Tasha Does Tulsa.

You don’t have to go to local bars late at night to experience great local music. While the live element is certainly essential to the scene, the breadth of local music can be experienced from a few different angles. Apart from live shows, you can explore Oklahoman musicians through some great recordings and thanks to a densely talented local film and video community, music videos are on the rise, too.

So allow me to serve up a 3-course Okie music meal.

Fiawna Forte: A Tulsa Music Video from TJ

Just as bentos at a restaurant are a great way to get an array of a menu’s flavors at once, music videos are a terrific sampling of what an artist has to offer. Not only do you get to hear the music, but hopefully you get a nice aesthetic of the band and a pretty good idea of what their live show is probably like.

Today’s special is:

Boat Song by Fiawna Forte. Directed by Sterlin Harjo.

TJ’s Oklahoma Music Playlist

The second course is a playlist comprised of some of my absolute favorite tracks from Oklahoma bands released last year. If these artists aren’t from Tulsa, chances are they’re from down the turnpike, but they can be seen in our neck of the woods several times a year.

BRONCHO – “Try Me Out Sometime”
Steven Battles – “Shake It Like An Earthquake”
Junebug Spade – “Under the Gun”
Refund Division – “Officer Down”
The Nghiems – “Everything in Between”
Johnny Polygon – “The Riot Song”
Pretty Black Chains – “Ambulance”
Gentle Ghost – “Please Don’t Go Out Tonight”
The Panda Resistance – “Ebenezer”
Student Film – “Guilty of Equivocation”
Native Lights – “Of All The Things We’ve Made”
Chrome Pony – “Carry the Load”
Beau Jennings – “Raining Ashes”
Jesse Aycock – “Haley’s Blue Eyes”
OK Sweetheart – “Home”
Stephen Egerton / John Moreland – “Abundance of Fluff”
Gang Starr Museum – “Dance In The Ocean”
Buffalofitz – “Merle Haggard T-Shirt”
Samantha Crain – “Sante Fe”
Aqueduct – “Take Me Back to Tulsa”

TJ’s Live Music Pick in Tulsa This Weekend

The final course is an offering of the LIVE experience. Here’s a show I recommend for the upcoming weekend.

Riley Jantzen and the Spirits
When: Friday, March 11th
Where: Soundpony, 409 N. Main Street
Riley was one of the forces behind fan-favorite band Mayola. Riley’s released a bunch of tunes in recent months, stepping away from the heavier experimental indie rock of his previous band and exploring more of a roots/Americana sound. The result = greatness.