Don’t sleep on Tulsa.
The floors at Cain’s Ballroom bounce with the rise and fall of the crowd. A prevailing myth is that the maple wood planks are set over springs (some say from Dodge trucks). It’s not true, but I can easily see how the rumor started. I’m at a hometown show for Broncho, a band that recently traded its punk edges for mellower, hazy sounds—still a far cry from the Western swing style that Bob Wills once popularized on the same stage.
The musicians glow under purple lights while what seems like all of Tulsa watches. Even the unofficial mayor of the city, filmmaker Sterlin Harjo, is swaying in the corner. Today, the former “Oil Capital of the World” is more than just energy rich—it’s a magnet for artists of all stripes.
There are world-class institutions like the Philbrook Museum of Art, a 100-acre riverfront park called Gathering Place that’s received international acclaim for its design, and exceptional restaurants that prove Tulsa dining is more than just meat and potatoes. That vibrant energy pulses through the town. I could feel it that night radiating inside Cain’s, drawing in everyone—locals and visitors like me. And it’ll no doubt pull you in too.
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