Okcfest 2014

[gopokes88]

This is why you don't try to please people. Everyone clamors for a music festival, they throw one together and it's too country. Ignoring the fact ACL has taken decades to get where it is. They used country bands for this to make a smash success. It's easy to sell country tickets and every whiner on this board will wind up going. Why? Because the first one has to be a massive success to guarantee a second one. The easiest way to do that was to get country artists. They called it okcfest to broaden it in the future but the first few have to be a success. So stop complaining and help build it instead of tearing it down because you're a spoiled brat who didn't get exactly what you want.

I don't even like country but I can see what this could grow into. So I'm going to support it have a beer and have some fun. Supporting something because you can see the potential should be something all the self proclaimed urbanists should be able to do easily.

[LocoAko]

Even within the country genre there is a lot of room for diversity. Like I have no freaking clue who Dierks Bently is, and I certainly do not want to listen to Lady Antebellum. Aren't these the people that just sing about trucks and tight jeans and hanging out? Not sure.

Uh, no. At least not Lady Antebellum.

There's so much negativity in this thread that I'm kinda surprised. I guess I kind of buy the argument that it would have benefited from being more diverse musically (especially with a name like OKCFest), but country IS popular here with young AND old (in fact, these bands are probably more popular with the under-30 crowd than the over-30 crowd). It may not be your cup of tea, but these are big time musicians and it is pretty exciting this festival is starting and will inevitably grow. Sure, OKC isn't "just" country, but I guess I fail to see the outrage that there'd be a country-based festival in OKC...

This is why you don't try to please people. Everyone clamors for a music festival, they throw one together and it's too country. Ignoring the fact ACL has taken decades to get where it is. They used country bands for this to make a smash success. It's easy to sell country tickets and every whiner on this board will wind up going. Why? Because the first one has to be a massive success to guarantee a second one. The easiest way to do that was to get country artists. They called it okcfest to broaden it in the future but the first few have to be a success. So stop complaining and help build it instead of tearing it down because you're a spoiled brat who didn't get exactly what you want.

I don't even like country but I can see what this could grow into. So I'm going to support it have a beer and have some fun. Supporting something because you can see the potential should be something all the self proclaimed urbanists should be able to do easily.

Exactly.

[PWitty]

Nm

[PWitty]

This is why you don't try to please people. Everyone clamors for a music festival, they throw one together and it's too country. Ignoring the fact ACL has taken decades to get where it is. They used country bands for this to make a smash success. It's easy to sell country tickets and every whiner on this board will wind up going. Why? Because the first one has to be a massive success to guarantee a second one. The easiest way to do that was to get country artists. They called it okcfest to broaden it in the future but the first few have to be a success. So stop complaining and help build it instead of tearing it down because you're a spoiled brat who didn't get exactly what you want.

I don't even like country but I can see what this could grow into. So I'm going to support it have a beer and have some fun. Supporting something because you can see the potential should be something all the self proclaimed urbanists should be able to do easily.

That's easy for folks like us, but some would rather be negative and complain about everything under the sun.

[AP]

Yeah, I'm a little surprised by the negativity too. I told my girlfriend about it and she is dying to go, and we're definitely the young millennials this city is trying to attract. I'm sure a ton of my friends from OSU will come as well. This city has been begging for more live music, and we get something like this set up and all you hear on OKCTalk is complaints...

[coov23]

BChris and coov23 are like two peas in a pod. Can't say I'm surprised by any of the statements either have made. You both can hang on to all the stereotypes you want, but modern country is far from "redneck" like a lot of older traditional country that people think of when they hear "country music". Eric Church could easily be labelled as "Rock", and others like Luke Bryan, Taylor Swift, etc. could all just as easily be labeled as "Pop". Most of the current Country stars are far from being "Country".

I am a pretty big music junkie myself, and my downloads jump from Hip-Hop (mainly) to Electronic to Country to Pop. I pretty much like it all, and people claiming that you have to play EDM or Pop to be relevant to millennials need to strongly reconsider. I'm fresh out of college and most people I met at KU liked country music much more than I did (I like it but it isn't my go-to genre). Do people prefer to hear EDM/Rap/Pop when they're out at a club/bar? Most definitely. But those same people are much more willing to pay to see a live country performance than an EDM concert. Most country performers can play anything live and it sounds good. There aren't too many Pop/EDM performers who can say the same. Heck, most of the big Pop stars just dance/perform on stage and chime in every now and then on the chorus while the rest of the song is played over the speakers.

Also, just a random observation from the male perspective, most girls I have ever met like country music much more than any other genre. It seems like guys lean towards Hip-Hop/EDM, while girls lean towards Country/Pop.

America's Favorite Music Genre

Actually, I'm the exact opposite of bchris, except on this one topic. I don't bash okc, ever, on here. You obviously haven't paid much attention to most of my posts.

Btw, I'm not a big EDM guy. If you skim through my iTunes you'd see pop, country, hip-hop, alternative, 80's, 90's and 70's music. Very eclectic mix. You're jumping on me fir being disappointed in a very bland lineup. Just call it what it is, a country fest.

