Month: February 2019

Open Call for Oklahoma Musicians: Made in Oklahoma Fest

The Made in Oklahoma Fest and the Oklahoma Film + Music Office (OF+MO) announce an open call for Oklahoma musicians to play at the eighth annual event, held at the Sheraton Midwest City Hotel at the Reed Conference Center on May 10-11.

The application deadline has been extended to 11:59 p.m. March 10.

Selected musicians will perform for the Oklahoma Stage Rush music series, which happens on the festival’s outdoor and indoor stages Saturday, May 11. The outdoor stage will accommodate solo acts up to a full band, while the indoor stage will host acoustic solo and duo acts as well as instrumental-only artists.

Made in Oklahoma Fest brings cultural activities, events and agricultural vendors to one destination offering guests the opportunity to discover, sip, taste and relax in a fun-filled atmosphere. The festival features an array of Made in Oklahoma products and services from wineries, breweries, artists, merchants, restaurants, food trucks and more. Guests can also enjoy an open car, truck and motorcycle show as well as join in on exciting classes and competitions.

In 2018, more than 5,000 people attended the festival and that number is on the rise as the “going local” trend continues to grow.

The Oklahoma Stage Rush series showcases the homegrown talent produced by Oklahoma artists and provides bands an opportunity to gain exposure, network with business owners and sample the fine wine, beer and food items that Oklahoma has to offer. For more information about the festival, visit madeinoklahomafest.com.

WHY SHOULD YOU APPLY?

The selected musicians receive:
• Financial compensation
• Benefits package including tokens and hotel discounts
• Exposure to targeted audience
• Social media promotion
• One of your original songs placed on a download drop card to be distributed as promotion for the fesitval
• Feature in OF+MO eblasts with reach of over 4,800
• Feature in OF+MO monthly newsletter with reach of over 6,500
• Promotion on the Made in Oklahoma Fest website
• Promotion in the Made in Oklahoma Fest digital advertisements and print material
• Promotion on the radio and other media websites

DETAILS

Originality
Made in Oklahoma Fest is an event that celebrates and promotes music that was created (made) in Oklahoma by original Oklahoma artists. We ask that 80 percent of a band’s set be comprised of original music.

Genre
The outdoor stage will ONLY promote genres such as new country, old country, Americana, Red Dirt, rockabilly, pop, soft rock, moderate rock and indie rock.

The indoor stage is in a large ballroom filled with vendors so soft music is most appropriate. This includes instrumental, light vocals, folk, Americana and Celtic. No percussions are allowed.

Proximity
Bands from across the state will be considered for this event. You do not have to be from Midwest City or the Oklahoma City area to apply.

Register for the Oklahoma Music Directory

The open call for Oklahoma musicians to perform at the Made in Oklahoma Fest is in promotion of the Oklahoma Music Directory, the Oklahoma Film + Music Office’s online database of Oklahoma musicians and music businesses. Therefore, acts must be registered in the database in order to be selected. If you are not already registered, please register in the Oklahoma Music Directory before submitting your application.

A link to your music is required to complete registration.

The application deadline has been extended to 11:59 p.m. March 10.

If you are already registered, or now that you are registered in the Oklahoma Music Directory,
APPLY TO PLAY AT Made in Oklahoma Fest.

ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH OF+MO

• Submit an event for the OF+MO Events Calendar

To have your event(s) listed in our online events calendar, please send the following information to Katie.Lovasz@TravelOK.com.
• Your Name/Band’s Name
• Date/Time
• Venue and address
• Link to the event
• Description/Bio
• Cost
• Image (if you have one)
• Tell us about your new albums
• Do you have a new album coming out? Send the release date and any associated show information (see above) to Katie.Lovasz@TravelOK.com.

Posted on February 25, 2019 by Buddy Broncho

NOW HEAR THIS: ACM’s Harlee Lane and Ciara Brooke Top Reverb Nation’s Local Pop Artist Chart

Pop, EDM and club artist Harlee Lane recently released his new single, “Dancing with a Stranger,” a Sam Smith/Normani cover featuring Academy of Contemporary Music at the University of Central Oklahoma student Courtney Hooker.

Lane, an ACM@UCO alumnus, is currently rated Oklahoma City’s No. 2 pop artist on Reverb Nation.

