Your Guide to Norman Music Fest 2023

Norman Music Festival is back this weekend with another packed lineup. This annual free event brings out some big names and some Oklahoma favorites. Here are some of our suggestions for bands to check out.

The Big Names

illuminati hotties
Saturday @ 9:50 pm – The Garage / Winston Main Stage
Upbeat bratty indie rock out of Los Angeles. Lead by Sarah Tudzin, the group has plenty of catchy hooks and plenty of call and response.

Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O.
Saturday @ 10:50 – Country Cannabis Alley Stage
The legendary tripped out space rock psychedelic band makes its way to Norman by way of Japan. The AMT live experience is not for everyone, but it provides a unique performance that has been constantly changing since 1995.

Black Belt Eagle Scout
Thursday @ 10 pm – Country Cannabis Alley Stage
Saddle Creek recording artist Katherine Paul, who goes by Black Belt Eagle Scout, writes music dripping with ambient melodies. Her vocals lead the laid back tracks and entice the listener to fall face first into somber, but satisfying sounds.

Cola
Saturday @ 8:20 pm – The Garage / Winston Main Stage
This Montreal three-piece blends punchy bass driven art rock with post-punk sensibilities. Featuring former members of Ought, Cola fall somewhere between Wire’s Chairs Missing, Talking Heads “Warning Sign”, and Richard Hell’s “Blank Generation”.

Wine Lips
Friday @ 9:50 pm – Country Cannabis Alley Stage
Toronto based psych-punk-garage rockers Wine Lips bring a variety of sounds to their latest LP. From upbeat songs that will make you pogo, to floating psychadellic riffs,  Wine Lips have a sound for any rocker.

billy woods
Friday @ 9:30 – The Garage / Winston Main Stage
NYC rapper billy woods spits intellectual rhymes that would make Aesop Rock’s ears perk up. woods is one half of Armand Hammer, and has been steadily upping his game since he started rapping in 2002.

Acid Dad
Friday @ 11 pm – Country Cannabis Alley Stage
These rockers relive the early 00’s NYC alt rock style with a great modern sound. Power cord driven rock and roll with winding leads and power pop sensibilities.

Loud, Fast, Heavy

Soul Glo
Friday @ 10:50 pm – The Garage / Winston Main Stage
One of the most recognizable names in hardcore right now, Soul Glo brings heavy, fast, chaotic music with the occasional rap verse. This band will make you think then rip your head off.

The Tooth
Friday @ 10:15 pm – Guestroom Records
Absolutely crushing music from Oklahoma City. The Tooth blends doom, sludge, and hardcore to bring some of the best heavy music in Oklahoma right now.

Grandpa Vern
Thursday @ 6 pm- Resonator
Relative newcomers Grandpa Vern are hard to describe because their sound bounces around from verse to verse. They play a style of hardcore and punk that can easily bring in metal and noise rock influences. Keep an eye out for this band if you like your music heavy and fast.

Streetlight Fight
Saturday 11 pm- Red Brick Bar
This band has played on and off for longer than anyone can remember. Joe Myside and Jordan Forster have been SLF’s constants, and are currently playing as a two-piece. Shows are as much about the performance and energy as they are the songs. FFO jumping around and getting loud.

Bands on the Rise

Chelsea Days
Thursday @ 9 pm – Country Cannabis Alley Stage
The OKC indie rockers have been putting out music since 2019, but seem to have really picked up steam lately. They play laid back, atmospheric sounding alternative that is sure to have the crowd swaying all night.

Fleure
Friday @ 6:30 pm – Country Cannabis Alley Stage
Featuring members of Ramona & the Phantoms and Golden Ones, Fleure has been able to live up to expectations with their brand of fuzzed out grunge.

Labrys
Friday @ 10 pm – Opolis
The solo project of Penny Pitchlynn from Broncho, Labrys is a mid-tempo alt-lover’s dream. Penny’s beautiful vocals juxtapose the abrasive instrumentation she sings over.

Em and the Mother Superiors
Saturday @ 11 pm – Opolis
Soulful psychedelia driven by Emily Alexander’s soaring vocals. The songwriting and delivery would fit right in to the 60s Bay Area rock scene, but still manage to feel fresh.

Lincka
Friday @ 9:50 pm – Gray Street Stage
Saturday @ 10 pm – Opolis
Lincka’s Chicana pop is a powerful mix of sounds brought together by Lincka Elizondo’s high-energy vocals and personal songwriting.

Vulture Club
Thursday @ 8 pm – Opolis
The Norman indie rockers play elemental, lo-fi music that bring a charmingly simplistic approach to the songwriting. This band doesn’t have much online presence, so catch them live to get a real feel for them.

Bee & the Hive
Friday @ 7:30 pm – Gray Street Stage
OKC 5-piece dropped their first EP in March, and there is only up from here for the band. The group pulls a variety of influences into a package wrapped in the glow of accompanying saxophone lines.

Americana

Samantha Crain
Friday @ 8:20 pm – The Garage / Winston Main Stage
If you don’t know Samantha Crain by now, I don’t know what to tell you. Crain has represented Oklahoma music at the highest level, and she continues to push her sound and incorporate new influences. Whether solo or full band, Crain’s live performances are not to be missed.

Kierston White/Tequila Songbirds
Friday @ 7 pm – Opolis
Saturday @ 7:40 pm – Gray Street Stage
Kierston White’s songs feel like Oklahoma. Her songs and performances have a rugged, real feel to them.

Beats and Bars

Jabee & Friends
Saturday @ 10:15 pm Monster Energy West Main Stage
Jabee has been performing since the early 2000s and is one of the most recognizable names in Oklahoma hip hop. His songwriting is strong, meaningful, and deeply personal, and has earned him national awards and international acclaim.

Alan Doyle
Thursday @ 8 pm Legally Brewed
Alan Doyle is one of the premiere rappers in Tulsa. His sound and flow feel like the early 00s and feel so much like a side of Oklahoma that doesn’t get recognized often enough.

Original Flow
Saturday @ 6:20 pm – Monster Energy West Main Stage
A poet and producer from OKC, Original Flow brings conscious, positive hip hop to the festival. Influenced by his father, who was also an MC, Christopher Acoff puts a lot of pride into being a quality wordsmith with a lot to say.

Local Favorites

The Big News
Saturday @ 4 pm – Monster Energy West Main Stage
Oklahoma’s sole remaining ska-punk band who have been around from the beginning. The Big News put on a high energy show with songs that just might make you want to quit your job.

New Time Zones
Saturday @ 7 pm Red Brick Bar
New Time Zones are one of those bands who fly under the radar, but deserve to be seen. NTZ blends vocal-driven songwriting with big synth leads and easily danceable rhythms.

stepmom
Friday @ 7:40 pm – Country Cannabis Alley Stage
Beautiful vocal harmonies over high-energy punky dream pop, stepmom have a truly unique sound that continues to grow and evolve.