Selling Scents

How local businesses have adapted to stimulate the olfactory bulb through screens.

By Kendra Michal Johnson

By Kendra Michal Johnson

Meg Rinehart,

Photo and

by Berlin Green

MUSIC

CITIZEN SPOTLIGHT

Stacey Yarbrough

By Berlin Green

When she emerged from prison in 2016, Stacey didn’t have much of a resume. The weight of 11 felo nies heavily hindered her ability to get employment or find a place to live. She happened upon the soft opening of the downtown Sunnyside Diner where a meeting with co-owner Aly Cunningham would change her life.

“No one would hire me,” Yarbrough said. “My charges range from theft and larceny and embezzlement. In short, I was a thief and a liar. My family didn’t trust me and I didn’t have any where to go, so I was homeless. No one would give me a chance. I went everywhere and anywhere, but with that many felonies, it’s a lot. I walked into Sunnyside and all the news cameras were there covering the opening. I sat down and ate with Aly while they were filming and she said, ‘If you’re really serious, come back.’ So I went back after they closed, as she asked and she hired me as a dishwasher.”

Yarbrough worked her way up the ranks at Sunnyside Diner, moving from washing dishes to the front of the house and eventually leadership. But the trials of her journey shaped her, leaving her heart open and her purpose clear — to extend second chances and uplift those who no one else will.

“Being homeless gave me a dif ferent view on what it’s really like to be out there and not know what tomorrow holds. Just living in their footsteps for a bit, I haven’t lived as long as some of them, just a bit, but it was enough. When I’d get my paycheck, I would go get a bag and fill it with necessities like hygiene items, socks and stuff, and go find people to give them to, pick them up and go eat at McDonald’s or something and just talk to them. It’s amazing. The stories you hear of how they ended up where they ended up. The first person I ever met was an attorney out of Tulsa. His wife and child were killed in a horrible car ac cident. He turned into an alco holic and lost everything, lost his

ability to practice law and was on the street. You hear a lot of differ ent kinds of stories. A lot of people don’t realize how close they are to be coming one of them,” she said.

When Aly and Sunnyside co-owner Shannon Roper learned about what Stacey was doing in her free time, they offered more help so she could reach more people. They developed a street team comprised of Happy Plate Concepts employees and commu nity volunteers. Throughout the month, the group prepares meals and hands out bags of food, water and necessities to those in need. At the beginning of the school year, they fill backpacks with school supplies for children in low-income areas, sponsor field trips and host fundraisers for local charitable organizations such as Positive Tomorrows, Pivot, Special Care and Hope Alive. During winter, they team up with Pine Pantry and Project Winter Watch to host coat and food donation drives.

“Before COVID we would do bag drops twice a month, around 400 bags and that was just one diner. We’d make peanut butter sandwiches, chips, anything with protein. They get hand wipes and hygiene items so they can clean themselves up. We’re making a big push to get back out there. Just last night, we met up at the diner and loaded up 50 cases of water and just hit the streets. We went to the Day Center, the Jesus House, any place we could find people,” Yarbrough said.

Stacey’s practice of paying it forward doesn’t end with the street team. Her exemplary lead ership earned her a store manage ment position when Happy Plate Concepts opened a fourth Sunnyside Diner location in Edmond, allowing her to extend to others the same opportunities

offered to her.

“I do a lot in drug and alcohol recovery and I’m really big on second chances. They’ve allowed me to hire felons, people who have been in lockdown for 25 years. Some of them make it, some of them don’t, but we’re that shot that we can really see if they’ve got it, and they’re going to do well. I hope to tap into their resources and have one to two sober living homes going next year. So I’ve got big plans and big goals. I think it would be amazing if we could buy a restaurant, fix it up and it be a workplace to those in sober living and transition homes coming out of prison. Because we’ve got to do better on justice reform, we just have to. We have to teach these people skills and how to reenter society and deal with their prob lems,” Yarbrough said.

Stacey offers a unique perspec tive on the realities people in homelessness face and the limited resources available to those coming out of prison. She hopes to help change the stigma, create awareness and get more people on board with changing policies surrounding mental health and increase focus on justice reform.

“When I was in prison, I learned that mental illness is a truly real thing. About 80 percent of our incarcerated, including myself, have some form of mental illness. Without the proper med ications — and a lot of people

can’t get medication — it only gets worse. Hearing the stories, seeing the stories and then per sonally experiencing the stories in prison, you learn different things about people. It’s like cooking. If they would have just had the right ingredients, they might have a completely different life … Let’s give people the right ingredients and help them succeed,” Yarbrough said.

“Not every felon that walks out of those prison gates is going to be like me, that’s blessed enough to run into someone like Aly. And of those that do, not all of them are going to make it, just like not all the homeless are going to get that opportunity and follow through with that opportunity. But if we can capture some of them, that’s just that many more lives that we’ve changed to where we have more resources to help the ones that can’t. And there’s some that just can’t, but they deserve help too.”

Learn more about the Sunnyside Diner Street Team and Stacey’s community projects at happy plateconcepts.com/community.

A SECOND CHANCE CAN BE LIFE-CHANGING. IT’S A FACT STACEY YARBROUGH HAS TAKEN TO HEART, AND SHE MAKES IT HER MISSION TO MAKE SURE OTHERS GET THE SAME.

Stacey Yarbrough. | Photo by Berlin Green

COMMENTARY

Heartless

WHEN HUMANS CEASE TO SEE HUMANITY IN OTHERS, IT’S EASY TO TREAT THEIR LIVES — AND DEATHS — AS PAWNS IN POLITICAL GAMES.

By Robin Meyers

Four years ago, Adam Serwer wrote an article for The Atlantic entitled, “The Cruelty Is the Point.” It made the disturbing claim that Trump and his sup porters find community by rejoic ing in the suffering of those they hate and fear. In the fall of 2018, the administration began what Serwer called the ethnic cleans ing of more than 193,000 American children of immigrants whose temporary protected status had been revoked, while the ad ministration lied about creating a database that would make it pos sible to reunite children ripped away from their parents and stored in cages. Some of those children will never find their parents again. This from the socalled “family values” crowd.

There was an outcry about how cruel and un-American it was, but as Serwer made clear, cruelty was and still is the point. Trump even said it aloud, “You’ve got to sepa rate the children . . . If they feel there will be separation, they don’t come.” He even claimed that the children were being used by immigrants who “grabbed them” to try to make it easier to cross the border into America—a nation of immigrants. Except for Native Americans, we’re all from some place else.

Throughout his presidency, Trump reveled in mocking his enemies, calling them names and provoking violence against them at rallies. Shocked at his behavior, many tried to explain it as the channeling of deep frustrations, especially on behalf of white work ing-class men who were falling behind, and resented the attention given to LGBTQ rights, Black Lives Matter and feminist movements that left them feeling emasculated. Trump understood this rage and threw gasoline on it by saying what so many aggrieved people had always wanted to say.

What we could not imagine, however, was that cruelty had become a deliberate political strategy. It can turn disparate rage into a unified mob. Look at

photographs of lynchings in the American south, Serwer noted. The burned and mutilated bodies were horrible enough, but it was the images of white men grinning at the camera while holding the hand of a wife or girlfriend that speaks to something dark and demonic about human nature. When we truly and deeply hate and fear other human beings, we rejoice in their suffering. We will also pledge fanatical allegiance to any strongman who objectifies and humiliates them. There is in timacy in contempt.

Witness the cruelty of the recent immigrant dump at Martha’s Vineyard. Fifty immi grants in San Antonio — fright ened, exhausted, and desperate — were offered fast food vouchers and promises of non-existent jobs in Boston, only to be taken to the land of Cape Cod houses and wine-sipping liberals. If this makes those liberals furious then the stunt is a success. Gov. Ron DeSantis must have assumed that Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas wouldn’t mind offering up a few Texas immigrants so long as it made Democrats look like hypo crites. Apparently, however, the two have now had a falling out— trying to see who can out-cruel the other.

Is there hypocrisy in sanctuary cities who don’t have to face an onslaught of immigrants? Yes. Are liberals prone to making pro nouncements but often unwilling to make sacrifices? Yes. Are Democrats in favor of open borders? No. Would white people have ever been used as pawns in this way? No. This was an overtly racist stunt to dump brown and Black people into the backyards of rich white people.

But they did not call the police. They called churches together to welcome the immigrants feed them, provide legal counsel, and find places for them to stay. This would be, dare I say it, something like real Christianity, not a photo op with a Bible. Given how much Republicans love Jesus, they

The Rev. Dr. Robin Meyers. | Photo provided. should be reminded that welcom ing the stranger and providing for the needs of the foreigner is not some fringe idea in scripture. It runs through the middle of the Bible like a six-lane expressway. Nothing matters more than how we treat the other, which is in separable from how we treat God.

Philosopher Immanuel Kant proposed a ground-breaking moral principle in the 18th century. He said that persons should never be used as tools, never as merely a means to an end. Rather, the moral imperative is that humans are always to be treated as an end unto them selves. They have intrinsic, not merely instrumental, value. Enlisting asylum seekers as un witting propaganda dupes is exactly what moral philosophers, including Jesus, would call the objectification of the neighbor.

The stunt was funded by Florida taxpayers, but many of them rejoiced. Cruelty is addic tive, and dehumanization is a downward spiral. If you doubt this, watch all three episodes of Ken Burns new documentary, The U.S. and the Holocaust , on PBS. But don’t watch it too late, because you may have trouble sleeping. The signs are all there, and history can repeat itself. A strug gling economy in Germany, the need for a strongman to find scapegoats and the systematic dehumanization of European Jews. “Germany first!” was the rally cry, and the equivalent of “Make Germany Great Again!”

People were swept up into this fascist cruelty until the Holocaust became inevitable. Once you have turned your own citizens into refugees who are welcome nowhere else in the world (includ ing America), you must either put them all on the island of Madagascar to starve, which was Adolf Eichmann’s original Final Solution, or you must kill them— all of them.

DeSantis, be not proud. Systematic cruelty is a slippery slope, and nations die by incre ments, unable to see what they are becoming, and made mon strous by the banality of evil.

The Rev. Dr. Robin Meyers is pastor of First Congregational Church UCC in Norman and retired senior minister of Mayflower Congregational UCC in Oklahoma City. He is currently Professor of Public Speaking, and Distinguished Professor of Social Justice Emeritus in the Philosophy Department at Oklahoma City University, and the author of eight books on religion and American culture, the most recent of which is, Saving God from Religion: A Minister’s Search for Faith in a Skeptical Age.

Visit robinmeyers.com

COVER STORY

Scents, cents and senses

By Kendra Michal Johnson

The earthy herbal whisper of an antique store, the clinical coolness of a hair salon, the hearty, rich buzz of a coffee shop—open the door of any local business and scents are often the first to greet you—fol lowed shortly by a cheerful voice and riot of distinctive color.

The OKC metro’s treasure trove of local skincare and soap making companies, including Twinkle Apothecary, Sage & Elm Apothecary, and Local Lather Refillery and Soap Shop are no exception to this phenomenon.

They all face the challenge of marketing products defined by their smell, texture and scent, in a place where those senses can’t be used: the internet.

Having experimented with both in-person and online sales, Twinkle Apothecary is rebranding to a more internet-centric tactic, and closed out its physical location inside Field Study Clothing on Aug. 27, in order to focus on more customizable products which are currently estimated to launch by the end of October.

“People will either be able to come in, make an appointment and talk to me about what they need, and I’ll make it for them right there,” Twinkle Apothecary owner Stefanie Grant-Cassel said. “Or you’ll be able to choose from a bunch of different options on the websites.”

The apothecary’s product line includes perfume, skincare, body care, deodorant and makeup.

Translating the experience of taking the cap off a perfume bottle into the digital world is crucial to the company’s future.

“A lot of the language used to describe fragrance is just very, like esoteric,” Grant-Cassel said.

Overcoming this potential com munication challenge takes effort.

