Live Music Previews

The Oklahoma Centennial Spectacular, held on Nov. 16, was a celebrity-studded variety show filled with performances from well-known Sooner State musicians “¦ except country superstar Garth Brooks. As soon as Vince Gill took the Ford Center stage to sing “Oklahoma Rising,” it became clear to the many in the sold-out crowd that the show was […]

Illinois rock band Deconstructing Jim has two sides: ” one that displays a knack for catchy, uplifting numbers to hum along to, and ” the other, which wants to pull the listener beneath, into the dangerous undertow. Vocalist and guitarist Jeff Julian explained how the band operates as a unit despite having two singers and […]

Most audiences are lucky to receive a performance from an artist who can play one instrument well, but Brooks Chambers is a one-man band. And although he hails from Texas, there’s something about Oklahoma City that keeps him coming back. When he first started touring this year, his main goal was to find markets that […]

Not content with resting on his reputation as a Texas music legend, Ray Wylie Hubbard is busier than ever these days with multiple projects. In the year since his last appearance in Oklahoma City, Hubbard has been producing recordings by other artists, writing a screenplay and ” oh, yeah ” continuing to write and perform […]

Don’t let the frightfully bad name throw you; Vampire Weekend is actually an endearing indie-pop outfit from Brooklyn, N.Y., with merry melodies so delicious, a lobotomy might be needed to get its tunes out of your head. Bassist Chris Baio said the band’s full repertoire will be on display on its forthcoming album, due in […]

It’s official: An Oklahoman now wears the crown of music royalty. Garth Brooks dethroned “The King” Elvis Presley, to become the best-selling solo artist of all time, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Brooks was given the honor, along with a special Career Award last week, during a ceremony on Brooks’ star on […]

With its first CD release show for “American Kids” on Saturday at the Conservatory and a tour in the making, metro modern-rock act The City Lives is busy trying to stir up record label interest in hopes of being the next band to break out of Oklahoma City. “We’ve all been in bands that worked […]

For the last year, members of Norman indie-rock band The Separation have been in and out of the studio, working on their first full-length album. Vocalist David Hoffner said the band has kept a steady cast of bandmates for the last two years after several lineup changes, and decided it was time to record an […]

Isaac Brock’s personality is perfectly in sync with his music, as the Modest Mouse lead singer has developed a reputation for being fiery and erratic. His music is equally volatile. Known for disliking interviews, Brock was AWOL before finally being tracked down; after about 45 minutes of work from his publicist, his hushed and labored […]

Perhaps if not for the tough times, Slow Car Crash front man Omarr Escoffie’ still would be singing about wizards and dragons. The Los Angeles musician joked that his first song attempt featured that type of imagery due in part, he said, to influences by bands like Iron Maiden. But Escoffie’ reaped the rewards of […]