Blue Door planning tornado benefit shows Friday and Saturday
Kevin Welch
Two concerts already scheduled for this weekend at Oklahoma City’s Blue Door listening room have been transformed into tornado benefit shows, just hours after deadly and devastating tornadoes ripped through Moore and south Oklahoma City this afternoon.
“I just could not continue my Blue Door anniversary in light of what happened. This is not when … we need to be celebrating. So we’re turning what was going to be a continuation of our Blue Door anniversary into this,” Blue Door proprietor Greg Johnson said by phone tonight.
“We just figure it’s the least we could do. While we’ve got shows going on, we might as well do what we can to help.”
In celebration of his venue’s 20th anniversary this month, Johnson has been hosting a series of shows featuring some of the musicians who have been playing the Blue Door since the beginning.
Singer-songwriter Kevin Welch, who graduated from Midwest City High School, was scheduled to play Friday night. Austin, Texas, singer-songwriter Michael Fracasso was to headline Saturday night, with Oklahoma City duo Miss Brown to You sharing the bill.
Now, the lineup for Friday’s benefit show includes Welch, Fracasso, Miss Brown to You and Grammy-nominated Bearden singer-songwriter John Fullbright. Tickets are $40.
Previously purchased tickets to Friday’s show will be honored, too, Johnson said.
Fracasso and Miss Brown to you are still on the lineup for Saturday’s show, and $20 ticket price will remain the same. But it now will be a tornado benefit concert.
Proceeds from both shows, with the exception of minor expenses like gas money for the musicians, will go to helping victims of today’s tornado. Johnson said he is researching the best local route to funnel the funds to tornado victims, particularly those directly affected by the destruction of Briarwood and Plaza Towers elementary schools in Moore.
“We’re going to be as supportive as we can be and let the power of music kind of wash over everybody and help steel everybody,” he said. “It’s something that I think the community needs to come together, and this is just a start.”
He said Fullbright, whose Sunday Summer Breeze concert in Norman was postponed to June 9 because of Sunday’s tornadoes, texted him soon after the latest round tornadoes roared through. The Grammy nominee said he wanted to do something to help. Johnson, who is also Fullbright’s manager, contacted the other artists, and they immediately agreed to turn their shows into benefit events.
“We’ve done so many benefits. And people have done benefits for me to get the wall built when the north wall was falling down,” Johnson said. “Hopefully, we’ll help and then I’m sure other people are gonna be helping. But it’ll be a long road back, like it always is.”
Johnson said he expects indoor seating for both benefit shows to sell out quickly. But he plans to open up the Blue Door patio and sell patio tickets at the door to accommodate as many music fans as possible.
“If it’s sold out, don’t worry. We’ll pack the patio,” he said. “It’s gonna be a way for all of us to get together and support those people.”
For tickets and information, go to www.bluedoorokc.com or www.ticketstorm.com.
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John Fullbright’s Summer Breeze Concert postponed to June 9
NORMAN – Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter John Fullbright, who hails from Bearden, was scheduled to kick off the annual Summer Breeze Concert Series Sunday night with a full-band show, but the outdoor event was canceled due to tornadoes and severe storms in central Oklahoma.
The outdoor concert has been rescheduled for 7:30 p.m. Sunday, June 9, said Fullbright’s manager, Greg Johnson.
Summer Breeze Concerts are produced by the Performing Arts Studio. All concerts are free and begin at 7:30 p.m. Sundays in Lions Park, Symmes Street and Flood Avenue.
The next Summer Breeze show is set for June 2 and will feature Austin, Texas, band The Gourds. To see the full Summer Breeze lineup or get more information, go to www.thepas.org.
To read my recent feature on John Fullbright, click here.
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Best Bets for May 17-19, 2013: Jimmy Webb, Jerry Seinfeld, The True Believers & Tulsa International Mayfest
Jimmy Webb
Here are my picks for the Best Bets in Oklahoma this weekend, as listed in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
1. Listen to legendary songwriter Jimmy Webb, an Elk City native, at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Blue Door, 2805 N McKinley. Doors open at 7 p.m. both nights. Information: 524-0738 or www.bluedoorokc.com.
2. Laugh along with Jerry Seinfeld at 7 and 9:30 p.m. Friday at the Civic Center, 201 N Walker. Information: 297-2264 or www.okcciviccenter.com.