“In today’s world, I think if you want to sell anything, you have to have a plan for how to do it online,” Grant-Cassel said. “So it is a chal lenge, but there are a lot of different ways to go about it. I would say definitely you have to have samples.”

Offering samples gives custom ers the most reliable way to know

what a perfume truly smells like, she said, since the way it smells in a bottle may not be the way it smells worn on the skin several hours after application.

“The best way to get a fragrance that you like is to try it on, and so you can do that online or in the store,” Grant-Cassel said.

Her business offers sample options of its perfumes online at twinkleapothecary.com to help customers experiment with various fragrances.

“It’s okay to take your time. It’s okay to try different things and explore and let it be a process; let it be a creative process,” GrantCassel said.

Another part of overcoming the communication challenge requires choosing the right words and visual clues for the website to convey each soap, perfume, or brand’s overall vibe.

“I worked really hard to try to make sure [customers] still felt like they were with me even if they weren’t with me, because I still wanted them to feel that presence of care and nurture, with plants, in a very rich environment,” Robinson-Hershey said. “And so I wanted our online presence to be just that—I didn’t want it to be just a little online store where you just click a button. I really wanted them to feel the aesthetic of peace, while shopping, and relaxation.”

Meanwhile, for Local Lather Refillery and Soap Shop, part of

The music serves as another way of explaining a scent’s overall feel.

“You’re never going to listen to Johnny Cash and make a pink bar of soap that smells like rose petals. It’s not going to happen,” Rinehart said. “So, like, for us, we kind of tie it into our color choices, the vibe, the style, and try to describe it to the best of our ability. ‘If you like these things, you will like this.’”

Local Lather maintains two OKC locations: Its main location, The Lab, 4209 N. Western Ave., and newly-launched The Refillery, 1757 NW 16th St. The latter is “a bulk refill location that offers lots of personal care and cleaning prod ucts,” according to its webpage.

Customers first experience handmade skincare from these brands in various ways, from wan dering through a local market or store to making an internet search to receiving a gift.

“You’re having to really be very intentional about what colors and where and placement, how to or ganize your categories,” Sage & Elm Apothecary Owner Krystle Robinson-Hershey said.

Her business offers handmade soaps, skincare and haircare items at events, local retail shops, and via its website, sageandelmapoth ecary.com, with a new product available every week.

conveying the shop’s upbeat cheery vibe on locallatherok.com happens through music.

“Ours has a kind of cheeky element of relating it to music, like we often put what we’re listening to when we make each batch of soap on the tag. Because we’re hugely inspired by the music that we’re listening to,” Local Lather Refillery and Soap Shop Owner Meg Rinehart said.

“Locally, probably most first time customers are coming into the store,” Grant-Cassel said. “The best thing is like when someone is maybe visiting family from out of town or something, and they’ve never heard of me, and they just wander in and they’re like, ‘Oh, wow, I didn’t know this was here,’ you know? So locally, yes, defi nitely in person, but I have new customers coming to my website all the time. I think they just find me on Google.”

Placing their products online, helps make it easier for potential customers to find them.

“My products are pretty niche. Natural, vegan handmade prod ucts. There’s not a huge market for that,” Grant-Cassel said. “So it’s helpful to be online, because people who are searching for those things can find me. So you can reach your target audience a lot

OKC-AREA SOAP AND SKINCARE MAKERS TAKE ON CONVEYING SCENTS THROUGH A COMPUTER SCREEN.

Twinkle Apothecary Owner Stephanie Grant-Cassel hand crafts a Vintage Solid Perfume for sale.

| Photo by Kendra Michal Johnson.

Sage & Elm Apothecary Owner Krystle Robinson-Hershey checks out her wares at the Oklahoma Hall of Fame Gaylord-Pickens Museum. | Photo by Kendra Michal Johnson.

easier online, as opposed to just, like, being open in the mall, and having people who might not be interested in your products just kind of stumble in and not under stand it.”

Social media shape the journey

When it comes to marketing online, the explosion of dialogue around skin, hair and self-care on social media in recent years makes keeping up with platforms like Instagram as crucial to the success of a small business as running a website.

“It was pretty organic,” Rinehart said. “When social media started becoming what it is, it’s so hard to know exactly at what point it pivoted to such an integral role that it has now. But, I mean, cul turally when things shift, you kind of go with it.”

These online accounts offer new ways that small skincare business es can communicate with their customers—and new challenges accompany those opportunities.

“Instagram has changed,” Grant-Cassel said. “You know, when I started in 2015-2016, it was, you know, really just an opportu nity to connect with your commu nity. And now it’s an advertising platform. You have to pay for ad vertising and you didn’t used to have to do that before.”

Robinson-Hershey said she prefers not to sell directly on social media, pointing customers back to her website.

“I don’t use my social media store necessarily as much, because I found that a lot of people that chose to do that, when social media crashes—which is rare—but when it does, you lose valuable custom er data and accessibility to your clients, your customers,” she said. “So, for me, it was important that they always know exactly where to find me outside of social media.”

The two digital mediums can be used to fuel each other.

“You would be a fool to ignore the opportunity to power one with the other,” Rinehart said. “Instagram powers the website and the website in turn validates the Instagram, you know? It’s like, ‘Here’s this great here’s this great [thing and] how we make it. Here’s what makes it so amazing. And click here if you want to buy it.’ They go hand in hand. They’re besties.”

Additionally, while an effective small business website can be maintained with gradual changes over extended periods of time, social media demands much more constant attention.

“They might change it for the holidays, maybe a sale comes up next week, right?” RobinsonHershey said. “But social media

changes by the day. I mean, liter ally, mid-day I’m posting some thing different in a different way.”

The difference in pace calls for endless creativity.

“The content that I post has to be, in my opinion, fast moving, it has to be colorful, it has to be cre ative,” Robinson-Hershey said. “It takes a lot out of you. There’s a reason why people hire social media managers. It’s not for the faint of heart. But I still produce my own social media.”

That same immediacy is a large part of what makes social plat forms beneficial for companies like Local Lather, Sage & Elm and Twinkle Apothecary.

“People don’t buy from compa nies. They buy from people,” Rinehart said. “So people are gonna love your soap more or your scent more when they love you and know who you are and what you’re about and what your business principles are and what your ide ologies are.”

Social media posts also allow po tential customers to connect with local brands on a day-to-day basis.

“You can give in a social mediasense an idea of what it would be like to come into your store, of

what it would be like to interact with your staff, of where your products come from and how they’re made,” Rinehart said, “details about where they’re sourced and what you’re getting. Because now people want to know like, ‘Okay, so your soap is made out of great ingredients. How great are they? Like, are they fair-trade? Are they organic? All of the details.’ I think social media pro vides a really great way to show case the thoughtful things about your business.”

COVID-19 brought connection to the forefront

All three business owners launched prior to 2020, and the pandemic pushed them further into the digital realm.

“It’s just been a roller coaster. So I was really lucky to have set my business up to be ecommerce based,” Grant-Cassel said. “Because when 2020 hit and ev erything shut down, and everyone was at home shopping online, ev erything was ready to go for me.”

For some local skincare makers, it was a time to take a step back in order to leap forward.

“I think it was a time for me where I really went back to my roots, in a sense. It’s humbling and grounding to hit a bump that’s beyond your control,” Rinehart said. “That makes you regroup and remember how you started.”

The numerous shutdowns, can celed events and times of isolation that came in COVID-19’s wake heightened customers’ desire for a personal connection with the product makers.

“We found that people were reaching out to us for that per sonal connection because of our belief in beauty and plants and in nature. And because of social media, we create videos where we walk people through our product, we show what we’re harvesting, what we’re working with for the week,” Robinson-Hershey said. “And people were so intentional about watching those videos.”

Her company’s local delivery option also leapt to new heights at the same time.

“People had the most beautiful responses. I can recall delivering to a client during the pandemic, espe cially early in the pandemic, and the client said, ‘Do you have a minute to talk?’ And I’m thinking, ‘Oh, they have a question.’ They didn’t have a question. They genuinely want to talk human being to human being,” Robinson-Hershey said.

Rinehart said that creating an Instagram highlight telling the story of her business showed her how much her approach to social media changed during the pandemic.

“I started talking directly to the camera and I started talking di rectly to my customers,” she said. “And I started asking them direct ly what they want to see. And what they are looking for from me.”

Connection became a central focus.

“It was a very fragile and vul nerable time for the whole world,” Rinehart said. “And so, in that time period, it felt very natural to shift and be a little bit more honest about where we were and what our goals were and how we were doing and ways that we could serve people better and ways they could support us more.”

Like many areas of life as it slowly reemerges from the pan demic, personal care was brought back to the essentials.

“Soap is a necessity. It was an es sential item,” Robinson-Hershey said.

And like essentials tend to do, it endured—and reemerged in a wide variety of handcrafted and locally scented options from Twinkle Apothecary’s powder cleanser, to Local Lather’s bath fizz, to Sage & Elm’s bar soaps.

Local Lather Refillery and Soap Shop Owner Meg Rinehart tosses reusable dryer balls—a reusable substitute for dryer sheets—in her newly launched shop, The Refillery. | Photo by Kendra Michal Johnson.

COMMENTARY

Cutting costs

OG&E HAS BEEN WIPING OUT RESIDENTS’ VEGETATION UNDER THE GUISE OF REDUCING CONSUMER EXPENSES, BUT THAT CLAIM DOESN’T PASS ECONOMIC MUSTER.

It’s easy to hate our regional electricity mammoth OG&E.

There are bland lines we repeat to one another just like talking about the weather or Saturday’s score: OG&E is expensive, the power goes out too often, they chopped down a beloved tree…

Even reading that is boring because we’re always saying these expensive, the go out too often and, in my neighborhood, they wiped out 100-year-old trees that they used to keep trimmed to “save money so rates don’t go up.” It doesn’t have to be this way, and we should ask our legislators and cor poration commissioners to finally

A few weeks ago OG&E sent out a crew to remove old-growth trees that had been planted by my neigh bor’s father in 1917. Suddenly these trees were in the way of the lines they had been next to for the prior century. OG&E’s plan is to do this city-wide despite the effects it has on the walkability of our streets or the rising temperature. I asked why they had changed their policy and removed these historic trees when they had previously kept them trimmed. They said it would “lower our costs if they didn’t have to re-trim every four years.” When I asked if they would be willing to do something as simple as replant trees to make up for the ones they grinded to grass-level, I heard the same platitude I’ve heard OG&E use many times before: “That will cause prices to go up.” As an econ omist, I often hear similar argu ments, but I’m always struck by the lack of transparency, espe cially from corporations that face little or no competition. How much will they go up? How much can I expect to save in the future under your new vegetation policy? These questions went unanswered by the

As ratepayers, we must take the threat of raising prices as a cred ible one because OG&E has done it often. OG&E has been granted a regional near-monopoly and has what economists call “market

power.” We as customers are vis cerally aware of OG&E’s pricing power and tacitly assume we’ll bear the burden of increasing costs because we always have. But here’s the deal: when they make their usual threat that an improvement in service will cause electricity costs to increase, they assume we won’t do the math. Well, I’m an economics professor that literally teaches a class on electricity eco nomics and I love doing the math, so let’s get our hands dirty.

To keep things simple, let’s stick with trees. In their most recent reliability report to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, OG&E reported spending $29.3 million dollars on vegetation management for their 876,000 accounts. This is how much money they spend yearly to keep tree limbs away from lines. Now $29.3 million sounds like a big number, but when you con sider this in context, things look a bit different. This $29.3 million is not only spread out over a large number of customers, but also spread over many millions of kilo watt hours sold. On a per kilowatt hour basis, this expense is minis cule. The average household con sumes about 800 kWh per month, so the $29.3 million is really just a 0.0035 cent cost. A third of a penny. That’s why you shouldn’t buy the argument that spending more to maintain our lines will meaningfully raise costs. Equally, it’s why I don’t buy their logic that removing a tree to avoid trimming will lower our costs. Even if you double their vegetation budget you could still cover the cost with less than a penny per kWh.

