Oklahoma Folk: Warm Music for Cool Days

Fall is here; September marks the honorary start of autumn. What is a must-listen-to now that cooler temperatures are being manifested and yet on the brink of? There is nothing like folk music to enjoy the crisp air- a warm melody intertwining around the falling leaves. Better hold onto that acoustic guitar kid, it’ll lend the light when the nights get longer and the days shorter.

Folk is traditional and cultural and orally passed down like family stories. It is found within community, where its meaning takes place. To begin, Oklahoma folk music was headed by the panhandling nomad himself, Woody Guthrie. He finds himself traveling back and forth across our great nation and writing songs about the downtrodden. Guthrie would regularly catch rides on trains with strangers just to find out what was at the other end. The rhythm of the average Woody Guthrie tune is reminiscent of the steady click of wheels on a track; the perfect song for the perpetual traveler. There is plenty of guitar picking, banjo, and harmonica. His music is for anyone who has felt strange in their own town and an alien abroad. Guthrie consistently felt unwanted as a vagrant, and his lyrics reflected the social distress he and others like him suffered.

A facet of good folk music is its identity being hidden within the community it was bore from; any Woody Guthrie song is just that.

These days, folk music coming from Oklahoma is innovative yet simple, ethereal and vulnerable, and sometimes even haunting. Artists are using melodies that come off the ear sounding new and fresh.

Folk innovators are sprouting from Oklahoma’s Native communities. Samantha Crain is one such example. A member of the Choctaw Nation, she sings in her native tongue in “When We Remain” in a melancholic ode to her heritage. A guitar and Crain’s vocals are central to her songs, but she has found a way to include not only string but wind instruments. In “Garden Dove”, there is a short and sweet saxophone feature which blends into the background for the rest of the song. Crain also manages to blend her soft tones into heavier base tracks like “For the Miner”.

Another Native artist, Kalyn Fay, has utilized a tinge of Western twang in her songs that give a warmth of southern familiarity. In her song, “Tulsa”, there is a sweet drawn-out sound of a fiddle. A consistent theme in folk music is straightforward lyrics that reflect a simple life. Fay has a rich and deep voice that gives an air of profundity in lyrical plainness. She talks about small-town Oklahoma life; something that any part of her community certainly relates to.

Ken Pomeroy uses the metaphors of nature and simple observations to relay a deeper meaning. In “Cicadas”, Pomeroy parallels the warning of the onset of winter with her self-destructive habits in relationships. Pomeroy got a big break when offered a spot on the summer blockbuster, Twister‘s, original soundtrack, along with fellow Oklahoma natives, Wilderado. Like other artists in her category, Pomeroy has a Western influence, however, her songs do not touch mainstream country standards. Heavily relying on the acoustic guitar and warm vocals keeps her well within folk range.

In “Buddies”, Lauren Barth features ample steel guitar. Barth’s music is reminiscent of 70’s country style. She has a light airy voice that is drawn over slow melodies or toe-tapping line-dancing tunes. If you’re listening to her this fall, give her a chance at healing heartbreak with “Lost Satellite”, or “Want It Back” for a drive-through tour of fall foliage.

If one wants a more upbeat sound, try Carter Sampson who has a raspy voice and definitive rock n’ roll and blues influences. Sampson sounds like someone who would play at a honky-tonk bar while the audience lets go of a long day. Try her most recent album, Gold, released just last year, which has bluegrass and Americana roots.

If you’re looking for something fresh and new in the indie folk scene, if you’re looking for something that holds old western/country roots, if you’re looking for something with a haunting melody, something with a pleasant and quaint sound, something you can dance to, something your vulnerable soul can soothe itself to, listen to these folk artists from Oklahoma.