At No. 1 is ACM@UCO alumnus Ciara Brooke! She debuted her new project, “Diva Diaries,” in November. 

Stream Lane’s “Dancing with a Stranger” now and hear more on Reverb Nation, Spotify, iTunes, Facebook and Soundcloud. In August, his single “Come Down” debuted at No. 1 on Reverb Nation’s local pop chart.

ACM@UCO alumnus Harlee Lane poses in front of neon lighting at night as he poses with oversized white sunglasses, black button-up shirt and short, platinum hair.

ACM@UCO alumnus Harlee Lane.

ACM@UCO alum Ciara Brooke sits with her legs crossed in front of a bright pink background, dressed in a white top, blue shorts and gray combat boots.

ACM@UCO alum Ciara Brooke.

Hear more from Brooke on Reverb Nation and like and follow her on social media at facebook.com/ciarabrookemusic, instagram.com/ciarabrookemusic and ciarabrooke.com.

Posted on February 18, 2019 by Buddy Broncho

Acclaimed Bassist Victor Wooten to Lead April 24 Masterclass at ACM@UCO in Bricktown

Victor Wooten is the five-time Grammy Award-winning bassist widely known as a founding member of the supergroup Béla Fleck & The Flecktones. He also tours with The Victor Wooten Band.

The Victor Wooten Band and The Wooten Woods Experience performs 7 p.m. April 24 at ACM@UCO Performance Lab, 329 E. Sheridan Ave., in Bricktown. Tickets are $32, available at acm-uco.eventbrite.com.

The same day, Wooten leads a masterclass at noon April 24 in the Songwriting Room (first floor) on the ACM@UCO campus, 25 S. Oklahoma Ave., in Bricktown. Entry is limited to UCO students, staff and faculty, as well ticketholders to that night’s concert. Seating for the masterclass is limited and is first-come-first-served.

Wooten’s sought-after skills and growing popularity have led to recordings and performances with artists such as Chick Corea, The Dave Matthews Band, Bootsy Collins, Branford Marsalis, Mike Stern, Prince, India Arie, Keb Mo, Dennis Chambers, Susan Tedeschi, Gov’t Mule, Bruce Hornsby, Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, Frank Gambale, the legendary Moroccan group Nass El Ghiwane and many others.

Named one of the Top 10 Bassists of All Time by Rolling Stone, he has been voted Bassist of the Year three times in Bass Player magazine’s long-running online poll. In February 2017, Huffington Post named him one of 50 Iconic Black Trailblazers, pictured just after President Barack Obama.

Wooten’s respected reputation as a teacher and speaker and lecturer about both music and nature have garnered invitations for him to speak and teach at schools, universities, classes and spiritual centers around the world.

Known for its funky, jazzy music and powerful unpredictable performances, The Victor Wooten Band, comprised of brothers Regi and Joseph Wooten on guitars and keyboards and Derico Watson on drums, will play a dynamic mixture of old and new music mixed with improvisations jams and classic cover songs.

In addition, fellow musicians and educators Steve Bailey, Bob Franceschini, Bob Hemenger and a select group of students from Victor Wooten’s Center for Music and Nature will add to the extravaganza. For the first time ever, Wooten and friends will include an audience participation demonstration of the educational program that has helped and inspired hundreds of people worldwide.

As the youngest of five brothers, Victor began playing music at the tender age of 2. Under the tutelage of his older brother Regi, Victor was playing gigs and touring with the family band by age 5. The Wooten Brothers performed with the likes of Curtis Mayfield, War and the Temptations, among others.

Rolling Stone magazine lauded Victor Wooten, a founding member of the supergroup Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, by noting, “every player in the Flecktones is a master, but when Wooten busts out a solo at a concert every jaw in the audience drops to the ground.”

Victor Wooten Band and the Wooten Woods Experience tour dates

April 15: City Winery, Nashville, Tennessee
April 16: Old Rock House, St. Louis, Missouri
April 17: The Ark, Ann Arbor, Missouri
April 18: Wisconsin Union Theater, Madison, Wisconsin
April 19: Dakota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
April 20: Elgin Community College Arts Center, Elgin, Illinois
April 23: George’s Majestic, Fayetteville, Arkansas
April 24: ACM@UCO Songwriting Room (masterclass), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
April 24: ACM@UCO Performance Lab, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
April 25: Warehouse Live, Houston, Texas
April 26: Empire Garage, Austin, Texas
April 27: Granada, Dallas, Texas

Posted on February 13, 2019 by Buddy Broncho

FESTIVAL ANNOUNCEMENT: The Annie Oakley, Noname headline ACM@UCO’s .WAV Festival on March 2-3

ACM@UCO’s .WAV Festival celebrates women in music with two days of empowering music and performances, March 2-3 at the Academy of Contemporary Music at the University of Central Oklahoma (ACM@UCO) and its ACM Performance Lab in downtown Oklahoma City.