Now, as an economist I am trained to think about tradeoffs and I recognize that a hypothetical $60 million vegetation budget must come from somewhere. You know what could cover a treetrimming budget that large? Just a portion of their dividend payment. Last quarter alone, OG&E paid out more than $82 million to shareholders. Put dif ferently, OGE handed out 2.8 times

more in their quarterly dividend than the yearly budget allocated to maintaining vegetation around lines. In fact, over the same time that our bills have shot up their dividend payout to shareholders has actually increased. In the past year alone, customers face base rate expenses that have gone up by more than $5 per month to fully cover costs from winter storms, and this doesn’t even touch on the high natural gas prices that have also immediately passed through to our bills.

Their choice to start removing old-growth trees without consent or public consideration is a symptom of a larger problem. OG&E flexes their market power and treats the same customers that bail them out from ice storm ex penses not only through the price they charge, but also in the lack of transparency. They force you through an automated phone-line because they don’t actually care to hear from you. We can’t shop around for better quality service. We can’t shop around for lower prices. We simply hope that when we flip a switch the lights turn on, but is that really the best we can hope for as consumers in 2022?

So what should be done? OG&E is changing the landscape of our city without any transparency or accountability and the argument they’re using to justify it is one

that doesn’t hold up to simple costbenefit testing. We should demand that our representatives actually represent us and not allow OG&E to raise rates with impunity. Maybe the charter OG&E has with the City of Oklahoma City shouldn’t be renewed and we should explore our options. Perhaps they should face competi tion for our business instead of getting to assume it. Many states have retail electricity competition and these markets deliver innova tive companies that respond to consumers’ needs with transpar ency. All options should be on the table, especially if they’re going to cut down our trees without per mission to make it.

Dr. Travis Roach is an associate professor and chairperson of the Department of Economics and the founding director of the Central Policy Institute at the University of Central Oklahoma.

EXPERIENCE

FIRST FRIDAY GALLERY WALK

Friday, Oct. 7, 2022 • 6-9pm

In the Paseo Arts & Creativity Center at 3024 Paseo

GALLERY I Multidimensional a group exhibition Marylee Wright, Nicole Moan, Aztrid Moan and Jo Swigart.

GALLERY II Sunday Morning Meditations: The Power of Hope Paintings by MtnWoman Silver.

Local and national art, great food, art classes & plenty of shopping!

Dr. Travis Roach. |

Photo by Berlin Green.

But after four years of this guy, we’ll take anyone else.

“The new KOCO 5-Amber Integrated poll found that Stitt has a three-point lead over Hofmeister, 47 percent to 44 percent. That includes voters committed to their candidate and leaning toward them. Just 7 percent of voters are still undecided in

this race,” according to a story pub lished Sept. 26.

This backs up a poll from a couple weeks prior.

“Sooner Poll shows if the election were today, 43.7 percent of voters would prefer Stitt, and 42.7 percent would prefer Hofmeister. Independent Ervin Yen is polling just below 4 percent, and

Bruno is polling just under 3 percent. The poll was commissioned by News 9 and News On 6,” according to a KWTV story published Sept. 13.

Likewise, several polls are showing that Stitt BFF and right-wing talking point vending machine Ryan Walters, currently the state’s secretary of educa tion in only the loosest possible terms, is in as bad if not worse shape in his race

against Jena Nelson.

Now, those who take polls as gospel have definitely woken up sore after many election nights, but with 60 percent of independents and 17.5 percent of his own party theoretically flipping to the current state superin tendent’s team, Kevin & Cronies’ reign of error might actually be ending sooner than later.

Lankford, pandering to his au dience onstage at the Pray Vote Stand Summit put on by the ultraChristian organization Family Research Council, said this:

“As funny as it sounds, we’ve experienced a big drought in Oklahoma. The week after—the week after—we passed this law to be able to protect the lives of chil dren, we had the most overwhelm ing rainstorm that came across the state, and it was such an in teresting conversation among people in the church, like, ‘Did that just happen? Did that just occur?’” Lankford said.

His Democratic opponent in the U.S. Senate race, Madison Horn, of course jumped on this.

“This was no act of God, but a poor argument from a failing Senator whose only hope is to misuse religion for his own per sonal gain. Additionally, it mis represents countless people of faith who desire a reasonable, caring approach to protecting reproductive rights,” Horn said in a statement.

With recent polling universally showing that the tide is turning against the staunch “pro-life” ad

Republican Party and the number of new female voters registering since the Supreme Court put the matter into the hands of the states rising steadily,

may lead Lankford and ilk to seek higher ground.

If you follow U.S. Sen. James Lankford’s logic on the Oklahoma drought relief as a sign from God on the overturning of Roe v. Wade, then what kind of statement was just made in Florida?

Sour hour

A LITTLE SWEET AND A LITTLE SOUR. HERE ARE TWO COCKTAILS THAT GO DOWN EASY.

Ven A La Luz

1.5 oz Maestro Dobel Silver tequila

.5 oz lemon juice

.5 oz lime juice

.75 oz agave syrup

¼ fresh avocado

1 oz grapefruit juice

Add all contents to a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled 10-20 seconds. Strain into a highball glass with crushed ice. Garnish with a lime wheel.

EAT & DRINK

2oz Stranahans Blue Peak whiskey

.75 lemon juice

.5 Liber & Co Fiery Ginger Syrup

One egg white (or ½ oz Aquafaba — vegan chickpea juice)

Add all ingredients to shaker. Strain out ice and reverse dry shake. Pour over big ice cube in a rocks glass and top with a red wine float (Bordeaux or Cabernet). Garnish with candied ginger and dried clove.

Blitzen Sour

Bradford House

Whiskey Cake

Ashley Gill

Zack Strong

ARTS & CULTURE

Mistresses of mayhem

By Adrienne Proctor

Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show has never left theatres. The 1975 cult-hit movie has remained in limited release for the past 47 years, making it the longest consistently-running movie in cine matic history. Before the movie became an underground classic and the pillar of the midnight screening phenomenon, there was the 1973 play, The Rocky Horror Show, that made shockwaves around the world, first in London’s West End and then on Broadway in 1975. Both versions starred the legendary Tim Curry, then an unknown.

Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma brings the stage musical to their Plaza Theatre stage Oct. 5 -30. Each produc tion — staged every third year — has a new cast, new costumes and a new setting. The 2019 version was inspired by the New Orleans French Quarter, and featured peacock-feathered wigs and sparkling costumes galore. For the 2022 production, Lyric has decided to take a note from the origi

mansion,” Lyric’s Producing Artistic Director Michael Baron said. “This year, we take our cue from a line the narrator shares early in the show: ‘It seemed a fairly ordinary night when Brad Majors and his fiancée Janet Weiss... two ordinary, healthy kids... left Denton that late November evening.’ Jeffrey Meek, Lyric Theatre’s resident costume designer, proposed that we set the show in Denton, Texas this year because what’s scarier than Texas? The show will have everything you love about Rocky Horror, but with a Texas-sized twist,” Baron said.

nal setting of the movie. For this year’s production, they’ve based the antics and action in Denton, Texas.

“In the past, we’ve set the show in a ‘50s drive-in, a sideshow, an ‘80s glam/rock club, and a southern gothic

The Rocky Horror Show follows the loosest of plots. A seemingly squeakyclean couple, Brad and Janet, attend a wedding in Denton, then get caught in a ghastly storm on their overnight drive home. They seek refuge in a dark, uninviting castle and ask the door attendant to use the phone. As Riff-Raff (played in the movie by Richard O’Brien himself) ushers them in, the pair are immediately stripped down to their under garments and not so much invited as they are shoved into an otherworld ly party. There they meet “sweet trans vestite” Dr. Frank-NFurter and his band of ghoul ish figures. After they all dance the iconic Time Warp, FrankN-Furter takes the unsuspect ing Brad and Janet up to his lab where he’s been making a man of perfect human form. The plot gets lost along the way, but what results is a cathar tic release of everything that’s holding the characters back. Underlying all the crazy is a deeply sincere message of self-acceptance and sexual libera

tion, a theme that fit snugly amidst the backdrop of the 1970s and the Sexual Revolution.

When the movie debuted, fans started a tradition of attending mid night screenings and dressing in costume. Moviegoers started bring ing props to throw at the screen and created an exhaustive list of callbacks for nearly every line in the film. When Tim Curry announces a toast, audi ences throw toast at the screen. Any time “Brad” is mentioned on-screen, patrons lovingly follow it with “Asshole!” A similar sentiment is re served for poor Janet, and Rocky Horror fans deemed her the “slut” of their dreams. The bravest and truest fans even got up in front of the screen and performed as a “shadow cast” alongside the film. The bulk of these traditions are in place for the stage production. No outside props are allowed, but Lyric encourages patrons to dress as their favorite character. Prop boxes are available for purchase at the venue for $5, and a tutorial on necessary callbacks will be provided for any “virgins” in the audience. Lyric is even doing two midnight per

formances during the run. These midnight happenings are always un predictable and fun, and they’re the truest way to experience Rocky Horror. For all performances, audi ence participation will be strongly encouraged. If you’ve never danced the Time Warp, you’ll be an expert by the end. Skeptics who are dragged to the show by their friends leave as be lievers, and a new crop of Rocky Horror diehard fans will emerge from the shadows.

Rocky Horror is probably best known for its lead character. Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s look and message were ahead of their time. This is always a coveted role, and this year Lyric welcomes new performer Lee Walter to their stage. The cast also includes Sadie Koopman as Janet and Logan Corley as Brad. Michael Baron directs.

The Rocky Horror Show is always an unforgettable night of mayhem and music that leaves audiences shivering with antici…pation for the next one.

Visit lyrictheatreokc.com

LYRIC THEATRE OF OKLAHOMA BRINGS BACK INTERACTIVE ROMP THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW FOR FALL 2022.

The cast of Lyric Theatre’s The Rocky Horror Show. Photo provided.

The cast of Lyric Theatre’s The Rocky Horror Show. Photo provided.

BOOKS

An Afternoon with Oklahoma Authors book signing authors Jeff Provine of Secret Oklahoma City: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful and Obscure H.A.M Westring of Bowling Buddies and Luke Swanson of Spectators of War will be autographing their books, noon-2 p.m., Oct. 8. Best of Books, 1313 E. Danforth Road, 405-340-9202, bestofbooksok. com. SAT, OCT 8

Commonplace Books’ Book Club meetup with other readers to discuss Don DeLillo’s White Noise, 7 p.m., Oct. 17. Commonplace Books, 1325 N. Walker Ave., 405-534-4540, commonplacebooksokc.com. MON, OCT 17

James Biscone and Leigha Liuzza book signing author and illustrator will be reading and autographing their book Goodnight Peanut, 11 a.m., Oct. 8. Best of Books, 1313 E. Danforth Road, 405340-9202, bestofbooksok.com. SAT, OCT 8

Mark C. Jackson book signing western histori cal fiction novelist will be autographing his book Blue Rivers of Heaven, the third book in The Tales of Zebadiah Creed series, 3-4:30 p.m., Oct. 15. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 405842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. SAT, OCT 15

Oklahoma Historical Society’s Research Center Book Sale visitors will be able to shop a variety of historical books, maps, posters, genea logical publications and more, Oct. 5-8. Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, 405-5212491, okhistory.org. WED-SAT, OCT 5-8

Trait Thompson book signing author will be autographing his book The Oklahoma State Capitol which recounts how Oklahoma City became the capitol over Guthrie and the building thereafter, 6:30-8 p.m., Oct. 6. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 405-842-2900, fullcircle books.com. THU, OCT 6

FILM

Certified Copy (2010, France, Abbas Kiarostami) while promoting his latest book in Tuscany, a middleaged British writer meets a French woman who leads him to the village of Lucignano. While there, a chance question reveals something deeper, 2 p.m., Oct. 15. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. SAT, OCT 15

Daisies (1966, Czechoslovakia ,Vera Chytilová) Two brash young women rip off older men, feast in on lavish meals and do all kinds of mischief in order rebel against the spoiled world by embracing it, 5:30 p.m., Oct. 8. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. SAT, OCT 8

