On September 25, 1958 Quiktrip opened its doors to Tulsa, Oklahoma at its first store on South Peoria. Now it’s time for the Tulsa based convenience store chain to celebrate their 50th year anniversary with live music from a variety of both local and regional acts. Quiktrip is also throwing a huge fireworks display to thank Tulsa citizens and the community for fifty years of support. The event will be held at the River West Festival Park (on the West Bank of the Arkansas River behind the Amphitheater) in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Best of all, you can get your tickets at all Tulsa area Quiktrip locations for free! 

Bands, Bands, and More Bands!

• Uche and the Crash – These guys will take Stage 2 at 12pm
• Little Chair – Stage 1 at 12:50pm
• Crooked X - Stage 2 at 1:40pm
• Rattle and Hum -  Stage 1 and 2:30pm
• Midlife Crisis – Stage 2 at 3:20pm
• South40 – Stage 1 at 4:10
• Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey – Stage 2 at 5pm
• Leon Russell – Stage 1 at 6pmHanson – Stage 1 at 7:50

What about beer, restrictions, and food?

Glad you asked! Quiktrip Mobile will be on site with concessions, the same food you have learned to enjoy from their deli sandwiches to egg rolls. Best of all, Budweiser will be on site with their beer garden, providing a nice environment to sit back and drink-up! There is a double fist limit of two beers per visit to the beer concession and the beer stops flowing at 9:30PM when the fireworks demonstration begins. Quiktrip has outlined all the details of their Tulsa festival on their website www.quiktrip.com/festival/QTfest_faq.asp.

The fireworks will pop from the 21^st Street Bridge at 9:30PM in Tulsa, Oklahoma and continue until they’re out of the magical black power and star dust. Don’t miss out, come out to the River and enjoy some FREE live music and fireworks! See you there, Tulsa!

Article image thankfully jacked from quiktrip.com/festival/. Great artwork huh?

If you missed the first evening of Summer Bash 2008 at Plan B in downtown, Tulsa, Oklahoma — you missed one hell of a show! It is okay! We captured plenty of photographs and video footage to help assist you in filling the void of local music and entertainment. No matter what we show you, you did miss an extremely energetic performance by some of Tulsa’s great local bands: We Stay Gold, Radio Radio, First Lady Assassins, P.D.A., and Violence to Vegas.

Each band performed for about forty five minutes on average and entertained with music from their extensive repertoires. The energy was noticed throughout every performance and only grew through the middle of the evening when Anthony from P.D.A. performed; prior to Violence to Vegas.

“How many of you have heard of THISTULSA.COM? If you haven’t you need to check them out online at THISTULSA.COM!” exclaimed Anthony, P.D.A., during his performance at Summer Bash. He was extremely enthusiastic and supportive of this website. Brad and I were both extremely surprised at this statement. Mad love!

The show continued throughout the midnight hour with Violence to Vegas, opened by P.D.A.’s wild performance. First Lady Assassins jammed the outdoor sand covered patio with their harmonic screaming tones, prior to Radio Radio knocking the house down with their melodies. If you’ve not witnessed performances from these bands; we recommend you check them out.

The drinks were affordable, the environment very clean, and bands well established. For eight dollars for a single night or ten dollars for both evenings; you could not ask for a better performance. The weather for this event has been absolutely beautiful and could not be any better.

We look forward to all the new visitors to the site per P.D.A.’s recommendation and personal endorsement. If you are new, let us know!

Mad props to all the bands this evening and those performing on day two (Technically that is today as well — considering it is 2:54AM now Saturday morning.)

If you have not checked out P.D.A. on myspace, do so now: myspace.com/pdaonline and follow him on twitter at twitter.com/pdaonline.

Check back in a few hours for the short video teaser, Anthony promised we would have the entire performance on the website (we told him we’d edit it down a bit.) FocusOn: Tulsa will end up posting more segments from the video in the upcoming show next week. We also have all the photographs here on flickr.com. Check them out!