Festival admission is free and open to the public, except for Sunday’s festival-headlining show by acclaimed Chicago hip-hop and spoken-word rapper Noname, who performs 8 p.m. March 3 at ACM Performance Lab, 329 E. Sheridan Ave. Elton and Original Flow & The Fervent Route open the show. Tickets for the Noname concert are $25 and are sold out, although a limited number of tickets might be released for sale closer to the event date.

Popular Americana sweetheart The Annie Oakley headlines the March 2 roster, performing a at 8 p.m. inside the Songwriting Room on the first floor of ACM@UCO’s main campus at 25 S. Oklahoma Avenue (first floor) in downtown Oklahoma City’s Bricktown entertainment district.

The .WAV Festival features three indoor stages at two venues, with most performances happening 4-9 p.m. March 2 and 2-8 p.m. March 3 inside ACM@UCO. The lineup features Miillie Mesh, Ciara Brooke, Lauryn Hardiman, Creeping Toms, Ramona & The Phantoms, Me Oh My, Rozlyn Zora, Jade Castle, Michéla Creel and more. For more information, visit wav.eventbrite.com.

Organized and run by members of ACM’s Women Audio Vision (.WAV) student organization, .WAV Festival showcases multiple genres and more than a dozen music acts performing grunge pop, Americana, blues, folk, singer-songwriter, rap and hip-hop and more.

“.WAV Fest was created to empower women in the music industry,” said Katie Carmichael, student president of ACM@UCO Women Audio Vision (.WAV). “The event features bands with women and women solo artists, as well as dancers, artists and photographers.

“The two-day event is also a food drive for Sisu Youth in OKC that helps homeless youth in the area,” Carmichael added.

All .WAV Festival visitors are encouraged to donate nonperishable food items to benefit Sisu Youth Services, an Oklahoma City nonprofit organization that helps shelter and care for homeless youth living in our community. The mission of Sisu Youth, Inc. is to ensure that young people experiencing adversity have a safe place to sleep, the security to dream and the support to make a positive impact on the world.

Suggested donations:

• $5-10 gift cards for fast food
• Bottled water
• Gatorade
• Pop Tarts
• Fruit snacks
• Snack cups (applesauce, fruit or pudding)
• Beef jerky
• Shelf-stable milk
• Granola and protein bars
• Hormel Compleats or similar shelf-stable, MRE-type food
• Pop-top canned food

“We think .WAV Fest is important because not only are we representing ACM to show how vital the work they’re doing is in Oklahoma, but also to show how many women and female-identifying people are working in the arts in Oklahoma City to help shape the scene,” Carmichael explained.

In fact, the student organization she leads, ACM@UCO Women’s Audio Vision, just began its second year on the school’s downtown campus.

“This is our second year as an organization, but first under the name Women’s Audio Vision,” which is open to everyone, including female and female-identifying members, Carmichael said. “Our purpose is to show other women they aren’t alone in this business and to create a community of capable, trained professional women in OKC.”

ACM@UCO’s Women’s Audio Vision group and the .WAV Festival is funded by the University of Central Oklahoma Student Association. As part of ACM@UCO’s Metro Music Series, the Noname concert is funded in part by the support of its sponsors, including Oklahoma Gazette, Exchange Music, KOSU Radio, Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, and the Oklahoma Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Oklahoma and the National Endowment for the Arts’ Art Works initiative.

Find performance dates and times and learn more about the .WAV Festival at wav.eventbrite.com.

The Annie Oakley, dressed in similar jumpers and polka-dot shirts in this undated publicity photo.

The Annie Oakley headlines .WAV Festival with a free March 2 performance at ACM@UCO’s Songwriting Room (first floor), 25 S. Sheridan Ave., in Bricktown.

Miillie Mesh poses with a lace fan in this undated publicity photo.