[TheTravellers]

...Ignoring the fact ACL has taken decades to get where it is. ...

If you check my earlier post, ACL did not take decades to get where it is, they had a diverse lineup of well-known and not-so-well-known bands in their first year.

[PWitty]

Actually, I'm the exact opposite of bchris, except on this one topic. I don't bash okc, ever, on here. You obviously haven't paid much attention to most of my posts.

Btw, I'm not a big EDM guy. If you skim through my iTunes you'd see pop, country, hip-hop, alternative, 80's, 90's and 70's music. Very eclectic mix. You're jumping on me fir being disappointed in a very bland lineup. Just call it what it is, a country fest.

Well, I don't monitor this forum 24/7 so I haven't seen most of your other posts I'm sure. But in this case you and bchris sounded like you could have been the same poster from two different accounts. So my apologies if I was off base.

Back to my last question though. Why is everyone so down on the entire lineup already? Has a full lineup already been announced? Because all I'm seeing is a couple performers listed for what is going to be a 4 day event. I know the listed performers are all country artists, but they're also all pretty big name country artists. It makes sense to put 3 artists with name-recognition in the press release so that people will get excited about it.

I'm not saying they won't all be country artists, I'm just asking why everyone is assuming this to be true at this point in time.

[TheTravellers]

Travellers, I don't mean to sound like an idiot here, but out of all those artists you listed I don't know if there is more than maybe 5 that I have ever heard of. I'm not real big into the indie/underground music scene, so I'm assuming that's why. But I don't see any names that are going to draw anyone besides college kids, or people that are going solely for the environment/experience, to that festival.

Also, has the full list of performers been released or is everyone just assuming the full roster will be nothing but country? The press release says "4 day festival" but it only lists 3 performers. So that obviously isn't the full lineup.

Very well known mainstream acts at the time in that list are:

Ryan Adams
Asleep at the Wheel
G. Love & Special Sauce
Patty Griffin
Emmylou Harris
Los Lobos
Rebirth Brass Band
The String Cheese Incident
Wilco

I've heard of all of those, plus these:

Joe Bonamassa
Blind Boys of Alabama
Gary Clark, Jr.
Shawn Colvin
Karl Denson
The Jayhawks
Luna
James McMurtry
Allison Moorer
Robert Randolph
Gillian Welch
Kelly Willis

Don't necessarily like all those that l listed, but I've heard of them. I am quite wide-ranging in my musical tastes, however, way moreso than most people I know. The bands you don't know aren't underground/indie, they're just not someone you've heard of, that list has all genres on it, and the first year drew almost 42K people to it, almost twice the 25K expected, so they're not narrowcasting to college/indie kids.

[OSUFan]

Travellers, while you listed some great bands calling people like Asleep at the Wheel, G. Love, Rebirth and the String Cheese Incident mainstream might be stretching it. Maybe we just have a different definition of mainstream though. I bet the average person has only heard of 3 or 4 bands you just listed.

[PWitty]

Very well known mainstream acts at the time in that list are:

Ryan Adams
Asleep at the Wheel
G. Love & Special Sauce
Patty Griffin
Emmylou Harris
Los Lobos
Rebirth Brass Band
The String Cheese Incident
Wilco

I've heard of all of those, plus these:

Joe Bonamassa
Blind Boys of Alabama
Gary Clark, Jr.
Shawn Colvin
Karl Denson
The Jayhawks
Luna
James McMurtry
Allison Moorer
Robert Randolph
Gillian Welch
Kelly Willis

Don't necessarily like all those that l listed, but I've heard of them. I am quite wide-ranging in my musical tastes, however, way moreso than most people I know. The bands you don't know aren't underground/indie, they're just not someone you've heard of, that list has all genres on it, and the first year drew almost 42K people to it, almost twice the 25K expected, so they're not narrowcasting to college/indie kids.

I succeeded in making myself sound like an idiot! Sort of.

I didn't realize how long ago the first ACL was when you posted that. That's the main reason I haven't heard of most of those artists. I went back and deleted my original post but you beat me to it!

[bradh]

Yeah, I'm a little surprised by the negativity too. I told my girlfriend about it and she is dying to go, and we're definitely the young millennials this city is trying to attract. I'm sure a ton of my friends from OSU will come as well. This city has been begging for more live music, and we get something like this set up and all you hear on OKCTalk is complaints...

this guy gets it

[bradh]

lot of egg on people's faces if the additional names to the lineup are outside of the country genre

[adaniel]

Yeah, I'm a little surprised by the negativity too. I told my girlfriend about it and she is dying to go, and we're definitely the young millennials this city is trying to attract. I'm sure a ton of my friends from OSU will come as well. This city has been begging for more live music, and we get something like this set up and all you hear on OKCTalk is complaints...

In defense of OKCtalk I only see 2 or 3 people complaining, and its pretty much the same people that complain about everything. FWIW I have put some of them on ignore so I had to peek and see what the hubbub was about.

I for one hate country, but it sells around here. I am frankly much more excited about having 30-50K people in downtown using a long derelict property and spending money at local businesses to worry about what kind of genre is playing. If people want to get upset that its not en vouge hipster bands thats their perogative, but they should at least be happy its another live event bringing people (and money!) downtown.