Hold Me Tight (2021, France, Mathieu Amalric) a woman on the run from her family for reasons that aren’t immediately clear, 5:30 & 8 p.m., Oct. 15; 12:30 & 3 p.m., Oct. 16. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. SAT-SUN, OCT 15-16

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975, USA, Jim Sharman) car trouble strands young couple Brad and Janet at mad scientist Dr Frank-N-Furter’s castle in this musical sendup of sci-fi and horror films, Sept. 16 through Oct. 31. The Boom, 2218 NW 39th St., 405-601-7200, theboomokc.com. FRIMON, SEPT 16-OCT 31

HAPPENINGS

51st Street Speakeasy Anniversary Party celebrate 15 years with two nights of live local bands like Thunder Jackson, Chelsea Days and many more, Oct. 7-8. 51st Street Speakeasy, 1114 NW 51st St., 405463-0470, 51stspeakeasy.com. FRI-SAT, OCT 7-8

Art in the Park learn the art of candle making with MoonGlow Maven, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Oct. 5. Scissortail Park, 300 SW 7th St., 405-445-7080, scissortailpark.org. WED, OCT 5

Campfire Convos engage in conversations with the park’s wildlife experts over a campfire and s’mores, 6-7 p.m., Oct. 18. Scissortail Park, 300 SW 7th St., 405445-7080, scissortailpark.org. TUE, OCT 18

Cassette Swap & Movie Night Factory Obscura and Make Oklahoma Weirder will

be holding a swap to trade tapes followed by a special screening of Cassette: A Documentary Mixtape, 7-9 p.m., Oct. 13. Factory Obscura, 25 NW 9th St., factoryobscura.fun. THU, OCT 13

Creating a Monarch Waystation participants will learn how to create a garden habitat from the ground up including planning and sourcing the cor rect plans and garden maintenance to help sustain the monarch butterflies way of life, 10-11 a.m., Oct. 15. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. SAT, OCT 15

DIY Skullarium Event learn to make a skull terrarium step-by-step with museum staff with a variety of moss, gravel, woodsy and crystal pieces, a real skull and a succulent, 10-11 a.m. & 4-5 p.m., Oct. 8. Skeletons: Museum of Osteology, 10301 S. Sunnylane Road, 405-814-0006, skeletonmuseum. com. SAT, OCT 8

Dungeons & Dragons & Brews join in on an afternoon of adventuring while playing the fantasy tabletop role-playing game and enjoying local craft beer, 1 p.m., Sundays. Vanessa House Beer Co., 118 NW 8th St., 405-517-0511, vanessahousebeerco. com. SUN, ONGOING

Fall Botanical Embroidery learn about the proper tools, basic stitches, finishing techniques and other basic skills of hand embroidery to create a botanical themed piece to take home, 1-4 p.m., Oct. 15. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405445-7080, myriadgardens.com. SAT, OCT 15

Farmers Market at Scissortail Park a morning market featuring local sourced options such as, pasture-raised meats, fresh produce and cultivated mushrooms, plants, eggs, raw honey, breads and baked goods, assortments of specialty prepared food and beverage producers, as well as highquality artisan from almost 60 vendors., 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Saturdays through Oct. 29. Scissortail Park, 300 SW 7th St., 405-445-7080, scissortailpark.org. SAT, THROUGH OCT 29

Folklife Festival an event focusing on creativity through dancing, singing, crafts, food and more, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Oct. 15. Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, 405-521-2491, okhistory.org. SAT, OCT 15

Fright Fest featuring kid friendly activities during the day such as a trick-or-treat selfie trail, little maze and costume contest, and after dark thrilling activities for the brave like coaster riding at night, light shows, stunt shows and the haunted clown cove, Thursdays-Sundays. through Oct. 31. Frontier City, 11501 N. I-35 Service Road, 405-478-2140, fron tiercity.com. THU-SUN, THROUGH OCT 31

Gothic Gardening learn to create a beautiful garden with flowers, foliage and more that match

OKG PICKS

the dark aesthetic theme, 10-11 a.m., Oct. 8. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-4457080, myriadgardens.com. SAT, OCT 8

Guided Garden Explorer Tour free tour of the Gardens led by the horticulture team focusing on flowering perennials, shrubs, and trees, 1 p.m. every second Friday and 10 a.m. every last Saturday of the month. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. FRISAT, ONGOING

Guthrie Haunts a haunted house covering over 30,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space full of scares, frights and things that go bump in the night, Fridays & Saturdays through Nov. 5. Guthrie Haunts Scaregrounds, 4524 Riverside Circle, 405-243-7671, Guthriehaunts.com. FRI & SAT, THROUGH NOV 5

Haunt the River Cruise enjoy the decorated boat, haunted tunes, light snacks and cash bar on board with a cruise for adults only, 8 p.m., Oct. 14 & 15. Oklahoma River Cruises, 1503 Exchange Ave., 405702-7755, okrivercruises.com. FRI-SAT, OCT 14-15

Heard on Hurd a family friendly evening featuring food trucks, children’s activities and live music from a variety of local artists with proceeds benefiting nonprofit organizations, third Saturday of every month. through Oct. 22. Citizens Bank of Edmond, 32 N. Broadway, 405-341-6650, citizensedmond. com. SAT, OCT 22

Hispanic Fiesta a celebration of Hispanic culture with music, dance, food, and vendors representing multiple countries, 5-10 p.m., Oct. 7. Scissortail Park, 300 SW 7th St., 405-445-7080, scissortailpark.org. FRI, OCT 7

History & Haunts at the Overholser learn the history of the mansion and those who once lived there while exploring the house after dark, 6-8 p.m., Oct. 8, 15, 21-22, & 28-29. Overholser Mansion, 405 NW 15th St., 405-525-5325, overholsermansion.org. SAT, OCT 8, 15, 21-22, 28-29

Indigenous Peoples Day a celebration of First Americans’ culture with art activities, performances ranging from folk music to stomp dance and tra ditional sports and games, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Oct. 10. First Americans Museum, 659 First Americans Blvd., 405-594-2100. MON, OCT 10

Knit Night an evening of fellow knitters working on their projects while enjoying the store’s atmo sphere, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Oct. 11. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 405-842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. TUE, OCT 11

LIVE! on the Plaza join the Plaza District every second Friday for an art walk featuring artists, live music, shopping and more, 6-10 p.m. second Friday

of every month. Plaza District, 1618 N. Gatewood Ave., 405-426-7812, plazadistrict.org. FRI, OCT 14

Skee-Ball Tournament players of all skill levels will compete to win various prizes from Vanessa House, 7:30-10 p.m., Oct. 12. Up-Down OKC, 1629 NW 16th St., 405-673-7792, UpDownArcadeBar. com/Oklahoma-City. WED, OCT 12

SoonerFest Live a day of live music, 150 artists and crafters, classic cars, food, cowboy shows, games and more, 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Oct. 9. Scissortail Park, 300 SW 7th St., 405-445-7080, soonerfest. com. SUN, OCT 9

Wicked Forest of Terror a haunted forest full of bloodcurdling screams, jump scares, and more, Thursdays-Sundays. through Oct. 31. Wicked Forest of Terror, 9420 W I-40 Service Road, wickedfore stofterror.com. THU-SUN, THROUGH OCT 31

FOOD

Veggie Dinner at Picasso Cafe a four to fivecourse menu, featuring a fresh and creative take on vegetarian-inspired fare with the option to have a wine pairing, third Tuesday of every month. Picasso Cafe, 3009 Paseo St., 405-605-2022, picassoson paseo.com. TUE, OCT 18

ArtOnTap an outdoor beer tasting event with food and live music to raise funds for the museum’s special programs and exhibits, 7-10 p.m., Oct. 7. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. FRI, OCT 7

Eastside Fresh Market a weekly farmer’s market with vendors selling fresh produce, homemade des serts, plants and other unique products, Tuesdays. through Nov. 1. Oklahoma County OSU Extension Center, 2500 NE 63rd St., 405-713-1125, okiemgs. okstate.edu. TUE, THROUGH NOV 1

Foodie Fest an event for food lovers that features cultures and cuisines from around the world with food trucks, vendors, live music, games and more, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Oct. 8. Scissortail Park, 300 SW 7th St., 405-445-7080, scissortailpark.org. SAT, OCT 8

Sip & Smoke explore the exhibition Aliento a Tequila and learn about the traditions and culture around tequila, enjoy a trio sampling and cigar pairing, 7:30-9:30 p.m., Oct. 7. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. FRI, OCT 7

VegFest OKC third annual festival focusing on plant-based foods, animal rights and environmental sustainability, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Oct. 8. Myriad Botani cal Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, vegfestokc.com. SAT, OCT 8

YOUTH

Cherokee Cultural Celebration children will have the opportunity to learn about the 19th cen tury Cherokee culture and lifestyle through pottery making demos, basket weaving, and more, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Oct. 7. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. FRI, OCT 7

Fall Festival an afternoon of nature-themed activities, crafts and more for kids in the museum’s garden, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Oct. 8. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place, 405-602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org. SAT, OCT 8

Haunt the Zoo children can trick-or-treat through the zoo with 13 candy stations, enjoy 20 themed photo op booths, a hay maze and other activities, 9 a,m.-4 p.m., Saturdays & Sundays in October. The Oklahoma City Zoo, 2000 Remington Place, 405-4243344, okczoo.com. SAT-SUN, THROUGH OCT 30

Late Night at the Museum: Cowboy Clue kids will work to solve a crime in a night of whodunit fun as well as decorate cupcakes and watching a movie, 6-11 p.m., Oct. 14. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. FRI, OCT 14

Magic Lantern Star Ball children can create their own costumes and lanterns at this celebration of “light instead of fright”, 5-7:30 p.m., Oct. 9. Paseo Arts District, 3024 Paseo St., 405-525-2688, thepaseo.org. SUN, OCT 9

Pumpkinville more than 30,000 pumpkins, gourds, haystacks and mums transform the Children’s Garden into a magical world for witches and wizards with potion making crafts, magical creatures and more festive fun, Oct. 7-23. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. MON-SUN, OCT 7-23 Photo by Carl

Myriad in Motion: Jump and Shout recom mended for ages 4-8, this morning class will teach kids different exercises to a fun playlist and the power of teamwork to complete relay races and an

obstacle course, 8:30 and 9 a.m., Saturdays. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. SAT, ONGOING

Storytime with Miss Julie enjoy snacks, crafts and story time, 10:15-11:30 a.m., Saturdays, ongoing. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 405842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. SAT, ONGOING

PERFORMING ARTS

Bang Bang Queer Punk Variety Show a variety show featuring drag, burlesque, belly dancing and more, 8 p.m., Oct. 6. Blue Note, 2408 N. Robinson Ave., 405-600-1166, thebluenotelounge.com. THU, OCT 6

Color of Art local bands perform while local artists are invited to create live art or dance, 6-9 p.m., Oct. 9. Scissortail Park, 300 SW 7th St., 405-445-7080, scissortailpark.org. SUN, OCT 9

Craig Ferguson a live stand-up comedy perfor mance, 8 p.m., Oct. 9. Tower Theatre, 425 NW 23rd St., 405-708-6937, towertheatreokc.com. SUN, OCT 9

Elijah an oratorio by Felix Mendelssohn, performed by Canterbury Voices, that tells the story of the biblical prophet Elijah and how he warns Israel that G-d will punish them for worshiping false gods, 3 p.m., Oct. 9. Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave., 405-297-2264, okcciviccenter.com. SUN, OCT 9

Future of Sound Sessions local musicians col laborate with other art disciplines to create a one of a kind show, 8-10 p.m., Oct. 15. Factory Obscura, 25 NW 9th St., factoryobscura.fun. SAT, OCT 15

John Mulaney a live stand-up comedy perfor mance, 8 p.m., Oct. 6. River Spirit Casino Resort, 8330 Riverside Parkway, Tulsa, 918-299-8518, river spirittulsa.com. THU, OCT 6

