Dustbowl Arts Market has become a wildly popular, biannual event on Campus Corner and at Norman Music Festival with each passing year.

Music has been a part of the 3-year-old market, featuring local artists like Gentle Ghost and Jacob Abello. Last year saw Jarod Evans of Blackwatch Studios overseeing the music selection, but the commitment to Oklahoma artists didn’t waver, if not becoming stronger.

“As much as anything, it has a local mentality at this point. Everyone is really excited about showcasing the people that are right around them,” Evans said. “Whether it’s the music scene, painters or jewelry and clothing designers, we all like the thought of inspiring people to look around and see all the resources right around in their community to get inspired and take advantage of the talent in our backyard.”

He believes such events help push the Sooner State into the mainstream.

right Fiawna Forte performs at last year's Dustbowl Festival.

“The overall conviction is, we believe in the local music scene and ... that (it) has every chance to make a legitimate, national statement. We’re trying to be a platform for artists we believe in and, hence, are trying to grow the festival, year in and year out.”

To do that, Dustbowl is expanding, from 15 to almost 25 bands this outing, with plans to bring in a national headliner to boost future attendance.

“My main priority was, if nothing else, was to have more bands,” Evans said. “Our philosophy is, ‘Take it one year at a time, do more than you did last year, and do things better than you did the previous year.’” Big local groups like Colourmusic and The Pretty Black Chains will play, and Texas dance-rock act The Burning Hotels will debut its new, self-titled disc — which introduces a new sound itself.

Oklahomans know how to party.
—Chance Morgan

“We are really proud of this record,” singer/guitarist Chance Morgan said. “We feel that it is the best music we have created since we started making music together. ... We can’t wait to show it to Oklahomans. They know how to party.”

The party promises only to grow bigger and better, although Oklahoma will always be in its heart.

“It’s not a giant thing, but it’s screened to where the quality of what you are seeing is really high,” Evans said. “It’s a good tool to inspire the community, that we don’t have to look outside to find entertainment and culture.”

FESTI-FULL!

Friday, Aug. 26
Pepe Delgados Stage
10:30 p.m. — Shitty Awesome
11:30 p.m. — The Boom Bang
12:30 p.m. — Debris

Saturday, Aug. 27
Fowler Volkswagen Stage (Hideaway Parking Lot)
noon — Modern Rock Diaries
1 p.m. — Dad
2 p.m. — The Copperheads
3 p.m. — Brine Webb
4 p.m. — Gentle Ghost
5 p.m. — The Workweek
6 p.m. — Beau Jennings
7 p.m. — The Burning Hotels
8 p.m. — Sherree Chamberlain
9 p.m. — Dead Sea Choir
10 p.m. — The Pretty Black Chains
11 p.m. — Colourmusic

Pepe Delgados Stage
1:40 p.m. — Tim Miser
2:40 p.m. — Penny Hill
3:40 p.m. — Denver Duncan
4:40 p.m. — Jabee
5:40 p.m. — Ryan Lawson
midnight — special guest
1 a.m. — special guest

Photo by Matt Carney