3. Listen to Austin, Texas, rockers The True Believers with special guest Miho Kolliopoulos at 9 p.m. Friday at VZD’s, 4200 N Western. Information: 524-4203 or www.vzds.com.
4. TULSA — Take in art exhibits, a KidZone and live music from Monte Montgomery, Royal Southern Brotherhood, Will Hoge, John Fullbright and more during Tulsa International Mayfest in downtown. Hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Information: (918) 582-6435 or www.tulsamayfest.org.
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Interview: John Fullbright hits the road following Grammy nomination, plays Norman’s Summer Breeze Concert Sunday
A version of this column appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
John Fullbright hits the road following Grammy nomination
Column: The hard-traveling Bearden singer-songwriter will wrap a series of home-state shows by kicking off Norman’s Summer Breeze Concert Series Sunday night before heading back out on his nationwide tour.
John Fullbright has successfully weathered what he calls “the great Grammy scare of 2012 and ’13.”
“Well, historically speaking if an artist debuts a record and wins a Grammy, that’s usually the last you ever hear from them again,” Fullbright said with a laugh.
“They never really live up to it after that.”
The Bearden singer-songwriter certainly has kept busy in the months since his first studio album, 2012’s “From the Ground Up,” was nominated for the best Americana album Grammy.
His album — funded through Kickstarter.com, released on his own Blue Dirt Records label and distributed via a deal with Nashville, Tenn.-based Thirty Tigers — competed alongside Bonnie Raitt’s “Slipstream,” Mumford & Sons’ “Babel,” The Avett Brothers’ “The Carpenter” and the self-titled debut from The Lumineers at February’s 55th Annual Grammy Awards.
“I’m just glad Bonnie got it,” Fullbright said, still laughing.
After all, it was Raitt’s 10th golden gramophone, so it’s safe to assume she is past the Grammy curse stage of her career.
‘Long endless road’
For Fullbright, 25, it’s safe to say that the acclaim for “For the Ground Up,” which he coproduced with Wes Sharon at the latter’s 115 Studios in Norman, has launched a hard-traveling stage of his career.
“I think I’m in Wyoming right now. I’m in America,” he said wryly in a phone interview last week from “a long endless road.”
“I’m running like a chicken with my head cut off, but I think otherwise I’m pretty good. We (musicians) cover a lot of ground.”
From the often understated Fullbright, that’s, not surprisingly, an understatement: Back in late April, his tour schedule boasted 53 dates in 26 states and two Canadian provinces. Of course, that was after he spent much of last month on a European tour that included stops in Brussels, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
“I don’t have a home base right now. You know, I haven’t been home since closing in on like a year now,” he said, adding he still lives in the Okemah-area house he and his father grew up in — it was featured on the cover of “From the Ground Up” — and occasionally wanders through and stays for a couple days.
“If I’m lucky,” he said. “I think it’s still there. I hope it is. I’d be very sad if it wasn’t.”
Fullbright returned to Oklahoma last weekend to play a three-night stand at the Blue Door in honor of the Oklahoma City listening room’s 20th anniversary. He considers the Blue Door the launching pad of his now-burgeoning career: The venue’s proprietor, Greg Johnson, is his manager, Johnson’s extensive music library advanced his songwriting education, and he recorded his initial album, “Live at the Blue Door,” there in 2009.
The recently named Lone Star Music Awards Emerging Artist of the Year called Johnson and himself “extremely lazy ambitious people” who accidentally dragged each other into the music business.
“I never really wanted anything to do with the music business. I just wanted to write songs and be respected by my peers. Like truthfully, I always kind of saw myself having some other job … and it was not great but what I really liked to do was write songs and all that kind of jazz. Greg is kind of the same way: He didn’t want to be in the music business, he just wanted to support songwriters,” he said.
“But it started picking up really fast and we both kind of had to learn quickly about what we had to do to stay in it.”
Continued travels
For Fullbright, staying in it has meant not staying in one spot. After wrapping his Blue Door stand late Sunday, he kept his concert calendar clear for a few days before performing Thursday night at Tulsa International Mayfest.
He and fellow Oklahoma musician Terry “Buffalo” Ware are playing Friday and Saturday in Texas before crossing back to the proper side of the Red River to kick off Norman’s annual Summer Breeze Concert Series with a free full-band show Sunday night at Lion’s Park.