Landry live stand-up comedian performance, 8 p.m., Oct. 5-7; 7 & 9:30 p.m., Oct. 8. Loony Bin Comedy Club, 8503 N. Rockwell Ave., 405-239-4242, loonybincomedy.com. WED-SAT, OCT 5-8

Let’s Be Frank an insult filled comedy drag show, 10:30 p.m., Oct. 7. Frankie’s, 2807 NW 36th St., 405602-2030, facebook.com/frankiesokc. FRI, OCT 7

OKC Phil: Mahler’s Vienna a performance of von Suppé ‘s Overture to Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna, Johann Strauss’ On the Beautiful Blue Danube and Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor, 8 p.m., Oct. 15. Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave., 405-297-2264, okcciviccenter.com. SAT, OCT 15

Open Mic Night enjoy an evening of music, sto ries, poetry and comedy performances, Thursdays. Core4 Brewing, 7 N. Lee Ave, 405-620-4513. THU, ONGOING

Philharmonia Fantastique: The Making of the Orchestra Oklahoma City

Philharmonic will be performing a live soundtrack to a short film that explores the Orchestra, 2 p.m., Oct. 16. Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave., 405-297-2264, okcciviccenter.com. SUN, OCT 16

Red Dirt Poetry Open Mic a chance for begin ning poets to perform their works, 8 p.m., Oct. 5. Ponyboy, 423 NW 23rd St., 405-602-5985, pony boyokc.com. WED, OCT 5

The Rocky Horror Show newly weds Brad and Janet find themselves stranded at mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s in this groundbreaking musical by Richard O’Brien, Oct. 9-Nov. 2, Wednesdays-Sundays. Lyric Theatre, 1727 NW 16th St., 405-524-9310, lyric theatreokc.com. WED-SUN, THROUGH NOV 2

Roughtail Comedy Night homegrown comedy show alongside some great homegrown brews, third Saturday of every month, 8-10 p.m. Roughtail Brew ing Company, 320 W Memorial Rd, 914-432-2662, linktree.com/1andrewrose. SAT, OCT 16

Sunday Gospel Brunch a comedy performance over brunch hosted by Kitty Bob and Norma Jean as they mix a farcical church service with skits, singalongs, and drag, noon & 1:30 p.m. The Boom, 2218 NW 39th St., 405-601-7200, theboomokc.com. SUN, ONGOING

Swan Lake composed by Tchaikovsky and performed by the World Ballet, tells the story of a prince that falls in love with a queen who was cursed by an evil sorcerer that changed her into a swan, 7 p.m., Oct. 7. Hudiburg Chevrolet Center, 6000 S Trosper Place, 4052972264. FRI, OCT 7

Tom Segura a live stand-up comedy performance, 7 & 9:30 p.m., Oct. 7. The Criterion, 500 E. Sheridan Ave., 405-308-1803, criterionokc.com. FRI, OCT 7

ACTIVE

Biketober an afternoon of family bike riding on the new trails through Scissortail Park and the Rad Rumble BMX challenge on the Velosolutions Pumptrack, 12:30-5 p.m., Oct. 9. Riversport OKC, 800 Riversport Drive, 405-552-4040, riversportokc.org.

SUN, OCT 9

Discover Kayak Class a 90-minute class that teaches the basic strokes, maneuvering techniques, and general safety rules for recreational paddling, 6-7 p.m., Weds.; 10-11 a.m., Sat. Riversport OKC, 800 Riversport Drive, 405-552-4040, riversportokc.org. WED & SAT, ONGOING

Discover Ski Class first-time skiers learn the basics of turning, slowing, and stopping on the slopes all on a customized surface that replicates the feel of snow, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Weds. and Sun.; 10-11 a.m. Sat. Riversport OKC, 800 Riversport Drive, 405-552-4040, riversportokc.org. WED, SAT-SUN, ONGOING

St.,

PICKS

Discover Surf Class learn to surf in less than two hours from bodyboarding to full standing, once the basics are down then it is onto techniques, turning, balancing and wiping out, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Weds. and Sun.; 10-11 a.m. Sat. Riversport OKC, 800 Riversport Drive, 405-552-4040, riversportokc.org. WED, SAT-SUN, ONGOING

Free Yoga in the Park an all-levels class on the Devon Lawn; bring your own water and yoga mat., 6 p.m. Tuesdays and 9 a.m. Saturdays. Myriad Bo tanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. TUE & SAT, ONGOING

Full Moon Bike Ride bring your bike or rent one from Ride OKC for a leisurely ride as the sun sets, lights and helmets are required to participate, 7-8 p.m., Oct. 9. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. SUN, OCT 9

Myriad in Motion: Yoga bring your mat and water for an all-levels yoga class with instructors from YMCA, 6 p.m. Tuesdays and 9 a.m. Saturdays. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. TUE & SAT, ONGOING

Myriad in Motion: Zumba grab your gym clothes and shoes for a cardio Latin-inspired dance workout led by Evelin Pino with YMCA, 6:45 p.m. the first and third Thursdays of the month thru Oct. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405445-7080, myriadgardens.com. THU, ONGOING

OKC Thunder vs Dallas Mavericks profes sional basketball, Wed., Oct. 5. BOK Center, 200 S. Denver Ave.,Tulsa, 918-894-4200, bok.centertulsa. com. WED, OCT 5

OKC Touch Rugby Practice an evening of play ing touch rugby for beginning to advanced players on the Love’s Travel Stops Great Lawn, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Wednesdays, through Oct. 26. Scissortail Park, 300 SW 7th St., 405-445-7080, scissortail park.org. WED, THROUGH OCT 26

Oklahoma City Thunder vs Adelaide 36ers professional basketball game, 7 p.m., Oct. 6. Paycom Center, 100 W. Reno Ave., 405-602-8700, paycomcenter.com. THU, OCT 6

Oklahoma City Thunder vs Maccabi Ra’anana professional basketball game, 6 p.m., Oct. 9. Paycom Center, 100 W. Reno Ave., 405-6028700, paycomcenter.com. SUN, OCT 9

Spooky Skate roll the night away to a Halloween playlist and participate in a costume contest with fun prizes, 6-10 p.m., Oct. 7. Scissortail Park, 300 SW 7th St., 405-445-7080, scissortailpark.org. FRI, OCT 7

Sunset Kayak Experience a sunset paddling ex cursion with a guided tour through the Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge, 8-9 p.m., every other Wednesday. Lake Overholser Boathouse, 3115 E. Overholser Drive, 405-552-4040, riversportokc.org/lake-overholser.

EVERY OTHER WED, ONGOING

Wheeler Crit cheer on Oklahoma’s top cyclists at this weekly race around the Wheeler District, 5:30 p.m., Tuesdays, through Nov. 4. The Big Friendly Brewery & Taproom, 1737 Spoke St., 405-492-3785, thebigfriendly.com. TUE, THROUGH NOV 4

WWE Raw professional wrestling matches, 6:30 p.m., Oct. 17. Paycom Center, 100 W. Reno Ave., 405-602-8700, paycomcenter.com. MON, OCT 17

XFN 383 professional kickboxing matches, 7 p.m., Oct. 14. River Spirit Casino Resort, 8330 Riverside Parkway, Tulsa, 918-299-8518, riverspirittulsa.com. FRI, OCT 14

Yoga at the Wheel a class for all levels led by This Land Yoga, all that is required is a mat, third Sunday of every month, 10-11 a.m. Wheeler Ferris Wheel, 1701 S. Western Ave., 405-655-8455, wheel erdistrict.com/ferris-wheel. SUN, OCT 16

Zumba at Scissortail Park participate in a weekly free class at the Sky Rink Event Pavilion, 9-10 a.m., Saturdays, through Oct. 29. Scissortail Park, 300 SW 7th St., 405-445-7080, scissortail park.org. SAT, THROUGH OCT 29

VISUAL ARTS

Bricklive Animal Paradise features statues of endangered animals with the entire installation be ing made of almost two million toy building blocks, through Oct. 30. The Oklahoma City Zoo, 2000 Remington Place, 405-424-3344, okczoo.com.

THROUGH OCT 30

Moonage Daydream (2022, USA, Brett Morgen) a biographical documentary of David Bowie exploring his creative and musical journey throughout his life, Sept. 30-Oct. 9. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. FRI-SUN, SEPT 30-OCT 9

Photo provided

Chihuly Then and Now: The Collection at Twenty an exhibition celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Chihuly collection at OKCMOA showcasing five decades of glass and painting telling the story of his groundbreaking career fea turing never before seen works in Oklahoma City, through June 18, 2024. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. THROUGH JUNE 18, 2024

Copper Snakes features paintings by Kees Holter man with characters exploring memories that trans formed, repaired and renewed experiences in everyday life, through Oct. 15. Artspace at Untitled, 1 NE Third St., 405-815-9995, 1ne3.org. THROUGH OCT 15

Destination Oklahoma features works from five different Oklahoma artists throughout the state, depicting the distinct cultural backgrounds in various media types, such as ceramics, photo graphs, video, painting and more, through Oct. 17. Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, 11 NW 11th St., 405-951-0000, oklahomacontemporary.org.

THROUGH OCT 17

The Elevate at 21c a program that presents exhibitions for local artists in the community which currently features works by Virginia Sitzes and a collaboration between Denise Duong and Gabriel Friedman, through Jan. 31, 2023. 21c Museum Hotel, 900 W. Main St., 405-982-6900, 21cmuseumhotels. com. THROUGH JAN 31

Highlights from the Rose Family Glass Col lection this private curated collection showcases a broader look at the Studio Glass movement that began in the 1950s in America and continues to present date, through Jan. 15, 2023. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. THROUGH JAN 15, 2023

The Horse’s Landscape features artists Carol Armstrong, Diana Beach-Stamper, J. Dylan Cavin, and Linda Kukuk, whose works give a traditional view of the Native American horse, their riders, their wild, and the west. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. through Nov. 10. Red Earth Art Center, 100 N. Broadway Ave., Ste 110, 405-427-5228, redearth. org. THROUGH NOV 10

In Living Color featuring works of 3 artists, Brent Learned, Katie Henderson and Rebecca Wheeler, through Oct. 29. JRB Art at The Elms, 2810 N. Walker Ave., 405-528-6336, jrbartgallery.com. FRISAT, OCT 29

Jose Dávila features sculptures in which the artist has balanced industrial materials in precarious continued on page 23

st sound

OKG PICKS

Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition Rome viewers can get a face-to-face experience with a reproduction of the original work, Thursdays-Sundays, through Dec. 5. Sail & The Dock, 617 W. Sheridan Ave., 218-355-8467, chapelsistine.com/ex hibits/oklahoma-city. FRI-SUN, THROUGH DEC 5 Photo provided

continued from page 21

ways off of fabricated construction, through May 2023. Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, 11 NW 11th St., 405-951-0000, oklahomacontemporary. org. THU-SAT, THROUGH MAY 2023

Of the Earth: Creating First Americans Museum view the architectural history of the museum being constructed from the stage of construction to the people involved in its creation, ongoing. First Americans Museum, 659 First Americans Blvd., 405-594-2100.

ONGOING

OKLA HOMMA the signature exhibition of the museum, features works of art, interactive media, and film from all 39 tribes in Oklahoma as of today depicting stories with ancestral origins, collective histories, sports and more, ongoing. First Americans Museum, 659 First Americans Blvd., 405-594-2100.

