Sara Ajnnak Band in her official FAI showcase performance. She plays Sami music from her reindeer-herding family tradition in northern Sweden. (Doug Hill)
It’s common knowledge in Oklahoma music circles that there’s a sonic renaissance going on in Tulsa. The city’s scene has been known in years past for supplying the likes of Leon Russell, J.J. Cale and Elvin Bishop to the world. Now there’s a similar vibe going on, particularly in the Americana genre.
At the Folk Alliance International music conference earlier this year in Kansas City, Tulsa’s presence was over-sized. The Tulsa-based Woody Guthrie Center sponsored official showcases on the conference’s final evening. Still, musicians from all over the Sooner State performed in The Oklahoma Room, sponsored by the George Kaiser Family Foundation and others.
Horton Records’ (“Made in Tulsa”) president Brian Horton has made it his business the last several years to give scores of red dirt singer-songwriters the opportunity to let the world hear their compositions. The conference attracts music industry people from around the world, and Oklahoma’s contributions are among the finest.
Tulsa’s Lauren Barth with Jesse Aycock and Jared Tyler in the Oklahoma Room. (Doug Hill)
From left, OKC’s Paul Benjamin and Bat-Or Kalo in the 2018 FAI Oklahoma Room. (Doug Hill)
Seattle-based Kuinka’s Miranda Zickler performed music you probably wouldn’t consider folk. (Doug Hill)
Radio Free Honduras’ (from Chicago) lead vocalist Charlie Brown performed their original, Morena. (Doug Hill)
Luke Concannon performed in the British Underground Room. His album is titled, Give It All. (Doug Hill)
Tulsa singer-songwriter Kalyn Fay played a set hosted by an Austin-based platform. Her album, Bible Belt, is out on Horton Records. (Doug Hill)
Austin-based folk rapper SaulPaul. (Doug Hill)
Impromptu jam in the Westin Hotel lobby. These pop up regularly at FAI, last for a tune or two and then dissipate. (Doug Hill)
Reasonably priced promotional photos were made in the conference walkway. (Doug Hill)
Alaska’s musician contingent posed for a portrait with mascot. A highlight was hearing the group sing the state song together. (Doug Hill)
Kansas City hospitality outside a Westin Hotel conference room. (Doug Hill)
Doug Hill earned a double-major undergraduate degree in English and East Asian Studies from the University of Kansas and a master's in human relations from the University of Oklahoma. He's been a freelance journalist and photographer in central Oklahoma since 1997.