On a side note, when Brad and I arrived back at his casa to have a few beers and prepare the photographs and video for release on the website; we decided to watch a flick. During this process there was a shadow figure in a straight flight path across his living room wall into his kitchen. “Dude it’s a moth.” he mentioned. “Man, it looked like a bird,” I said. “Holy ####! It is a (BLEEPING) bat!” he shouted. “Grab my camera!” I yelled while running from the sofa.

Needless to say, I think the 8″ winged monster is gone and we both don’t have rabies — that we know of.

This past weekend, Shattuck and I rep’d ThisTulsa at DFest. To be honest, my expectations of this festival were not that high in the beginning. I was a little prejudice to how well big-time artists would be received by the Tulsa crowd. Man was I wrong…

The headliner for the closing night of DFest was The Roots. A hip-hop band that really needs no introduction, put on a show that I thought was nothing short of stellar. The band, who recently dropped their 10th album Rising Down, rocked the house at Tulsa’s annual DFest downtown. Since ThisTulsa was recognized as a “legitimate” news company, we had the ability to snap some great shots of their performance and hang out backstage while the performance rocked on.

Hopped up on RedBull, Justin and I took gigs of photos over the weekend. You can find them in various locations like Flickr; here and here as well as the bottom of every ThisTulsa web page.

How do you think DFest did this year Tulsa?

Last weekend is likely to be remembered as one of the most rocking weekends presented to our community. Friday afternoon, I stopped by the Dfest media tent to pick-up our staff writers’ press badges and related materials. Later, we arrived downtown to begin capturing the moments from some extremely marvelous bands.

The night immediately began with a killer performance by Paramore; however, we missed the amazing show (so-we-heard) from Danelle Phillips’s band Congress of a Crow. Although we missed Congress of a Crow’s performance, we did not miss the opportunity to socially network and have a chat with Danelle Phillips, their lead singer. We even persuaded her to throw up the 918, in support of both our website and the local community she represents. “Thank you so much!” she exclaimed as we presented her with a memory card for her digital camera so she could capture the moments herself.

Given the opportunity to sit backstage and converse with the bands and the other members of press was more than a great experience; it was an opportunity for us to show our wealth to the community. Even something small and generous like giving away AA batteries to a random fan backstage of Paramore or giving Danelle a memory card was our chance to be positive. This feeling was more than reciprocated throughout the event. All of the bands were generous with their time and words.

The All American Rejects blasted fans away with a pretty long performance with all their current and previous hits. We met a few great fans and captured some pretty sick shots of the group. Throughout the night we continued to snap photos, take names, and try to mentally note the performances and performers. We did a pretty decent job, from talking to Doug, a 12 year old fan who was leaning against the railing jamming out to “Move Along,” to four random guys we met while picking up refreshments.

Meeting up with Anthony a.k.a. PDA Friday night and being personally invited to his show Saturday at the Blank Slate stage was a great feeling. He has read our website (thistulsa.com) before and was more than supportive of our small-time publication here. Friday night ended with a small party at Brad’s house with some friends and family of PDA and ourselves.

We continued to rock out Dfest Saturday with Sworn Against, PDA, The Roots, Zappa Plays Zappa, Colourmusic, and the crowds backstage.

The parties were great, crowds polite, people awesome, performers excellent, and overall left a definite hole after it was said and done. More about each individual band and their performance soon!