ONGOING

One Hundred Years of Revolution: French Art from 1850 to 1950 features works arranged in chronological order to show how the French artists changed from creating realistic depictions of the world to abstract compositions over a 100 year period, through Feb. 19, 2023. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. THROUGH FEB 19, 2023

Paseo Arts District’s First Friday Gallery Walk peruse art from over 80 artists with 25 participating businesses for a night of special themed exhibits, refreshments and a variety of entertainment opportunities, 6-9 p.m. first Friday of every month. Paseo Arts District, 3024 Paseo St., 405-525-2688, thepaseo.org. FRI, OCT 7

Perception and Technique in Abstract Art features works covering two different techniques of abstract styles through various artists, through Jan. 15, 2023. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. THROUGH JAN 15, 2023

Robert Rauschenberg: Pressing News features work by Robert Rauschenberg from his Currents exhibition in which he collaged together headlines, photographs, advertisements, and articles from national newspapers, through Feb. 27, 2023. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma. THROUGH FEB 27, 2023

Second Friday Art Walk a free celebration of arts & creativity held monthly in the Walker Arts District of Downtown Norman, second Friday of every month, 6 p.m. Downtown Norman, 122 E. Main St., 405-637-6225, downtownnorman.com. FRI, OCT 7

Selections from In Citizen’s Garb: Native Americans on the Southern Plains an exhibit displaying modern gelatin silver prints made from glass plate negatives of Indigenous people in the Lawton and Fort Sill area from 1889 to 1891, ongo

ing. Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, 405-521-2491, okhistory.org. TUE-MON, ONGOING

The SuperNatural an exhibit features works from several artists focusing on a new world whose shape and matter will be determined by human activity. 21c Museum Hotel, 900 W. Main St., 405-982-6900, 21cmuseumhotels.com. THROUGH FEB 28, 2023

Synesthesia Factory Obscura’s newest immer sive art experience focusing on color and textural elements while guests open their senses to dis cover what colors sound and smell like. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma. THROUGH JUNE 4, 2023

Traditional Cowboy Arts Exhibition and Sale a showcase of saddle making, bit and spur making, silversmithing and rawhide braiding, Sept. 30-Jan. 2.

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum. org. FRI-SAT, THROUGH JAN 2

Vibes enjoy a night of visual and performing arts, while shopping and dinning local and even partici pate in interactive art activities, first Thursday of every month. through Oct. 6. Downtown Edmond, 32 N. Broadway Ave., 405-249-9391, downtowned mondok.com. THU, OCT 6

What Would They Have Wanted?

featuring works by Sylvie Mayer that focuses on the process of grieving, the associated ceremonies and coming to terms with loss, Sept. 29-Oct. 22. Artspace at Untitled, 1 NE 3rd St., 405-815-9995, 1ne3.org. THU-SAT, THROUGH OCT 22

WINIKO: Life of an Object, Selections from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian reflecting on the Native belief that their cultural materials hold the spirit of their makers and those who wore or used them this exhibit features of over 100 items that have been returned to the 39 tribes of Oklahoma after being taken from them in the early 1900s, ongoing. First Americans Museum, 659 First Americans Blvd., 405-594-2100. ONGOING

Visit okgazette.com/Events/AddEvent to submit your event or email them to listings@okgazette.com. Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.

Submissions must be received by Oklahoma Gazette no later than noon on Wednesday fourteen days before the desired publication date. Submissions run as space allows, although we strive to make the listings as inclusive as possible.

For OKG live music see page 29

Live wires

OKC IS IN THE MIDST OF A LIVE MUSIC RENAISSANCE AND, AS THE PANDEMIC WANES, THE CONCERT SCHEDULE WAXES.

By Chad Whitehead

Ten years ago, Oklahoma City had no Criterion. The Jones Assembly hadn’t been assembled, and Tower Theatre was still an abandoned relic of a bygone era. There were still concerts that came to town, but the city has grown and hopefully with it, our appetite for shows.

OKC concert goers are in for a busy month. Local venues booked 14 acts performing at Austin City Limits Festival: The Chicks, Paramore, Billy Strings, Conan Gray, Goose, Big Wild, Sofi Tukker, Noah Cyrus, Kevin Morby, Magdalena Bay, Role Model, Sloppy Jane and two others that ended up canceling dates.

If you grabbed this Oklahoma Gazette hot off the press, get ready for a week of: Paramore, Big Wild, Tom Segura, Conan Gray, The Chicks, Dylan Scott and more. If you need a bit more time to make a plan (read: find a babysitter), here are some shows in October worth checking out.

Quick note: Always buy your tickets directly from the venue so that your seats are guaranteed and you won’t have any issues at the door with scam tickets.

Kevin Morby

Oct. 10

Beer City Music Hall

Fans of a certain age will have stories of going to high school in Edmond with Kevin Morby, but that’s not why the rest of us have had this date circled on our calendars for most of this year. Kevin Morby represents the best of the folk indie scene and he’s still just getting better.

I’m not a fan of Mondays either, but this show cuts through.

For fans of Shakey Graves, Cass McCombs.

We Were Promised Jetpacks

Oct. 1

Beer City Music Hall

WWPJ are an indie band from Scotland. I’m not a sad bastard, but give me that Scottish brogue and some crunchy, technical guitars all day. It’s all the soul searching of Frightened Rabbit with a slightly faster tempo.

For fans of Death Cab for Cutie, Frightened Rabbit.

Role Model Oct. 12

Tower Theatre

The pandemic has been a great setting for artists in the bedroom pop genre. All that extra time stuck at home to record has now transi tioned into some very large crowds on tour. That’s the case for Role Model, who has suc cessfully blown up and is taking his music with open lyrics about mental health, depression and more on the road.

For fans of Mac Miller, Harry Styles.

Tai Verdes Oct. 13

Tower Theatre

What’s not to love about an artist who started the pandemic working at a T-Mobile store writing

songs and sharing them via TikTok? Tai Verdes is the music of right now. It’s today, it’s fresh, honest and fun without taking itself too seriously.

For fans of Still Woozy, Jawny.

Sloppy Jane Oct. 13

Ponyboy

Sloppy Jane sounds like what would happen if the Wicked Witch of the West made an angsty goth record. And it’s incredible. First show I’ve ever seen that is black tie-suggested.

For fans of Julien Baker, Pom Pom Squad.

Wallows

Oct. 13

The Criterion

I’m too tall (and old) for festivals, but I loved watching all the live streams from Coachella, Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo. Guess what they all had in common? Wallows. Main stage. Big time crowds. Wallows played (and crushed) all three festivals and are also playing ACL. Say what you want about my taste, but you can’t argue with the talent buyers from the four biggest brand-name music festivals in America.

For fans of Vampire Weekend, COIN.

Goose Oct. 14

The Criterion

Goose is the hottest jam band in America. They blew through Tower last year and will blow through Criterion as well. After they play both weekends at ACL with a Criterion date in between, they’ve been tapped by Trey Anastasio for an 11-date arena tour.

For fans of The String Cheese Incident, Umphrey’s McGee.

MUSIC

Billy Strings Oct. 15

The Criterion

This show is super sold out, just like Teddy Swims at Tower Theatre the night before. I’m only listing it here to drive up your FOMO. Other sold-out shows for the market include The Chicks (Zoo Amp) and Conan Gray (The Criterion). Don’t miss out on the best shows — buy your tickets in advance.

Sofi Tukker Oct. 18

The Jones Assembly

Fresh off their new album, Wet Tennis, Sofi Tukker hit OKC for their first play in the market. If you’ve ever wondered what an EDM/ dance show would feel like at The Jones Assembly, don’t miss this show. Everyone who goes is in for a dance-y, sweaty good time. For fans of Sylvan Esso, LP Giobbi.

Live music has the power to make us feel things, helps us unite with others and ourselves and can provide an animating break from the bleakness of modern life. So go to a show! Or don’t. But no com plaining about the Oklahoma City concert calendar anymore. Any city in America would be happy to have such a stacked lineup.

Jason Scott & The High Heat perform at Beer City Music Hall. | Photo by Berlin Green.

Scan for Spotify playlist.

Celebrating

Years!

Straight in, no tricks

By Brett Fieldcamp

“I’m always fighting with it,” modern blues guitar legend Tab Benoit said about his now nearmythical 1972 Fender Telecaster, the same guitar he’s been playing practically every single day for over thirty years.

“It’s not easy to play. It doesn’t play good, but I like it like that. You have to squeeze things out of it. It’s not doing it on its own.”

For Benoit, the blues is life, but it doesn’t ever come easily. Since starting out in the late 80s, he’s stayed true to his own personal ethos that every night and every

performance should be unique, energetic, and above all, authentic.

It’s that belief in raw authen ticity that drives him to play his guitar “straight in,” as Benoit puts it, meaning he foregoes all the effects pedals, high-end gear, and digital manipulation of modern guitar tech in favor of plugging his guitar straight into his amp, cranking the volume to 10 and going to work.

“Every time you plug some thing in between the guitar and the amp, it makes it a little smoother and easier,” Benoit

LOUISIANA GUITAR MASTER TAB BENOIT BRINGING REAL BAYOU BLUES TO THE AUDITORIUM AT THE DOUGLASS.

Tab Benoit, live at the Fillmore.

|

Photo Kristine Schnacke.

said. “It takes away a little bit of that pain, and if you’re playing music for people as a way to com municate, you know, it hurts a little. It’s the blues. It’s supposed to hurt.”

Benoit practically lives on the road, touring through literally every month of this year with never more than a couple weeks off at a time, even hitting OKC as recently as July.

For that show, he was at Belle Isle Brewery, belting his rowdy, bayou-born blues alongside beers and steak dinners. When he swings back through on Oct. 12, he’ll be taking the quiet perform ing arts stage at The Auditorium at The Douglass to an audience of rapt listeners far removed from the barroom backdrop.

To Benoit, a stage is a stage and he’s bringing the same sweltering blues no matter the room.

“I don’t have any set way of doing anything, or any kind of set show,” he said. “There is no ‘show.’ It’s an engine and I just kick-start it and then it’s running. Every show is its own thing, you know, and it’s only going to be that thing for that one time. Like every show is a little baby, and it grows and grows, and when we’re done, we just send it off to college.”

Benoit maintains this seem ingly neverending touring sched ule even without having released a new album in more than a decade. For him, the blues can’t really be captured in the studio. It’s a living thing, meant to be experienced in person.

“I’m a live artist, not a record ing artist,” he said. “It’s never been about that. It’s always been about playing live and that’s where it should be.”

With no signs of stopping – or even slowing down – any time soon, Benoit keeps his focus on delivering a one-of-a-kind, all-onthe-field show every night, always chasing down the fleeting, unfor gettable moments that can turn a concert into a truly cathartic and communal experience.

“I’m just digging for gold,” he said. “Every night when I go up, it’s a new exploration, you know, and it’s fun to go explore, because now I’m just learning how to use the tools better and I can dig better holes.”

Tab Benoit and his band take the stage with support from The Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

Visit auditoriumatdouglass.com.

KIDS WILL TRY

ADD THE RIGHT

LRYN - HERE4FOREVER

AFTER YEARS OF SONGWRITING, LAURYN HARDIMAN FINDS HER GROOVE IN A SLICK R&B MAKEOVER THAT RECALIBRATES THE TRAJECTORY OF HER CAREER.

By Evan Jarvicks

LRYN is not an acronym, but if it was, it might stand for Low-key Rekindling Your Night. The project’s pop/R&B music wears a sound palette suited to a sensual evening of flirtatious conversation. With slick beats, smooth key synths, and smoky vocals, LRYN understands that a delicate touch applied to a few sweet spots can ignite a mood with seeming effortlessness.

LRYN is not an acronym, however. It is the revamped musical identity of singer-songwriter Lauryn Hardiman, and the ease with which her music sizzles is deceiving. LRYN’s sound has arguably been in the works for as long as Hardiman has been making music, with prior guitar-driven releases under her full name hinting at the unabashed pop to come. Even her fully acoustic teen ager efforts — they’re erased from the web these days — carried a mellow modern soul. In the years since, a combination of increased pro duction savvy and confident attitude cultivated LRYN.

The five tracks that comprise her new debut EP, HERE4EVER, may total less than 13 minutes of playtime, but they took a year and a half to create. Working with producer Logan Bruhn, one of the wizards behind hitmaker Josh Fudge’s repertoire, Hardiman manifests her pop music desires with tight song structures and some of the most comfortable studio performances she has ever delivered.

