Sound Check

Oklahoma has a rich music history. Some of the greats come from Oklahoma from Garth Brooks to Leon Russell and Gene Autry! Did you know KFOR's sister-station KAUT was founded and named after Autry?!For more than five decades Oklahoma Today magazine has been covering music as well as travel, food, culture, and events. They came on Sound Check to talk about the forgotten great Oklahoma musicians and an old Tulsa recording studio that hosted some of the greats like Tom Petty, George Harrison and Eric Clapton.

Music is in Matt Stansberry's blood.

In October a $72 million performing arts center opened on the campus of Oklahoma State University.It took two and a half years to build and many more years before that in the planning phase.The first performance at the new McKnight Center was New York Philharmonic with Broadway star Kelli O’Hara.O’Hara is an Oklahoma native who went to school at Oklahoma City University’s school of music.She’s a Tony award-winning actress with credits in film and television as well.We sat down with the actress and singer ahead of her concert last month to talk about her career and what delicious dish she misses from this great state.

KALO is a three-piece group touring around the country.Leader singer Bat-Or is from Israel and moved to Oklahoma City to go to school at Oklahoma City University.Each member of the band is professionally trained.They came by the KFOR studios to talk about and play live music from the 2017 album Wild Change.

Samantha Crain is originally from Shawnee, but she’s lived all over the country touring nonstop. She’s toured with dozens of bands including the Avett Brothers, Neutral Milk Hotel, Josh Ritter and more. Her music has been featured on the TV show “90210” and HBO series “Hung.”

Norman-based Beau Jennings isn’t afraid to try new things.He’s lived in Brooklyn, Austin and his home state of Oklahoma making music.Beau made a documentary released in 2015 retelling the story of Will Rogers from birth to death.We sat down with Beau to talk about his latest album, his love for Will Rogers and how Taylor Swift is helping him learn about life.You can see his band Beau Jennings & The Tigers live October 19 at the 51st Street Speakeasy.

Jabee

Shawnee, Oklahoma artist Kenny Pitts is back to his biggest passion, which is music.Pitts started playing guitar at 17 and spent years performing until he switched gears to film-making and acting.He started a production company that produces a music documentary series called “Play It Loud.”After meeting Nixon’s front-man, Zac Maloy, Pitts realized he wanted to get back to writing and playing music.He’s gathered several other local musicians that make up The Raging Peacemakers.KFOR's Lacey Lett sat down with three members of the foursome to learn about their sound, mission, and love of music.

When you stepped inside Tower Theatre in the 30s, 40s and 50s you were greeted to the smell of popcorn, but in 1989 the lights went out.The historic movie theatre became a desolate space collecting dust.That is until a few years ago when Pivot Project opened the newly renovated building that hosts events almost every single day.Stephen Tyler, Chad Whitehead and Jabee Williams operate the historic landmark booking comedians, viewing parties and concerts to name a few. Lacey Lett sat down with Stephen and Chad to talk about what it takes to book a concert.

When American Idol returned after a short hiatus, Savannah Oklahoma native and goat farmer Trevor McBane auditioned. He ‘wowed’ Judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan and ended up making it in the top 24 spot. While not the winner, 23-year-old McBane is using that momentum to further his musical career. He’s planning an EP, tour and talked to News 4 about the inspiration for his latest song “Tomorrow.”