Keep in mind that there's Norman Musical Festival will be in May and needs to be supported. Its just down the road and draws the type of indie bands some on here clamor for.

[DoctorTaco]

I was negative about Country music, yes, but if you read my post I was positive about the festival having a country identity.

[warreng88]

JMHO, but if you don't like it, don't go. 65,000 people showed up for the Toby Keith Moore tornado relief concert, 15,000 people saw the Healing in the Heartland concert live with an estimated 8.6 million people on TV. There are plenty of other concerts to indulge you if you are not a fan of country music. Lynyrd Skynyrd 5/2 at the DT Airpark, Big & Rich 5/3 at the DT Airpark, Foreigner and Styx 5/16 at the Zoo, Willie Nelson and Alison Krauss + Union Station 7/9 at the Zoo, Rascal Flatts and Sheryl Crow 7/10 at the DT Airpark, Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival featuring Avenged Sevenfold, Korn, Cannibal Corpse, Mushroomhead and other 8/7 at the DT Airpark, Fall Out Boy and Paramore 8/10 at the Zoo, ZZ Top and Jeff Beck 8/22 at the Zoo, Panic! at the Disco 8/23 at the Zoo and Chicago and REO Speedwagon 8/30 at the Dt Airpark. I have no interest in going to this concert because I don't care for that type of music. You would only find me at the Mayhem Festival and that is about it but I am glad we have some kind of music festival set up locally and not just a bunch bands touring together that we up and call a festival.

[Jim Kyle]

Travellers, while you listed some great bands calling people like Asleep at the Wheel, G. Love, Rebirth and the String Cheese Incident mainstream might be stretching it. Maybe we just have a different definition of mainstream though. I bet the average person has only heard of 3 or 4 bands you just listed.

The only act on his list that I recognized was Emmylou Harris, and that's only because back in the day I was a lover of folk music and a regular patron at The Buddhi (in what's now known as MidTown), where most of the top folk acts of that time appeared and which hosted several national recording sessions.

Of the headliners for OKCFest, Merle Haggard is the only one I recognize. If we were going to go all-country, why omit such folk as Reba McIntire and Vince Gill, both of whom visit fairly often?

[coov23]

In defense of OKCtalk I only see 2 or 3 people complaining, and its pretty much the same people that complain about everything. FWIW I have put some of them on ignore so I had to peek and see what the hubbub was about.

I for one hate country, but it sells around here. I am frankly much more excited about having 30-50K people in downtown using a long derelict property and spending money at local businesses to worry about what kind of genre is playing. If people want to get upset that its not en vouge hipster bands thats their perogative, but they should at least be happy its another live event bringing people (and money!) downtown.

Keep in mind that there's Norman Musical Festival will be in May and needs to be supported. Its just down the road and draws the type of indie bands some on here clamor for.

The first and only time I've been "negative" on here. Hit a nerve with me so I apologize.

[johnnyhooper]

I for one hate country, but it sells around here. I am frankly much more excited about having 30-50K people in downtown using a long derelict property and spending money at local businesses to worry about what kind of genre is playing. If people want to get upset that its not en vouge hipster bands thats their perogative, but they should at least be happy its another live event bringing people (and money!) downtown.

Keep in mind that there's Norman Musical Festival will be in May and needs to be supported. Its just down the road and draws the type of indie bands some on here clamor for.

Agree with all this. And who knows what this festival could grow into? The lineup that has been announced so far is not my cup of tea, but it could be in years to come (assuming more acts are not announced for this year) if the thing is successful.

[RadicalModerate]

Maybe Andrea Bocelli could be booked to appear?
Or John Fulbright?
Trout Fishing in America?

[kevinpate]

... Foreigner and Styx 5/16 at the Zoo, Willie Nelson and Alison Krauss + Union Station 7/9 at the Zoo, Rascal Flatts and Sheryl Crow 7/10 at the DT Airpark, ... Chicago and REO Speedwagon 8/30 at the Dt Airpark. ...

Summer concert plans covered? CHECK!

[PWitty]

I succeeded in making myself sound like an idiot! Sort of.

I didn't realize how long ago the first ACL was when you posted that. That's the main reason I haven't heard of most of those artists. I went back and deleted my original post but you beat me to it!

Wow, nevermind. I stand by my original comments. I just now looked back and saw you said that was the lineup from 2002, so I feel much better now. I just saw you bolded "first", so I googled Austin City Limits to see when the first one was and saw it was in the 70's. Didn't realize that Austin City Limits was different from the Austin City Limits FESTIVAL at first.

I'm really going in circles now!

[Mel]

As long as out of towners come into OKC and spend money, yay!

[ljbab728]

How many of our country music complaining posters attended this?

What to do in Oklahoma on April 11, 2014: Hear Moby and many more at the ACM@UCO Rocks Bricktown Festival | News OK

[Mel]

I would like to see an old "Country Rock" festival. That old late 60's/ early 70's stuff. I went to a big concert of that kind of music but I got to wasted to enjoy some of it. It was in Mobile, Al. and I went when I was stationed at Keesler A.F.B.