Fullbright plans to keep his touring schedule blank for a few more days before traveling to Kansas May 25 for the Chautauqua Hills Blues Festival. The pace only picks up from there, with shows planned every few days throughout the summer, including a June date at the prestigious Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee and a hometown gig in July at the Woody Guthrie Music Festival in Okemah.
“The bottom line is throughout all this stuff, it’s all about ‘Well, but are you writing songs and are they good?’ You can get really swept away in all this nonsense, and if you’re not writing well, then the rest of it really doesn’t matter. Which is burden for me ‘cause I’m always gone and I can’t really write. I’m always driving around in a car. But that’s the philosophy and I’m sticking to it,” he said.
Presumably, he will try to slow down enough to attend the Sept. 13 Americana Honors & Awards in Nashville, Tenn., where he was nominated this week for emerging artist of the year (alongside Broken Arrow retro rocker JD McPherson) and album of the year.
No matter where he goes, Fullbright is well aware he will be known for the rest of his career as a Grammy nominee.
“It’s nice,” he said. “I like it.”
IN CONCERT
John Fullbright
When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Lion’s Park, Symmes Street and Flood Avenue, Norman.
For: Summer Breeze Concert Series kickoff.
Admission: Free.
Information: www.thepas.org.
When: 6:30 p.m. June 8.
Where: Coca Cola Bricktown Event Center, 429 E California.
For: The Peace, Love & Goodwill Benefit Concert, a benefit for Goodwill Industries of Oklahoma, featuring Tony Lucca, Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons, Matt Duke, Shane Henry and Maggie McClure, and the Kyle Reid Band.
Information: www.stubwire.com.
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John Fullbright and JD McPherson nominated for Americana Honors & Awards
JD McPherson
John Fullbright
The Americana Music Association announced nominees today for the 2013 Honors & Awards in Los Angeles at the Grammy Museum.
Two talented Oklahomans – Bearden singer/songwriter John Fullbright and Broken Arrow retro rocker JD McPherson – each received two nominations.
Both are nominated for Emerging Artist of the Year. In addition, Fullbright’s Grammy-nominated debut “From the Ground Up” earned a nod for Album of the Year, while McPherson’s “North Side Gal” was nominated for Song of the Year.
Shovels & Rope, with four nominations, followed by Emmylou Harris and Miller, with three each, lead the nominee slate. Many other notable artists were recognized, including Rodney Crowell, Jim Lauderdale, The Lumineers, Milk Carton Kids, Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis, Richard Thompson, and Dwight Yoakam. Winners will be announced live at the annual Americana Honors and Awards, presented by Nissan, on Sept. 18 live on AXS TV from the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn.
This year the nominees reflect the diverse and artistic breadth of the genre, which honors of the roots of American music and has grown in prominence in recent year.
The Americana Music Association is a not-for-profit professional trade organization whose mission is to advocate for the authentic voice of American roots music.
The Americana Honors & Awards, presented by Nissan, returns to the historically cool Ryman Auditorium on Sept. 18, as part of the Americana Music Festival, which is Sept. 18-22 at venues throughout Music City. The iconic Jim Lauderdale will once again host the Honors & Awards, while the phenomenal Buddy Miller will lead the All-Star Band. Tickets for the Honors & Awards show come with the purchase of Americana Music Festival & Conference Registrations.
See the full list of nominees after the break.
Interviews: Musician praise the Blue Door, celebrating its 20th anniversary in May
Grammy-winning songwriter Jimmy Webb, an Elk City native, will play May 17-18 at the Blue Door.
A version of this story appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. To read interviews with Blue Door owner Greg Johnson and Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter John Fullbright, click here.
Musicians praise the Blue Door
In the past two decades, the Blue Door and proprietor Greg Johnson have played host to many acclaimed singer-songwriters, including Elk City native Jimmy Webb, former Stillwater resident Jimmy LaFave, Soper native Ray Wylie Hubbard, Midwest City High School graduate Kevin Welch, Bearden native John Fullbright, Arlo Guthrie, Lucinda Williams, Michael Fracasso, Ellis Paul and Shelby Lyn
Here’s what some folks have said about playing the fabled listening room:
“I always look forward to it. I really admire Greg for hanging in there and keeping that little venue open and functioning all these years. … These little places are cultural organs in the community. Sometimes they may not look like much from the outside, but these are practically the only places that young songwriters get a chance to start a career these days, and they’re becoming fewer and farther between. So to actually have something like that in the community in Oklahoma City, it really is an asset.”
