the Tigers, correctly contextualizing them within a working-class band of remarkably focused talent.

I’d like to think that Tom himself would be in favor of this one, actually.

Of course, whatever your taste or favorites, you’re likely to find a tribute event or a dance party honoring it somewhere in this city practically every weekend now.

And with new places like Lamp Post Lounge attempting to recapture the 70s or UpDown and RadBar aiming for the aesthetics and comforts of the 80s and 90s, it’s never been easier to pretend that everything is still right where you left it a few decades ago.

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