CIT Y GUIDE
BARS AND CLUBS

Sam and the Stylees at Exit 6C

Tulsa
ROCK CITY
Perhaps overshadowed by the crazed psych pop
of the Flaming Lips (from nearby Oklahoma
City), this town of 380,000 has a musical legacy
as rich as the oil reserves that drive its economy.
From country pioneers Bob Wills and His Texas
Playboys to indie upstarts Aqueduct, Tulsa has
birthed an eclectic array of artists and lays claim
to the first-ever YIELD sign (posted in 1950, at the intersection
of First and Columbia Avenue). Viva innovation!
Exit 6C

222 E. FIRST ST., 918-794-7890

This relative newcomer may draw a fairly fratty contingent, but it also brings in off-the-beaten-path shows. Specializing in local bands, Exit 6C features

everything from Randy Crouch’s folk country to Adam Lopez’s reggae blues to

wacky Tulsa alt-pop trio Ghosts, offering several local bands each week.

LOCAL HEROES

Ballroom, but these days works

with festivals such as last year’s 33rd Freaker’s Ball, which boasted five stages, 30 local bands, and a

tawdry costume party.

Mercury Lounge

1747 S. BOSTON AVE.

On a hoppin’ corner along the

southern outskirts of downtown,

the Mercury is an old service station converted into a $5-beer-and-shot bar

with a hell of a men’s room and

a Social Distortion–heavy jukebox.

Cover bands need not apply.

Founded by Tulsa natives Angie DeVore and her husband, Tom Green (no, not that Tom Green),

Dfest began life seven years ago as a 12-band bar show—the July 2007 version drew 40,000

attendees. The city’s answer to

Austin, Texas’ South by Southwest

or New York’s CMJ offers panels for

aspiring musicians, not to mention

enough up-and-coming indie

rockers to exhaust even the most

ADD-afflicted clubgoers among us.

They’re older, less famous, and

less towheadedly adorable than they were during their 1997

“MMMBop” heyday, but Tulsa natives Hanson have carved out

unlikely roles as talent shepherds,

hosting an annual five-day

songwriters’ workshop that’s been

attended by the likes of Jason

Mraz, Eisley, Fountains of Wayne’s

Adam Schlesinger, Locksley, and

rising MySpace singer/songwriter

Kate Voegele.

The Continental

421 E. FIRST ST., 918-592-7844

The Continental started out as

a quiet jazz bar catering to an

older crowd but recently began

booking bands that tend to rock a

bit. The result is a classy, clean, and

bright venue with a beautiful white-

topped bar where patrons can

also take in blues, salsa, and folk

without yelling over the band.

And despite its (relative) class,

you don’t have to dress up for a

nice night out on the town.

Cain’s Ballroom

423 N. MAIN ST., 918-584-2306

No venue in Tulsa surpasses the

ambience and history of Cain’s. Bob Wills first played here in 1935, and the Sex Pistols performed in 1978 on

their only American tour. (Sid Vicious

punched a hole in a wall that has since

been cut out, framed, and hung in the office.) In 2002, Dr. Jim Rodgers

bought the ballroom and sank a

million bucks into its restoration.

Soundpony

409 N. MAIN ST., 918-582-7669

An alternative to the local sports

bar/meat market, this place just down

the block from Cain’s boasts bicycles

hanging from rafters, brownish-yellow

walls, and an extensive beer selection.

Local and regional indie artists

perform almost every night, and

there’s never a cover; the bands drink

free and still manage to get paid.

Davit Souders has been promoting local music for more than 20

years, most recently on his i Tunes

podcast (“Hometown Heroes Tulsa”), his KRSC 91. 3 FM show,

and irokradio.com. Souders made

his name booking concerts for

the clubs Standing Room Only

and the Ikon, which he ran from 1990 to 1997. Souders also books

shows at revered honky-tonk Cain’s

KNOW
YOUR
HISTORY

What do Eric Clapton,

Neil Young, George

Strait, and Emmylou

Harris have in common with Rufus Wainwright?

They’ve all sung about

this city. On “Tulsa,” from 2007’s Release

the Stars, Wainwright

coos about meeting

Brandon Flowers at

Caz’s, a downtown bar.

Garrett Weindorf of

Ghosts claims he is the

“fat guy in a green shirt”

mentioned in the song.

COHEN/RE TNA; COURTES Y DFES T

CLOCK WISE FROM TOP: FLICKR.COM/PHO TOS/ COD YRAYMULCAH Y; GARY MILLER/FILMMAGIC; ROBB D.