— Jimmy Webb
“I’ve been playing there for a long, long time, ever since I think it’s been open. And it’s just one of my favorite venues to play. The vibe and the sound and the audience are just stellar, just pristine. And so it’s just a great, great fun gig, man, I just love coming up there.”
— Ray Wylie Hubbard
“It’s one of our favorite places for sure. … We’ve been on the stage at the Blue Door more than any other act ever … without a doubt, between all the benefits we’ve done, the Woody (Guthrie tribute) shows, the Kids Christmas show every year. We do two shows ourselves a year. We’ve played there since the day he opened it.”
— John Cooper of the Red Dirt Rangers
“The Blue Door is one of my favorite rooms in the country. … It’s a really special place and just always feels like you’re sitting in somebody’s living room or somethin’. And it practically is. You know, Greg Johnson, he’s just such a fan to begin with, and against all his better judgment, he’s kept that place going.”
— Dustin Welch
“Greg Johnson is a really special person. He’s just got great energy. He loves music more than anything, and he makes you feel so at home from the moment you walk in. The sound is great, and he has such passion for music. He just gets it.”
— Alicia Witt
“I love the Blue Door. That’s a special place. Only one of those in this country. I don’t know a lot of other venues that are like that. It’s just got such a homey, chill vibe.”
— Carrie Rodriguez
“I love passing through and visiting Greg over at the Blue Door. He’s always been a wonderful host, and the folks there have been real supportive over the last few years.”
— Tony Lucca
GOING ON
Blue Door 20th anniversary celebration
The Blue Door, 2805 N McKinley, will celebrate its 20th anniversary month in May with a special lineup of shows. Information: 524-0738 or www.bluedoorokc.com.
John Fullbright: 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Doors open at 7 p.m. Sold out.
Jimmy Webb: 8 p.m. May 17-18. Doors open at 7 p.m. Limited tickets available.
Kevin Welch: 8 p.m. May 24. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Michael Fracasso with Miss Brown to You: 8 p.m. May 25. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Shawna Laree, Rick Toops & Best of OKC: 8 p.m. May 30. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Red Dirt Rangers “Lone Chimney” album release show: 8 p.m. May 31. Doors open at 7 p.m.
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Interview: Blue Door celebrates its 20th anniversary, John Fullbright plays sold-out three-night stand at the listening room
Blue Door proprietor Greg Johnson poses for a photo May 6 at the beloved listening room, 2805 N McKinley, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman
A version of this feature appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. To read what some of the musicians who have played the Blue Door over the years have to say about the venue, click here.
Blue Door celebrates its 20th birthday
John Fullbright, Jimmy Webb, Kevin Welch, Michael Fracasso and the Red Dirt Rangers are among the house favorites who will play the fabled listening room in May, its anniversary month.
John Fullbright is coming back to the Blue Door, or as he calls it, “My Point A.”
“It’s kind of a launching pad more than a home base, just because I don’t have a home base right now,” the Bearden-based singer-songwriter said by phone from the road in Wyoming. “But when I play the Blue Door, it’s a hometown crowd … and careerwise, that was Point A. And now we’re at Point Something-Else. But it definitely was instrumental in launching me into this craziness.
“I would be a very different artist if I didn’t kind of start out there.”
The Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist is playing a sold-out three-night stand this weekend in honor of the fabled listening room’s 20th birthday. Others playing during the Blue Door’s anniversary month include house favorites Jimmy Webb, Kevin Welch Michael Fracasso and the Red Dirt Rangers.
“I’m trying to become an institution before they put me in one,” joked Blue Door proprietor Greg Johnson, who also manages Fullbright. “There’s just something really special about a live show that’s really intimate, and when you’re at the Blue Door, the worst seat is 60 feet away.”
From left, Louise Goldberg and Mary Reynolds are Miss Brown to You.
Fortunate history
Johnson calls opening the Blue Door a “happy accident.” In 1993, he had just moved back home to Oklahoma City from Austin, Texas, was doing a little freelance journalism and even had a job interview at the Nashville newspaper The Tennessean.
“The way Nashville was in 1993, well, it’s probably worse now, but it was getting pretty bad by then. It was getting pretty squirrelly, for the sounds I like anyway,” he said last week over lunch at his favorite restaurant, Lido’s. “I speak my mind and I certainly speak truth to power, especially in the music business, because there’s so much dishonesty.”