Greg Summerlin    Fri July 25    7:00 PM    McNellie’s Stage
Deas Vail    Fri July 25    12:00 AM    BDD Stage
Phantom Planet    Fri July 25    9:00 PM    Main Stage
Zappa Plays Zappa    Sat July 26    10:30 PM    Main Stage
Helmet    Sat July 26    10:30 PM    2nd Stage
Jeremy Buck & The Bang    Sat July 26    12:00 AM    Blank Slate
Scott Goldman    Fri July 25    7:00 PM    Tsunami Stage
Soulfege    Fri July 25    12:00 AM    The Continental Stage
Stop, Revolt!    Fri July 25    11:00 PM    Exit6C Stage
The Abdomen    Sat July 26    7:00 PM    BDD Stage
Leopold and his Fiction    Fri July 25    9:00 PM    1974 Stage
Palmerston    Sat July 26    11:00 PM    1974 Stage
Cat-a-tac    Sat July 26    11:00 PM    Blank Slate
Oakhurst (Dick Sims)    Fri July 25    11:00 PM    Dirty’s Tavern Stage
The Apples In Stereo    Fri July 25    11:00 PM    Blank Slate
Stanley Maxwell    Fri July 25    11:00 PM    The Continental Stage
Brice Woodall    Sat July 26    12:00 AM    The Continental Stage
Sparky Quano    Sat July 26    9:00 PM    Tsunami Stage
Adam’s Attic    Fri July 25    9:00 PM    McNellie’s Stage
Clutch    Sat July 26    12:00 AM    2nd Stage
Alex Winston    Sat July 26    8:00 PM    McNellie’s Stage
Love In October    Fri July 25    7:00 PM    Blank Slate
Gentlemen Auction House    Sat July 26    8:00 PM    Blank Slate
It’s Over    Fri July 25    8:00 PM    McNellie’s Stage
Maxtone Four    Sat July 26    9:00 PM    1974 Stage
Tell Tale Heart    Sat July 26    7:00 PM    1974 Stage
The Feed    Fri July 25    9:00 PM    Exit6C Stage
Joshua James    Sat July 26    11:00 PM    BDD Stage
Oxygen    Fri July 25    11:00 PM    McNellie’s Stage
Of god and science    Sat July 26    12:00 AM    Exit6C Stage
Cheyenne    Fri July 25    8:00 PM    Dirty’s Tavern Stage
The Compulsions    Sat July 26    12:00 AM    McNellie’s Stage
Angela Ortiz    Fri July 25    10:00 PM    Tsunami Stage
Beau Jennings    Sat July 26    9:00 PM    BDD Stage
Cory Chisel    Sat July 26    10:00 PM    Dirty’s Tavern Stage
Lords of the Fjords    Sat July 26    1:00 AM    Tsunami Stage
moe.    Fri July 25    9:00 PM    2nd Stage
Ruthie Bram    Sat July 26    7:00 PM    McNellie’s Stage
The Cringe    Fri July 25    7:00 PM    The Continental Stage
John Moreland & Black Gold Band    Sat July 26    1:00 AM    Dirty’s Tavern Stage
Benji Kay    Fri July 25    10:00 PM    BDD Stage
Ty England    Fri July 25    8:00 PM    2nd Stage
Progress In Color    Sat July 26    9:00 PM    Exit6C Stage
Galapogos    Sat July 26    1:00 AM    OKFMI Stage
Gravity Propulsion Systems    Fri July 25    1:00 AM    Exit6C Stage
Rainbows Are Free    Sat July 26    7:00 PM    2nd Stage
Ryan Lindsey    Sat July 26    12:00 AM    BDD Stage
Approaching August    Fri July 25    10:00 PM    McNellie’s Stage
Aranda    Fri July 25    1:00 AM    BDD Stage
Blake-O    Fri July 25    12:00 AM    McNellie’s Stage