Miillie Mesh performs Sunday, March 3 at ACM@UCO’s .WAV Festival.

Singer-songwriter Kat Lock poses in a velvet gown in front of what appear to be bloody shower curtains in this undated publicity photo.

Kat Lock performs Saturday, March 2 at ACM@UCO’s .WAV Festival.

Singer-songwriter and musician Jade Castle poses with her guitar in front of a stone fountain in this undated publicity photo.

Jade Castle performs Saturday, March 2 at ACM@UCO’s .WAV Festival.

Musician Eli Tostado sits on a yellow-painted curb, with her legs crossed, as she looks at the camera in this undated publicity photo.

Eli Tostado performs Sunday, March 3 at ACM@UCO’s .WAV Festival.

.WAV FESTIVAL

4-9 p.m. March 2 and 2-11 p.m. March 3 at ACM@UCO campus and ACM Performance Lab. For more information, visit wav.eventbrite.com. Please note that the lineup is subject to change without notice.

SATURDAY, MARCH 2

ACM@UCO campus (first floor), 25 S. Oklahoma Ave. in Bricktown

Songwriting Room
• 8 p.m.: The Annie Oakley
• 7 p.m.: Me Oh My
• 6 p.m.: Ramona & The Phantoms
• 5 p.m.: Kat Lock
• 4 p.m.: Creeping Toms

Acoustic stage
• 7 p.m.: Michéla Creel
• 6 p.m.: dancers
• 5 p.m.: Rozlyn Zora
• 4 p.m.: Jade Castle

SUNDAY, MARCH 3

ACM@UCO Performance Lab, 329 E. Sheridan Ave.
• 8 p.m.: Noname, with Elton and Original Flow & The Fervent Route (ticketed show)

ACM@UCO campus (first floor), 25 S. Oklahoma Ave. in Bricktown
Songwriting Room
• 5 p.m.: Miillie Mesh
• 4 p.m.: Shiann Davis
• 3 p.m.: Ciara Brooke
• 2 p.m.: Stone Tide

Acoustic stage
• 6 p.m.: Lauryn Hardiman
• 5 p.m.: dancers
• 4 p.m.: Sarah Byrd
• 2:30 p.m.: Jordan Russell
• 2 p.m.: Eli Tostado

Posted on February 12, 2019 by Buddy Broncho

A Shout-Out to Grammy-Winning Engineer/Mixer Craig Alvin and His Work on Kacey Musgraves’ ‘Golden Hour’

Congratulations to Craig Alvin for his Grammy-winning assistance on 2019 Album of the Year winner Kacey Musgraves‘ release “Golden Hour”!

Musgraves shares the honor with producers Ian Fitchuk and Daniel Tashian; engineers/mixers Craig Alvin and Shawn Everett. Songwriters sharing the award were Fitchuk, Musgraves and Tashian, while Greg Calbi and Steve Fallone were mastering engineers.

COOL SIDE NOTE: Craig Alvin, who moved from Oklahoma to Nashville, Tennessee, to work with musicians, also mixed Oklahoma rock act colourmusic‘s first two albums: “F, Monday, Orange, February, Venus, Lunatic, 1 or 13” and “My ____ is pink.” He’s credited as assistant engineer on the band’s 2014 release “May You Marry Rich.”

Colourmusic members Nicholas Ley and Ryan Hendrix are both full-time faculty at ACM@UCO.

Alvin is on the far left in this Grammy night acceptance video with Musgraves:

See the full list of 61st annual Grammy Awards winners at grammy.com.

Posted on February 11, 2019 by Buddy Broncho

#CFADWorks: ACM@UCO alumna Mariah Saffa

Hard at work in a 7,000-seat arena in northern Colorado, Academy of Contemporary Music at the Univeristy of Central Oklahoma (ACM@UCO) alumna Mariah Saffa reflects on her path to a marketing career in the entertainment industry.

After receiving her bachelor’s degree in Music Business with a Marketing minor in 2017, Saffa used skills she gained through real-world industry experience at ACM@UCO (including a marketing internship at Tulsa’s BOK Center arena) in her job as a digital marketing specialist and radio accounts manager at Oklahoma-based Tyler Media.

This role led Saffa to her current position with Spectra, an international venue management and hospitality company that serves the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colorado.