Instead of moving east, the Oklahoma City native learned through his sister, Fran Derrick, that their musician pal Mary Reynolds was getting ready to relocate to Austin herself. Reynolds, who called Texas home for six years before crossing back to Oklahoma, was living and hosting a few shows in a humble rent house she had dubbed “Hotel Bohemia.”
“Mary kind bequeathed me the Blue Door,” said Johnson, who eventually bought the building. “I was kind of missing all my songwriter buddies from Austin, so she said, ‘I’ve got this place over on McKinley; maybe you can bring some of your friends up.’”
Using Reynolds’ mailing list, He brought in Fracasso for a January show at the venue, which wasn’t yet called the Blue Door, and 50 people turned out.
“I said, ‘Wow, this is easy,’” he said with a laugh. “Little did I know that I would love many, many nights to have 50 people at the Blue Door. … It’s funny every time Mary plays there, I say, ‘Well, it’s your fault.’ She said, ‘I hope you don’t cuss me too often.’ I don’t.”
Jimmy LaFave, Ray Wylie Hubbard and the Red Dirt Rangers played some of the first shows at the listening room, he said. Reynolds was still getting moved out when Welch performed the first official Blue Door concert in May; she recalls the fellow singer-songwriter helping her haul her belongings out of the large, main room of the house.
“If you had asked me would that building still be standing in 2013, I would’ve said ‘I doubt it.’ But they were able to save it … because of the renovations that have been done,” said Reynolds, whose duo Miss Brown to You will open Fracasso’s May 25 show.
“I’m very much happy to have been a part of it. It is a remarkable place, and there aren’t very many places like it in the world. It’s a great thing for this town. It has sparked interest in that kind of music around here that would not have been there otherwise.”
Blue Door owner Greg Johnson looks at the posters and pictures from the many shows he has hosted at his beloved listening room the Blue Door, 2805 N McKinley. The venue, which is also Johnson’s home, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman
Listening room
While he gets constant calls from singer-songwriters all over the country wanting to play his place, Johnson said there aren’t many listening rooms like his left. Over the years, he has hosted legendary singer-songwriters like Arlo Guthrie, Ellis Paul and Lucinda Williams.
“There were times that I thought ‘There’s just no way we’re going to be able to continue to do this. It’s just impossible.’ And then people stepped up with contributions to get the building fixed,” he said. “It’s still the greatest house concert in America. It really is.”
The Blue Door isn’t a club. Johnson, 61, lives there. He doesn’t sell alcohol, although concertgoers are invited to bring in wine, 3.2 beer and nonalcoholic drinks. He’s selective about who invites to play in his house and gets frustrated when he hosts great musicians and they draw meager crowds.
“The best part is being able to introduce people to all these great songwriters who they, for whatever reason, haven’t had a chance to check out, (either) didn’t know how to find them or didn’t know that many were out there,” he said. “You’ve got a lot of people my age who’ll say, ‘Well, where are all the guys like John Prine around now?’ And I’ll say they’re everywhere; just start with Greg Jacobs in Checotah and then go to Tom Skinner and then Bob Childers, of course.”
Grammy-nominated Oklahoma singer-songwriter John Fullbright will play a sold-out three-night stand at the Blue Door this weekend.
Continuing legacy
Johnson and Fullbright first met when the latter played with the Mike McClure Band at a 2008 Childers memorial at the Blue Door. Although they initially clashed, they eventually developed a mutual respect and rapport.
Johnson became Fullbright’s manager, and the singer-songwriter recorded his first album, “Live at the Blue Door,” at the venue in 2009. His 2012 studio debut, “From the Ground Up,” earned a Grammy nomination for best Americana album.
“It’s almost like the whole spirit of the Blue Door and the whole reason I stuck with it all these years when it was like a month-to-month situation to where I didn’t think I could keep it open was ‘cause I just believe songs matter. They matter in our culture. And John is like the culmination of that,” Johnson said.
“When John came along, it’s like he represents a new, younger generation of what I’ve been trying to do … and I’m sure John’s profile has certainly helped the Blue Door.”
Fullbright, 25, recalls Skinner telling him about the venue before he ever darkened those blue doors, which appropriately enough, open onto the small stage.