The result is a breeze of a narrative EP built around amorous ups and downs. Opener “Right Back” crushes hard on someone; “Dress Up” sings about a burgeoning love affair; “Here4Ever” falls seriously head over heels; “Lame AF” documents the unfaithful fallout; and “Come Thru” rebounds with a post-mortem party number. The tracklist flow is

smooth, especially in the last half. It ensures this tasty snack of a listen goes down easy.

HERE4EVER rewards returning appetites too. Little blink-and-miss moments are peppered throughout, from the titillating whisper work in “Dress Up” to the subtle reverb boosts during select parts of “Come Thru.” It is this attention to detail

that saves the EP’s song topics and production conventions from drown ing in genre tropes. The reference points that Hardiman brings to the project are naturally inspired by her artistic reinvention, so where soni cally-similar pop radio hits can feel commercially hollow, everything here comes across as personally resonant. The organic process behind the album shines through.

By setting aside the guitar and fol lowing her heart to a more soulful form of expression, Hardiman sur mounts the folk/Americana fences of what a songstress in Oklahoma music is traditionally expected to be. As LRYN, she is free to realize her true potential, and with HERE4EVER setting the new base line for all Lauryn Hardiman proj ects going forward, that potential is as hot as the EP’s smoldering sunsetbronze cover art implies.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 5

Alice Howe and Freebo, The Blue Door. FOLK

Big Head Todd & The Monsters, Cain’s Ball room, Tulsa. ROCK

The Chicks, The Zoo Amphitheatre. COUNTRY Conan Gray, The Criterion. SINGER/SONGWRITER

David Chamberlain Band, Hollywood Corners. COUNTRY

Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, Tower Theatre. COUNTRY

Ginuwine, Tulsa Expo Square, Tulsa. R&B

Kendrick McKinney Trio, 51st Street Speakeasy. JAZZ

Kenny Pitts, The Jones Assembly. ACOUSTIC

Trett Charles, River Spirit Casino Resort, Tulsa. COUNTRY

The Wednesday Band, The Deli. COUNTRY

THURSDAY, OCT. 6

Big Wild/Josh Fudge, The Criterion. DANCE

Christopher Cross, Tower Theatre. POP

Country Music Group Therapy/Biscuits & Groovy, The Deli. COUNTRY

DJ Ecog, River Spirit Casino Resort, Tulsa. VARIETY

Dylan Scott, Tulsa Expo Square, Tulsa. COUNTRY

Joel Forlenza, Othello’s Italian Restaurant, Nor man. INSTRUMENTALISTS

Shelly Phelps and The Storm, Bourbon Street Bar. BLUES

Short & Broke/The BlueRays/JL Jones, Mojo’s Blues Club. BLUES

FRIDAY, OCT. 7

Brad Absher/Merry Walkers/CFR, Blue Note. BLUES

Caleb McGee/John Elisha, The Deli. BLUES

Carter Sampson/Amelia White, The Blue Door. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Enchanted, 79th St. Sound Stage Productions. TRIBUTE

Highway 4, VZD’s Restaurant & Bar. ROCK

Jeremiah Goodblanket, Core4 Brewing. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Jukebox the Ghost/Corook, Beer City Music Hall. POP

McKee Brother Jazz Band, Bourbon Street Bar. JAZZ

Niko Moon, Tulsa Expo Square, Tulsa. SINGER/ SONGWRITER

Outline in Color/When the Clock Strikes/Fly/ You Fools/ All’s Fair, The Vanguard, Tulsa. ROCK

Shortt Dogg, UCO Jazz Lab. BLUES

Steve Vai, Tower Theatre. ROCK

Tequila Songbirds/Bailey Gilbert, Ponyboy. COUNTRY

Wade Cockrill, The Jones Assembly. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Whisky Outlaws/Morgan, River Spirit Casino Resort, Tulsa. COUNTRY

SATURDAY, OCT. 8

Adam Carroll and Chris Carroll, The Blue Door. COUNTRY

Blue Morrison, Ponyboy. ROCK

Brantley Cowan, Bedlam Bar-B-Q. ROCK

Brian Gorrell and Jazz Company, UCO Jazz Lab. JAZZ

Ceramic Animal/Trash Panda/Spirit of the Bear, 89th Street—OKC. ROCK

Dr. Pants, Full Circle Bookstore. ACOUSTIC

Dylan Scott, Tower Theatre. SINGER/SONG WRITER

Garrett Bryan & The Traveling City Commit tee/Matt Moran/JMASTY, Blue Note. POP

Gene Stroman/Makenna Fields/Shane Rob inson/Bella Brown/Maggie King, Rodeo Opry. COUNTRY

Jacob Christian, VZD’s Restaurant & Bar. COUNTRY

JAH Mystics, Hollywood Corners. RED DIRT

Joel Forlenza, Othello’s Italian Restaurant, Nor man. INSTRUMENTALISTS

Kinda Collective/Bee and the Hive/ Runnerup, The Vanguard, Tulsa. ALTERNATIVE

Kyle Rainer, Hollywood Corners. COUNTRY Night of the Singing Dead/Montu/Olympus Mons, The Deli. ELECTRONIC Paramore, The Criterion. ALTERNATIVE Zodiac/Peachtrees, River Spirit Casino Resort, Tulsa. DANCE

SUNDAY, OCT. 9

BettySoo, The Blue Door. FOLK

Brent Giddens, River Spirit Casino Resort, Tulsa. COUNTRY

Celtic Jam, Full Circle Bookstore. CELTIC

Dissonant Possession/Constant Peril/Esc Ctrl, The Vanguard, Tulsa. METAL

The Midnight/Nightly, Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa. ELECTRONIC

No Whiners Aloud, Mojo’s Blues Club. BLUES

Olivia Komahcheet/AJ Harvey, The Depot. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Tin Can Gramophone/Hosty, The Deli. FOLK

MONDAY, OCT. 10

The Aints/Bailey Gilbert & Friends, The Deli. AMERICANA

Attack Attack!/Across the White Water Tower/ Revision, Revised, 89th Street—OKC. METAL

Barrett Lewis, River Spirit Casino Resort, Tulsa. ROCK Kevin Morby/Cassandra Jenkins/Noah Cyrus, Beer City Music Hall. ALTERNATIVE

Titus Andronicus/Country Westerns/Rattle snake Diner, The Vanguard, Tulsa. ROCK

TUESDAY, OCT. 11

Ben Neikirk, River Spirit Casino Resort, Tulsa. COVER Blake O, The Jones Assembly. ELECTRONIC Bruce Benson & Studio B, 51st Street Speakeasy. BLUES

Caleb McGee, The Deli. BLUES Frankie & the Witch Fingers, The Vanguard, Tulsa. INDIE

The Luka State, Ponyboy. ALTERNATIVE Spoon/Glove, Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa. ROCK

We Were Promised Jetpacks, Beer City Music Hall. ALTERNATIVE

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 12

Begonia, Ponyboy. POP Cooksey Band, Hollywood Corners. COUNTRY Jose Hernandez, The Jones Assembly. SINGER/ SONGWRITER

Role Model, Tower Theatre. POP Tab Benoit/the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, The Auditorium at the Douglass. BLUES

Trett Charles, River Spirit Casino Resort, Tulsa. COUNTRY

The Wednesday Band, The Deli. COUNTRY

THURSDAY, OCT. 13

Country Music Group Therapy/Biscuits & Groovy, The Deli. COUNTRY Edgar Cruz/Red Dirt Rangers/Brave Amigos, UCO Jazz Lab. ACOUSTIC

Shelly Phelps and The Storm, Bourbon Street Bar. BLUES

Short & Broke/The BlueRays/JL Jones, Mojo’s Blues Club. BLUES

Sloppy Jane, Ponyboy. ROCK Sykamor/Anomalist/Aulnes, Blue Note. METAL Tai Verdes, Tower Theatre. POP

Train, River Spirit Casino Resort, Tulsa. POP Wallows, The Criterion. INDIE

FRIDAY, OCT. 14

Resort, Tulsa. COUNTRY

Man Man, 89th Street—OKC. ROCK

McKee Brother Jazz Band, Bourbon Street Bar. JAZZ

Mystery Dates, Hollywood Corners. COVER Quiet Riot/Vixen, Sugar Creek Casino, Hinton. ROCK

Sarafina Byrd, Ponyboy. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Teddy Swims, Tower Theatre. SINGER/SONG WRITER

Will Gaines, The Jones Assembly. SINGER/ SONGWRITER

SATURDAY, OCT. 15

100 Bones Band, The Deli. VARIOUS Ashley Osborn/Luke Haley/Hannah David son/Brock Dunning/Kylie Bishop, Rodeo Opry. COUNTRY

Big G and Big E, Belle Isle Restaurant and Brew ery. BLUES

Billy Strings, The Criterion. BLUEGRASS

Boyz Night Out, Bedlam Bar-B-Q. BLUES

Hemlock/Subversion/Caustic/Antipath, The Sanctuary. PUNK

Jabee, Blue Note. HIP-HOP

Joel Forlenza, Othello’s Italian Restaurant, Nor man. INSTRUMENTALISTS

McKee Brother Jazz Band, Bourbon Street Bar. JAZZ

Megan & the Foxes, Core4 Brewing. BLUES

Midas 13/Blake Turner, River Spirit Casino Resort, Tulsa. COUNTRY

My So Called Band, The Vanguard, Tulsa. COVER

New Years Day, Beer City Music Hall. METAL Quest, UCO Jazz Lab. JAZZ

Reba, Paycom Center. COUNTRY

Red Grass String Band, Hollywood Corners. BLUEGRASS

Roy Book Binder, The Blue Door. BLUES

Uncle Zep, VZD’s Restaurant & Bar. TRIBUTE

SUNDAY, OCT. 16

Marisela, Hudiburg Chevrolet Center. LATIN Matisyahu, Tower Theatre. INDIE Mersiv/Rossy/SuperAve/Kyral x Banko, The Vanguard, Tulsa. DANCE

Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets, The Tulsa Theater, Tulsa. ROCK

Tin Can Gramophone/Hosty, The Deli. FOLK

MONDAY, OCT. 17

The Aints/Bailey Gilbert & Friends, The Deli. AMERICANA

Barrett Lewis, River Spirit Casino Resort, Tulsa. ROCK

Ekkstacy, Beer City Music Hall. ALTERNATIVE

Marcus Mumford/The A’s, Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa. SINGER/SONGWRITER

TUESDAY, OCT. 18

Bruce Benson & Studio B, 51st Street Speakeasy. BLUES

Caleb McGee, The Deli. BLUES

Magdalena Bay formed by Mica Tenenbaum (singer-songwriter) and Matthew Lewin (producer), this synth-pop electronic duo came on to the scene in late 2021 with their debut album, Mercurial World, featuring 90s-throwback space themed music and kitschy DIY music videos and are now currently on tour pro moting the deluxe version of this album. Check them out Oct. 13 at Beer City Music Hall, 1141 NW 2nd St., 405-896-8716, beer citymusichall.com. THU, OCT 13

Alex Cameron, Beer City Music Hall. ALTERNATIVE Goose, The Criterion. ROCK

The Great Divide/The Reeves Brothers, Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa. RED DIRT Had Enough, The Vanguard, Tulsa. METAL The Imaginaries, VZD’s Restaurant & Bar. COUNTRY

Jessica Tate/Hosty, The Deli. INSTRUMENTAL Kat Lock/ Bee & the Hive/Brotherboy/ Ash Bros, Blue Note. ALTERNATIVE Keathley and the Burning Bras, Ponyboy. ALTERNATIVE

Kyle Rainer/Five Year Gap, River Spirit Casino

GO TO OKGAZETTE.COM FOR FULL LISTINGS!