Carter Sampson    Fri July 25    11:00 PM    Tsunami Stage
Crocodile    Sat July 26    10:00 PM    The Continental Stage
Dance Robots Dance/Trash Yourself    Sat July 26    1:00 AM    Blank Slate
El Paso Hot Button    Sat July 26    9:00 PM    Blank Slate
Ghost of Monkshood    Sat July 26    1:00 AM    Exit6C Stage
Glister    Sat July 26    1:00 AM    McNellie’s Stage
Hush Hush Commotion    Sat July 26    11:00 PM    OKFMI Stage
Jabee    Fri July 25    1:00 AM    The Continental Stage
Jayne Doe    Fri July 25    10:00 PM    Exit6C Stage
Mama Sweet    Fri July 25    10:00 PM    OKFMI Stage
Matt Stansberry Band    Fri July 25    10:00 PM    The Continental Stage
Samantha Crain & The Midnight Shivers    Sat July 26    9:00 PM    Dirty’s Tavern Stage
Stateside    Sat July 26    10:00 PM    Exit6C Stage
The City Lives    Fri July 25    6:00 PM    Main Stage
The Decomposed    Fri July 25    7:00 PM    Exit6C Stage
The Non    Sat July 26    10:00 PM    1974 Stage
The Oh! Johnny Girls    Fri July 25    10:00 PM    1974 Stage
The Stock Market Crash    Fri July 25    1:00 AM    Blank Slate
Vangough    Fri July 25    1:00 AM    OKFMI Stage
Vannadine    Sat July 26    7:00 PM    OKFMI Stage
The Effects    Sat July 26    8:00 PM    Main Stage
Colourmusic    Sat July 26    9:00 PM    2nd Stage
Mayola    Fri July 25    9:00 PM    BDD Stage
Red Dirt Rangers    Fri July 25    11:00 PM    OKFMI Stage
Sherree Chamberlain    Sat July 26    8:00 PM    OKFMI Stage
Taddy Porter    Sat July 26    11:00 PM    McNellie’s Stage
The All-American Rejects    Fri July 25    12:00 AM    Main Stage
The Uglysuit    Fri July 25    10:00 PM    Blank Slate
Hazzard    Fri July 25    10:00 PM    Dirty’s Tavern Stage
Kendal Dean    Sat July 26    11:00 PM    Tsunami Stage
Acoustic Ross    Fri July 25    1:00 AM    Tsunami Stage
Adam Lopez    Fri July 25    1:00 AM    McNellie’s Stage
Admiral Twin    Fri July 25    9:00 PM    Blank Slate
AM    Sat July 26    7:00 PM    Main Stage
Astellaway    Fri July 25    7:00 PM    BDD Stage
Bait    Sat July 26    8:00 PM    OKFMI Stage
BEN.BEN.    Sat July 26    1:00 AM    1974 Stage
Black Swan    Fri July 25    8:00 PM    The Continental Stage
Black Wednesday    Fri July 25    1:00 AM    1974 Stage
Born A Number    Sat July 26    7:00 PM    The Continental Stage
Callupsie    Sat July 26    7:00 PM    Blank Slate
Cecada    Sat July 26    8:00 PM    1974 Stage
Chris McLeod    Sat July 26    10:00 PM    Tsunami Stage
Congress of a Crow    Fri July 25    7:00 PM    Main Stage
Edison Glass    Fri July 25    8:00 PM    Main Stage
First Lady Assasins    Fri July 25    8:00 PM    Exit6C Stage
Ganem    Sat July 26    10:00 PM    OKFMI Stage
Ghosts    Sat July 26    1:00 AM    The Continental Stage
Here Is There    Sat July 26    7:00 PM    Exit6C Stage
Hollywood Harlot    Fri July 25    7:00 PM    1974 stage
I said stop!    Sat July 26    11:00 PM    Exit6C Stage
Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey    Sat July 26    9:00 PM    Main Stage
Jesse Aycock    Fri July 25    1:00 AM    Dirty’s Tavern Stage
Joesf Glaude    Fri July 25    9:00 PM    Tsunami Stage
Kawnar    Fri July 25    8:00 PM    1974 Stage
Klondike5    Fri July 25    12:00 AM    Dirty’s Tavern Stage
Mercy Street    Sat July 26    6:00 PM    2nd Stage
Miniver Cheevy    Fri July 25    8:00 PM    OKFMI Stage
Motive For Movement    Sat July 26    9:00 PM    OKFMI Stage
My Solstice    Sat July 26    12:00 AM    OKFMI Stage
PDA    Sat July 26    10:00 PM    Blank Slate
Philip Zoellner    Fri July 25    12:00 AM    1974 Stage
Recorder    Fri July 25    12:00 AM    Exit6C Stage
Sam and The Stylees    Fri July 25    7:00 PM    2nd Stage
Sir Threadius Mongus    Fri July 25    9:00 PM    The Continental Stage
Stars Go Dim    Fri July 25    9:00 PM    OKFMI Stage
Steve Liddell    Sat July 26    12:00 AM    Tsunami Stage
Sworn Against    Sat July 26    8:00 PM    2nd Stage
Tech Tonic    Fri July 25    8:00 PM    Tsunami Stage
The Benjamin Banneker Band    Sat July 26    1:00 AM    BDD Stage
The Brandon Clark Band    Fri July 25    12:00 AM    OKFMI Stage
The Fiddlebacks    Sat July 26    9:00 PM    McNellie’s Stage
The Starkweather Boys    Fri July 25    11:00 PM    1974 Stage
The Twenties    Fri July 25    7:00 PM    OKFMI Stage
Three Penny Upright    Sat July 26    8:00 PM    Tsunami Stage
Vandevander    Sat July 26    7:00 PM    Dirty’s Tavern Stage
Disco Biscuits    Fri July 25    12:00 AM    2nd Stage
The Roots    Sat July 26    12:00 AM    Main Stage
Paramore    Fri July 25    10:30 PM    Main Stage
Paper Route    Fri July 25    8:00 PM    Blank Slate
Bangalore    Fri July 25    12:00 AM    Tsunami Stage
Blowing Trees    Sat July 26    8:00 PM    The Continental Stage
Ghostland Observatory    Fri July 25    10:30 PM    2nd Stage
Quiet Company    Sat July 26    8:00 PM    Exit6C Stage
Sounds Under Radio    Fri July 25    11:00 PM    BDD Stage
The Boxing Lesson    Sat July 26    11:00 PM    The Continental Stage
Topaz & Mudphonic    Sat July 26    10:00 PM    McNellie’s Stage
Greg Reichel    Fri July 25    7:00 PM    Dirty’s Tavern Stage
Hey Hollywood    Fri July 25    8:00 PM    BDD Stage
Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights    Sat July 26    12:00 AM    Dirty’s Tavern Stage
Odis    Sat July 26    11:00 PM    Dirty’s Tavern Stage
Salute    Sat July 26    10:00 PM    BDD Stage
Sleeperstar    Sat July 26    12:00 AM    1974 Stage
Mando Saenz    Fri July 25    9:00 PM    Dirty’s Tavern Stage
Cavedoll    Sat July 26    9:00 PM    The Continental Stage
Ravi    Fri July 25    6:00 PM    2nd Stage
Alyse Black    Sat July 26    7:00 PM    Tsunami Stage
Eventful Winner    Sat July 26    6:00 PM    Main Stage
New Band (statebird) Avi Wisnia    Sat July 26    8:00 PM    BDD Stage