“He said, ‘The Blue Door is probably the only place that I still get really nervous before I play because people are listening and they’re really intuned to what you’re doing.’ You’re up there all by yourself and there’s no place to hide,” Fullbright said.
“There’s no place like the Blue Door, but the little listening rooms, I always kind of think of them as places that you don’t really realize that you need it until you get there. And you experience a really good show and it really touches you in a certain way, and then you realize this is kind of a form of therapy. The artist is bringing you into his world, and you’re going — and you’re going all the way. … And you walk out of there with something that you didn’t have when you walked in.”
GOING ON
Blue Door 20th anniversary celebration
The Blue Door, 2805 N McKinley, will celebrate its 20th anniversary month in May with a special lineup of shows. Information: 524-0738 or www.bluedoorokc.com.
John Fullbright: 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Doors open at 7 p.m. Sold out.
Jimmy Webb: 8 p.m. May 17-18. Doors open at 7 p.m. Limited tickets available.
Kevin Welch: 8 p.m. May 24. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Michael Fracasso with Miss Brown to You: 8 p.m. May 25. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Shawna Laree, Rick Toops & Best of OKC: 8 p.m. May 30. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Red Dirt Rangers “Lone Chimney” album release show: 8 p.m. May 31. Doors open at 7 p.m.
-BAM
Video: John Fullbright performs “When You’re Here,” two other songs for “Jam in the Van”
Bearden singer-songwriter John Fullbright recently performed three songs live in Malibu, Calif., for the “Jam in the Van” series. His new song “When You’re Here” was among the songs he played for what JamintheVan.com called “one of the prettiest sessions we’ve ever shot.”
The Oklahoma musician performed two other songs, “Fat Man” and “Satan and St. Paul,” both from his Grammy-nominated 2012 album “From the Ground Up.”
MP3s of all three songs are available for download if you register for the site; to do so, click here.
Fullbright will play three sold-out shows this weekend at what he calls his “Point A” – the Blue Door – as part of the Oklahoma City listening room’s 20th anniversary. For more information, go to www.bluedoorokc.com. Look for part of my new interview with him about the Blue Door on Friday.
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Video: John Fullbright to appear on “Later … With Jools Holland” tonight
As previously reported, Bearden singer-songwriter John Fullbright spent much of last month in Europe for a tour that included stops in Brussels, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
While in the U.K., the Grammy-nominated musician gave a solo acoustic performance of “Satan and St. Paul” on “Later… with Jools Holland,” a music-based show that airs on BBC Two.
Fullbright’s appearance on “Later … With Jools Holland” will air for the first time in the U.S. tomorrow 9 tonight on the music channel Palladia (Cox HD channel 749).
I posted the video of his performance on the show last month, but some good things are worth repeating, leading me to embed it here.
Fullbright will play three sold-out shows this weekend at what he calls his “Point A” – the Blue Door – as part of the Oklahoma City listening room’s 20th anniversary. For more information, go to www.bluedoorokc.com. Look for my new interview with him about the Blue Door on Friday.
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John Fullbright, Byron Berline, Parker Millsap and more to play Norman’s 2013 Summer Breeze concert series
Byron Berline (Photo by David McDaniel, The Oklahoman Archives)
NORMAN — The Performing Arts Studio has announced the schedule for its 2013 Summer Breeze Concert Series, which will kick off May 19 with Grammy-nominated Bearden-based singer/songwriter/musician John Fullbright and his band.
The concerts will continue Sunday nights through Sept. 8, when world-renowned Guthrie fiddler Byron Berline and his band will play the closing show.
This year’s lineup will showcase some terrific Oklahoma talents, including Honeylark, Parker Millsap and Hosty Duo.
All concerts are free and begin at 7:30 p.m. Sundays in Lions Park, Symmes Street and Flood Avenue. Information: www.thepas.org.
Here’s more on the lineup:
May 19, Summer Breeze, John Fullbright Band, 7:30 pm, Lions Park, Norman, Free
John Fullbright is a young man who finds love, beauty, and pain in the here and now, and skepticism and disdain for those who would take advantage of the dreams of those hoping for a better world. He is a gifted songwriter, a brilliant vocalist, and an exciting multi-instrumentalist,traversing an emotional and musical terrain that is extremely broad, showing equal acuity with tender ballads and songs that make you want to drive faster with the windows rolled down. Firmly rooted in a variety of musical styles, he draws on what has come before, but without imitation. Forget labels when you listen to John Fullbright. He is not folk, not Americana and not pop, but possibly the best fusion of them all.