The Deer/Them Coulee Boys, Ponyboy. COUNTRY Ghostlike/Nightospere/Charlotte Bumgar ner/ Nuldeath, The Sanctuary. ALTERNATIVE

Sofi Tukker/Mary Droppinz/Bob’s Dance Shop, The Jones Assembly. ELECTRONIC

Live music submissions must be received by Oklahoma Gazette no later than noon on Wednesday seven days before the desired publication date. Late submissions will not be included in the listings. Submissions run as space allows, although we strive to make the listings as inclusive as possible. Visit okgazette.com to submit your lisitngs or email listings@okgazette.com. Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.

These are events recommended by Oklahoma Gazette editorial staff members. For full calendar listings, go to okgazette.com.

Photo by Lissyelle Laricchia/provided

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

When you Aries folks are at your best, you are drawn to people who tell you exactly what they think, who aren’t intimidated by your high energy, and who dare to be as vigorous as you. I hope you have an array of allies like that in your sphere right now. In my astrological opinion, you especially need their kind of stimulation. It’s an excellent time to invite influences that will nudge you out of your status quo and help you glide into a new groove. Are you willing to be challenged and changed?

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

Author Toni Morrison thought that beauty was “an absolute necessity” and not “a privilege or an indulgence.” She said that “finding, incorporating, and then representing beauty is what humans do.” In her view, we can’t live without beauty “any more than we can do without dreams or oxygen.” All she said is even truer for Tauruses and Libras than the other signs. And you Bulls have an extra wrinkle: It’s optimal if at least some of the beauty in your life is useful. Your mandate is summed up well by author Anne Michaels: “Find a way to make beauty necessary; find a way to make necessity beautiful.” I hope you’ll do a lot of that in the coming weeks.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

Philosopher Alfred North Whitehead said, “It requires a very unusual mind to make an analysis of the obvious.” I nominate you to perform that service in the coming days, both for yourself and your allies. No one will be better able than you to discern the complexities of seemingly simple situations. You will also have extraordinary power to help people appreciate and even embrace paradox. So be a crafty master of candor and transparency, Gemini. Demonstrate the benefits of being loyal to the objective evidence rather than to the easy and popular delusions. Tell the interesting truths.

THE HIGH CULTURE STRAIN REVIEWS

green, deep purple and bis Experience opened in a beautifully-renovated Western Avenue home near NW 86th St. in June. The Sherb Pie’s face-pounding aroma was a surefire sign of a quality smoke sesh. Charly’s is a family-owned grow that bills itself as artisanal craft cannabis, and their passion shines through in this heavily trichome-encrusted hybrid. This particular cross of Wedding Cake, Gelato 33 and Sunset Sherb BX1 hits as hard as it smells — in a great way. This flower offers a smooth and fla vorful smoking experience, leaving a hint of sweetness behind. Expect a

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

bridge between starshine and clay, my one hand holding tight my other hand.” During October, fellow Cancerian, I propose you draw inspiration from her heroic efforts to create herself. The coming weeks will be a time when you can achieve small miracles as you bolster your roots, nourish your soulful confidence, and ripen your uniqueness.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

“Dear Rob the Astrologer: This morning I put extra mousse on my hair and blow-dried the hell out of it, so now it is huge and curly and impossibly irresistible. I’m wearing bright orange shoes so everyone will stare at my feet, and a blue silk blouse that is much too high-fashion to wear to work. It has princess seams and matches my eyes. I look fantastic. How could anyone of any gender resist drinking in my magnificence? I realize you’re a spiritual type and may not approve of my showmanship, but I wanted you to know that what I’m doing is a totally valid way to be a Leo. —Your Leo teacher Brooke.” Dear Brooke: Thank you for your helpful instruction! It’s true that I periodically need to loosen my tight grip on my high principles. I must be more open to appreciating life’s raw feed. I hope you will perform a similar service for everyone you encounter in the coming weeks.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

How to be the best Virgo you can be during the coming weeks: 1. You must relish, not apologize for, your precise obsessions. 2. Be as nosy as you need to be to discover the core truths hidden beneath the surface. Risk asking almost too many questions in your subtle drive to know everything.

3. Help loved ones and allies shrink and heal their insecurities. 4. Generate beauty and truth through your skill at knowing what needs to be purged and shed. 5. Always have your Bullshit Detector with you. Use it liberally. 6. Keep in close touch with the conversations between your mind and body.

The Libran approach to fighting for what’s right shouldn’t involve getting into loud arguments or trying to manipulate people into seeing things your way. If you’re doing what you were born to do, you rely on gentler styles of persuasion. Are you doing what you were born to do? Have you become skilled at using clear, elegant language to say what you mean? Do you work in behalf of the best outcome rather than merely serving your ego? Do you try to understand why others feel the way they do, even if you disagree with their conclusions? I hope you call on these superpowers in the coming weeks. We all need you to be at the height of your potency.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

“One bad apple spoils the rest” is an idiom in the English language. It refers to the idea that if one apple rots as it rests in a pile of apples, the rest will quickly rot, too. It’s based on a scientific fact. As an apple decays, it emanates the gas ethylene, which speeds up decay in nearby apples. A variant of this idiom has recently evolved in relation to police misconduct, however. When law enforcement officials respond to such allegations, they say that a few “bad apples” in the police force aren’t representative of all the other cops. So I’m wondering which side of the metaphor is at work for you right now, Scorpio. Should you immediately expunge the bad apple in your life? Or should you critique and tolerate it? Should you worry about the possibility of contamination, or can you successfully enforce damage control? Only you know the correct answer.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

Of all the signs in the zodiac, you Sagittarians know best how to have fun even when life sucks. Your daily rhythm may temporarily become a tangle of boring or annoying tasks, yet you can still summon a knack for enjoying yourself. But let me ask you this: How are your instincts for drumming up amusement when life doesn’t suck? Are you as talented at whipping up glee and inspiration when the daily rhythm is smooth and groovy? I suspect we will gather evidence to answer those questions in the coming weeks. Here’s my prediction: The good times will spur you to new heights of creating even more good times.

More than you might realize, people look to you for leadership and regard you as a role model. This will be extra true in the coming weeks. Your statements and actions will have an even bigger impact than usual. Your influence will ripple out far beyond your sphere. In light of these developments, which may sometimes be subtle, I encourage you to upgrade your sense of responsibility. Make sure your integrity is impeccable. Another piece of advice, too: Be an inspiring example to people without making them feel like they owe you anything.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

Rapper-songwriter Nicki Minaj says, “You should never feel afraid to become a piece of art. It’s exhilarating.” I will go further, Aquarius. I invite you to summon ingenuity and joy in your efforts to be a work of art. The coming weeks will be an ideal time for you to tease out more of your inner beauty so that more people can benefit from it. I hope you will be dramatic and expressive about showing the world the full array of your interesting qualities. PS: Please call on the entertainment value of surprise and unpredictability.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

Author Robertson Davies declared, “One learns one’s mystery at the price of one’s innocence.” It sounds poetic, but it doesn’t apply to most of you Pisceans— especially now. Here’s what I’ve concluded: The more you learn your mystery, the more innocent you become. Please note I’m using the word “innocence” in the sense defined by author Clarissa Pinkola Estés. She wrote: “Ignorance is not knowing anything and being attracted to the good. Innocence is knowing everything and still being attracted to the good.”

Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s expanded weekly audio horoscopes / daily text message horoscopes. The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.

FIND MORE STRAIN REVIEWS AT OKGAZETTE.COM/THEHIGHCULTURE

ACROSS

1 Fish-tank buildup

6 Bog product

10 P.M. times

14 Suisse peak

18 Disney film with a titular heroine

19 Pricing word

20 Christmas color for Elvis

21 Pork cut

22 Mechanic’s go-to parenting phrase?

26 Painter whose motifs include ants and eggs

27 Give the nod

28 “Check it out for yourself”

29 Mauna ____

31 French liver

33

Some remote power sources

35 Up to 11 meters for a pterodactyl

37 Personal trainer’s go-to parenting phrase?

43 Like some restrictions

44 Stephen King’s first published novel 45 Your and my relative?

46 Roof overhang

48 Horror star Chaney 49 In the past 50 Affectionate greeting 51 Arid

52 Small building block 55 Conductor’s go-to

parenting phrase?

63 Liquor in tiramisù

64 TV drama with spinoffs set in Hawaii and New Orleans

65 Cornerstone abbr.

66 Eightfold

69 Animal working in the D.M.V. in “Zootopia”

72 Texas politician Beto 74 It’s a drag

75 Singer James

77 Share accommodations 79 Mathematician’s go-to parenting phrase?

86 Emmy-winning Ward 87 Lemon ____ 88 Insult

89 Hosp. area

90 Clean Air Act org.

92 “Star Wars” order

93 Word seen at the end of many Jean-Luc Godard movies

94 From where 97 From the get-go

100 Air traffic controller’s go-to parenting phrase?

103 Accepts the facts

105 Her pronoun partner

106 Farmyard mamas

107 2003 Will Ferrell movie

108 Spooky 110 Lacking the resources

113 Not out of the running

117 Librarian’s go-to parenting phrase?

121 Google ____ (Zoom alternative)

122 Chemical suffixes

123 Backless shoe

124 Maybe one, maybe both 125 GPS calculations, in brief 126 “I did it!”

127 Jabbers 128 Jen ____, 2021-22

White House press secretary

DOWN

1 Surrounded by

2 Tragic showgirl of song

3 Chutzpah

4 Like PETA

5 ____ de vie

6 Gift for writing

7 Noshes

8 Feel that gym session

9 What something might appear out of or disappear into

10 Epitome of simplicity

11 Guam’s features a sailboat and palm tree

12 “The Burden of Proof”

author

13 Like many resorts

14 Ingredient in homemade hand sanitizer

15 Reed of the Velvet Underground

16 Sellers franchise, with “The”

17 Charm 23 Poker option 24 Solo

PUZZLES

25 Baroque painter Guido

30 ____ port in a storm

32 Nail-polish brand with a “Tickle My France-y” shade

34 Part of a homemade Halloween costume

36 Animal that turns white in the winter

37 Large number 38 “I am not what I am” speaker

39 Pioneering sci-fi film that was snubbed for the Best Visual Effects Oscar for its use of computers

40 Road-trip determination

41 Decade in which many in Gen Z were born

42 Main ingredient in poi

47 Kind of diagram

50 In this matter

51 Arose 53 City on the Irtysh River

54 Parcel (out)

56 Elementary particle named for a Greek letter

57 Called a strike, say

58 Like some potato chips and language

59 Part of NATO: Abbr.

60 Jardins d’enfants, par exemple

61 Tech-and-culture magazine since 1993

62 Has left the office, e.g.

66 Jay-Z and Kanye West song that samples “Try a Little Tenderness”

67 Pigeon coop

68 What a bad dancer is said to have

70 Large number 71 ____ Ledbetter, a.k.a. Lead Belly

73 Newswire co. 76 A4 automaker 78 “____ it!” (informal challenge)

80 Rock used to make ultramarine

81 Pretentious 82 Snack cakes with creamy swirls

83 It might be changed or made up 84 “Look!” in Latin 85 Took to court

91 Miscreant’s record, maybe 92 Like a clear night

93 Rival you kind of like

94 “That’s amazing!”

95 Color classification

96 Naval Academy grads

97 Basic personal information

98 “Spill it!”

99 Flow slowly 101 “Not gonna happen!”

102 Counts (on) 104 Tropical vine 109 “Brown ____ Girl”

111 Pool shade 112 Kind of discount 114 Nothin’ 115 Words of reassurance 116 Actress Garr 118 Hot spot in England? 119 Airport inits. 120 Dance with a paradiddle step

Oklahoma Gazette is circulated at its designated distribution points free of charge to readers for their individual use and by mail to subscribers. The cash value of this copy is $1. Persons taking copies of the Oklahoma Gazette from its distribution points for any reason other than their or others’ individual use for reading purposes are subject to prosecution.

Please address all unsolicited news items (non-returnable) to the editor.

For subscription inquiries, email kelsey.lowe@okgazette.com

3701 N. Shartel Ave. Oklahoma City, OK 73118-7102 PHONE (405) 528-6000 www.okgazette.com

Copyright © 2022 Tierra Media, Inc. All rights reserved.