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OTHER TULSA ATTRACTIONS TO CONSIDER VISITING:
Tulsa Air & Space Museum – open cockpits on a range of aircraft, exhibit hall, a simulated wind tunnel and more, plus a planetarium
Greenwood Rising – interactive museum and history center observing the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
Philbrook Museum of Art – historic home, world class art museum, 25 acres of gardens
The Gathering Place – free 100-acre riverfront park full of attractions and daily programming for all ages
Route 66 – Tulsa’s 28-mile stretch of the famed, historic highway includes iconic roadside attractions such as Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios along with dining and shopping
Tulsa Zoo – 400+ species on 85 acres across from the Air & Space Museum
Gilcrease Museum – world’s largest collection of art and artifacts of the American West (closed for renovation – check website for reopening)
The Church Studio
About 2 miles east of the arts district, you can tour a fully functioning recording studio inside The Church Studio, which opened in March 2022 after a five-year historic renovation. The striking 1915 stone building started as a church and was converted to a recording studio in 1972 by Oklahoma-born music legend Leon Russell, who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2011 by Elton John for his work as a musician, songwriter and producer.
Russell had returned to Oklahoma to break away from the rigid LA studio structure and formed the boutique Shelter Records label as a creative, musical ecosystem that he operated at the church until 1976. When he left, his engineer Steve Ripley and others continued operating the studio for several more decades. The building was unused and in disrepair when Tulsan Teresa Knox bought it in 2016.
She had grown up a music fan and at a young age started collecting memorabilia, including many items related to Russell and other artists tied to the Tulsa Sound, which Knox describes as less of a music genre and more of a “period in time where artists would come to Tulsa and find camaraderie in creating amazing music just for the love of music.”
You might see artists playing and recording when you visit The Church Studio (Kenny Loggins, Dropkick Murphys, Taj Mahal and others have recorded here since it reopened). There are displays on Russell’s life and career when you enter the building and a small room showcasing some of Knox’s 5,000- item memorabilia collection. At the time of my visit there were several archive cases highlighting Russell’s work with Dylan, Willie Nelson and Tom Petty, who signed his first record deal with Shelter Records.
Cain’s Ballroom
It’s a live music venue first, but with the building turning 100 in 2024 and a long list of legendary performers, Cain’s Ballroom is a museum, too. The main room features original artwork from as far back as the 1930s when this garage- turned-ballroom was known as the “Carnegie Hall of Western Swing” with weekly dances organized by Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys.
If you’re able to get a glimpse inside the office (right behind the box office), you’ll see posters and photos from performers from the 1970s through recent years: INXS, The Police, U2, Van Halen and others performed here while on their way to stardom when music promoter/owner Larry Shaeffer helped establish Cain’s modern reputation.
It’s a bucket-list venue for musi- cians as well as concert-goers. Cain’s
is the kind of place where Green Day requested to play in front of 1,700 fans in July 2021 before launch- ing its world tour in four days at the 40,000-seat Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
The Rodgers family bought the venue in 2002 and completed a major renovation in 2003, including adding air conditioning, and also got Cain’s on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
“We breathed new life into a venue that had lots of music history and we’ve continued to add to that history,” said Chad Rodgers, who co-owns and runs Cain’s Ballroom with his brother Hunter. “Hopefully, we’ve made it better for many more decades to come. We want this place to live on forever.”
Can you hear that? If not, that means you’re not close enough to hear Tulsa humming. Check it out for yourself! KA
MAY 2023
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 11