June 2, Summer Breeze, The Gourds, 7:30 pm, Lions Park, Norman, Free
You would think that after multiple albums and seventeen years of touring coast-to-coast and across the pond, the Gourds would have it all down. Well, they do: they project the alt/indie/roots sensibilities of their hometown, Austin, Texas, better than any music group going. The Gourds mix of Americana/blue grass/rock/bayou among other music influences makes them impossible to fit into a neat classification. Their high-energy live performances and constant touring have earned them the reputation of a band that must be seen to be appreciated.
June 16, Summer Breeze, Parker Millsap with band, 7:30 pm, Lions Park, Norman, Free
Parker Millsap writes songs and then he sings them. Also, he sings other songs that he wishes he wrote. The Oklahoma singer/songwriter writes bluesy, folksy melodies, with lyrics thathave pleasantly surprising turns of phrase while simultaneously recalling gut-bucket blues from a bygone age. To really get to know the man, you must listen to his music. And frankly, his music really does all the talking. Millsap is a poet: at times his work can be dark and brooding, at other times hopeful, but most of all he has something to say, something to tell you that will grab you and attach itself to you and remain a part of you forever.
July 7, Summer Breeze, Hosty Duo, 7:30 pm, Lions Park, Norman, Free
The Hosty Duo are Mike Hosty, an outstanding guitarist and songwriter, and Michael Byars, a world-class drummer. Their setup is simple, but their individual talents make this two-piece band sound twice its size. Hosty simultaneously tears through gritty slide leads, blows harmonica and or Kazoo and uses foot pedals to stomp bass lines. His guitar collection includes an 8-string instrument that allows him to thump three bass strings with his thumb while he fingerpicks guitar. And “Tic Tac” Byars puts it all in a rock-solid groove. Their superb style of bluesy roots rock combines with imaginative songs about nights spent in jail or dinosaurs or affairs of the heart to make one of the most entertaining shows anyone could hope to see.
July 21, Summer Breeze, Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band, 7:30, Lions Park, Free
If you haven’t experienced the high energy, swamp funky zydeco sound of Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band, it is high time that you join the legions of fans that have. Once the accordion-playing virtuoso grabs the mic and takes to the stage with his band mates, audiences are treated to a show like no other. Chubby’s sound is infectious – a concoction of blues, 70s funk, rock and roll, and good-ole zydeco flavor – and makes even the most timid individuals get their feet a movin’.
Aug. 4, Summer Breeze, Honeylark, 7:30 pm, Lions Park,Norman, Free
Honeylark is the dark, sticky-sweet offering of Natalie Moore Houck and Ryan Houck (formerly of Oklahoma’s Green Corn Revival) to the ever temperamental gods of the aesthetics… Watch out for lightning. The group strikes a fine balance between Americana roots and indie-pop sensibility, mixing country influences with a folk flair and a ‘folk-rock noir’ feel.
Aug. 25, Summer Breeze, Elephant Revival, 7:30 pm, Lions Park, Norman, Free
“Where words fail… music speaks. “That simple line reveals volumes about the band’s reason for being. Music unites us in ways that no other medium can. Even when we don’t understand one another’s languages – we can be moved by a rhythm, soothed by a song. Brought together by a unified sense of purpose – the spirit of five souls working as one, in harmony, creating sounds they could never produce alone. This Nederland, Colorado quintet are, needless to say, quite a sound to be experienced – especially when they fall into the pocket of a groove containing elements of gypsy, rock, Celtic, alt-country and folk. Their mission is “to close the gap of separation between us through the eternal revelry of song and dance.”
Sept. 8, Summer Breeze, Byron Berline Band, 7:30 pm, Lions Park, Norman, Free
For an exciting evening of traditional bluegrass and Western swing music, join three-time national fiddle champion Byron Berline and his band; John Hickman, Jim Fish, Greg Burgess, Richard Sharp and Steve Short. Berline’s career includes helping Vince Gill get his start in the recording industry, recording a fiddle solo for a song by the Rolling Stones, playing with musicians like the Eagles and Elton John, among others, and recording with Gene Clark of the Byrds. The Byron Berline band entertains regularly in the Music Hall above Berline’s Fiddle Shop in Guthrie, and the group is in great demand around the state, as well as surrounding states and throughout Europe.
-BAM