As a marketing manager, Saffa directs strategies for the venue, as well as for touring musicians and entertainers, continuing to apply shat she learned studying Music Business at ACM@UCO. The unique downtown Oklahoma City campus is part of UCO’s College of Fine Arts and Design.

As many students today are dissuaded from pursuing their passion in arts-related fields, UCO’s College of Fine Arts and Design flips the script about “starving artists” and highlights the breadth of success our alumni have achieved as performers, producers, entrepreneurs, artistic directors, talent managers and more.

As our alumni prove, #CFADWorks!

Are you a UCO College of Fine Arts and Design alum? We’d love to hear from you!

To get involved, just post a selfie or video of you at work to Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. Use the hashtag #CFADWorks and we’ll share your story!

Thank you for inspiring our students and the future generation of creators!

Posted on February 11, 2019 by Buddy Broncho

ACM@UCO Musician and Singer-Songwriter Rozlyn Zora Leaves Fans ‘Speechless’ on Valentine’s Day

This Valentine’s Day, Oklahoma singer-songwriter and musician Rozlyn Zora proves that love is indeed what you choose to make of it. On Feb. 14, she’ll release her new single, “Speechless,” as she embarks on a spring-fling string of shows she’s calling the Makeup//Breakup Mini-Tour.

Zora, from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, is a senior studying production and technology application at ACM@UCO in Oklahoma City. She said she’s long had the goal to release a new song every Valentine’s Day, and the Feb. 14 release of “Speechless” marks her first milestone in achieving it.

The acoustic guitar-driven, lyrically emotive ballad soars with support of ACM graduate Heather Becker on piano and Oklahoma State University student Demetri Tsaras on bass. Zora’s lyrical style on the tune has been compared to Sara Bareilles — a high compliment, to be sure, she said.

“The chorus came to me in a dream,” Zora said. “Charming love songs are my weakness. After I released ‘Love’ in January of 2017, I’ve longed to release a song on Valentine’s Day, and ‘Speechless’ is that dream child.”

“Speechless” was tracked and mixed by ACM@UCO music production and engineering student and student worker Stuart Adams in the school’s second floor-studio. It was mastered by ACM@UCO full-time lecturer and studio manager Kevin Lively (Rage Against the Machine, Pink, Elton John).

To celebrate the recording, Zora announced the quickie, three-date Makeup//Breakup Mini-Tour, in which she and participating bands fill their setlists with love/hate songs.

“The tour runs three days,” Zora said, then laughed. Zora and Mandias (Shawnee, Oklahoma, resident, ACM student and indie folk-rock musician Kate Carmichael) lead the lineup. Special guests round out the show at each show.

Zora’s first stop is a free concert 10 p.m. Feb. 14 at the Rabbit Hole, 116 S. Elgin Ave. in Tulsa, where she performs with Oklahoma City singer-songwriter Mandias and featured guest Lauryn Hardiman. The next night, she cruises through Norman for a 6:30 p.m. Feb. 15 gig with Mandias and UCO-based rock act Useless Randy at Red Brick Bar, 311 E. Main St. in Norman.

On Feb. 16, Zora swings through Bentonville, Arkansas, to perform at the popular Bike Rack Brewing Co.’s Eighth Street Brewery and Tap Room, 801 SE Eighth St., Suite 61. There, she shares the stage with Mandias, Useless Randy and Fayetteville, Arkansas, indie-alternative act Makin Loaf starting at 8 p.m. Tickets for that show are $10 at the door and eventbrite.com.

For more information and music, contact Rozlyn Zora at facebook.com/rozlynzora.

Makeup//Breakup Mini-Tour:

10 p.m. Feb. 14
Rozlyn Zora, Mandias and featuring Lauryn Hardiman
Rabbit Hole Tulsa, 116 S. Elgin Ave. in Tulsa
no cover / 21+

6:30 p.m. Feb. 15
Rozlyn Zora, Mandias and Useless Randy
Red Brick Bar, 311 E. Main St. in Norman
no cover / 21+

8 p.m. Feb. 16
Rozlyn Zora, Mandias, Useless Randy and Makin Loaf
Bike Rack Brewing Co. (Eighth Street Brewery & Tap Room), 801 SE Eighth St., suite 61 in Bentonville, Arkansas
$10 at the door and eventbrite.com.

Editor’s note: Download art associated with this release here.

Posted on February 8, 2019 by Buddy Broncho

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