Those country stars are fine and all, but they're not going to make OKC the next great music town. I wouldn't even say we have a country music "scene" in OKC; Nashville beat us to that. A "scene" consists of more than a handful of successful bands coming from the same place. A "scene" involves a collaborative effort on the part of local bands. Also, key players in the "scene" are often not musicians at all, but business owners, promoters, artists, and journalists.

Go down to Austin and check out some of the local talent. Chances are many of those bands know each other very well. In a real music scene, musicians feed off of each other and work towards improving the climate for bands in general. They associate themselves with venues and establish relationships with other influential locals.

The fact that we don't have an independent radio station is telling for OKC. Hell, we don't even have a college rock station. The best example of a "scene" that I've seen lately is the Helium Project at RedHouse. (theheliumproject.com)

Those guys are bringing together young creatives for house-party-like shows by some great local musicians. Not only are the bands getting exposure, but the artists, photographers, designers, writers, entrepreneurs and other people that attend these shows are meeting each other. I went to the first show, and it was exhilarating to see so many young creative people in one room together.