There is a whole-heck-of-a-lot of information surrounding this years Dfest, however the staff here at ThisTulsa.com are in-the-know and prepared to deliver every thing we know to you. Need a quick reference sheet as to whats going on and what is not? Check it out!

What is Dfest?

The most comprehensive music conference and festival in the Midwest—will feature 140 artists and 20 musical genres on 11 stages in downtown Tulsa’s historic Blue Dome District. Headliners include: All American Rejects, The Roots, Clutch, moe., Phantom Planet, A.M., Jacob Fred Jazz Oddessey, Ty England, Ravi, The Apples in Stereo, Joshua James, Paramore, Ghostland Observatory, Zappa Plays Zappa, Helmet, The Disco Biscuits and Edison Glass and over 120 unsigned artists.

The two-day festival will also include a conference comprised of music industry panels, a tradeshow, music clinics and mentoring sessions designed to educate working musicians and music enthusiasts in any stage of their career. The conference will take place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel downtown, just walking distance from the Blue Dome District.

Panelists include Ken Abdo (V.P. Lommen Abdo Law Firm), Stephanie Adware (Furgang & Adwar), Tom Alexander (AEG Live), Craig Alvin (Producer), Holly Anderson (Eventful), Martin Atkins (Tour Smart Invisible Records), Daryl Berg (Fuel TV), David Codr (micSpace), Mia Crow (Visionworks Music), Jon Delange (Tinderbox Music), Dan Efram (The Musebox), Damian Elahi (Interscope-Geffen-A&M Records), Erica Forester Rhino, Jim Halsey (Halsey Institustite), Carrie Hughes (Reflection Music), Chris Jackson (E! Televsion), Paul Kriegler (94.1 The Sound), Keith Lacock (Tinderbox Music), Justin Levenson (SESAC), Catherine Lieu (Eventful), Mike Locke (Rhino Independent), Max Luces-Tucker (Bunim/Murray Productions), Tomy Mc Donald (Warner Music Group), Mollie Moore (Atlantic Records), Shawn Murphy (ASCAP), John Nicholson (Hollywood Records), Eavan Porter (Nettwerk Management), David Preston (V.P. BMI), Scott Perry (New Music Tipsheet), David Ponak (Rhino Entertainment), Ravi Artistic Integrity, Steve Robertson (Atlantic Records), Joe Rudge (ABC), Jon Schroeder (Producer), Jack Shapira (Unison Studios), Wil Sharpe (Sharpe Entertainment), Madalyn Sklar (GoGirlsMusic), Rob Spinelli (Bodog Music), David Teegarden (Artist/Engineer), Larry White (Larry White Management)

* some of the links above are to personal and/or corporate websites

When

July 25-26, 2008

Where

Conference held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel
Festival at Blue Dome District, Tulsa Oklahoma

Who will be there?

More than 60,000 attendees are expected.

How do you get tickets?

Festival passes valid for both days are $30 in advance, $40 at the gate. Price does not include service fees.
Conference badges good for both days are $100 in advance, $150 at the door. Conference badges include festival admission.
VIP tickets, good for the music festival only are $150.
All Dfest tickets are available at www.okctickets.com.
There are NO REFUNDS and NO SINGLE DAY TICKETS

The hours

Conference Hours:
Friday and Saturday: 11 am to 630 p.m.
Festival Hours:
Friday and Saturday: 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.

More random facts

• 7th year of Oklahoma’s largest music conference and festival
• 20 different genres of music
• Over 140 Bands
• 3 Countries are represented on Dfest States
• Dfest was founded by Tom Green and Angie Devore-Green
• Several Dfest acts have gone on to national acclaim (Including American Idol’s David Cook.)
• More then 1,000 bands applied for the 120 unsigned artist slots
• 11 stages of music are available
• The largest music festival and conference in Oklahoma

The history of Dfest

Tom Green and Angie DeVore-Green created DFest in 2001 to help their band Ultrafix win a Jim Beam/Rolling Stone Magazine Best Unsigned Band contest.

The couple came up with several marketing ideas to rally support for the contest. The one that took shape was the idea to host a small festival at Cronie’s Bar downtown consisting of other local bands. Their hope was to gain voting support from as many fans possible.

The event rained out and only 150 people turned out for the 12 booked bands. Fortunately, Ultrafix went on to win the contest. Later that year the Greens were asked if they were doing the Dfest festival again. They decided to make it an annual event, and in 2002 Dfest moved to the Boston District where it remained for the next four years.

In 2007, the festival made a new home in the Blue Dome District of downtown, giving it much needed space for growth. With the help of headliners Leon Russell, Shiny Toy Guns and Norman’s own Flaming Lips, Dfest drew over 40,000 fans.

In 2008, the festival plans to grow on that success and expects a crowd in excess of 60,000.

The All-American Rejects are Stillwater’s breakout pop stars. They’re last album sold a multi-million number of copies worldwide and their upcoming album — set to release this fall —was named No. 2 on Alternative Press magazine’s 2008 anticipated albums of the year list.

Members of the band and its management will participate in a question-answer panel from 4:30 to 6pm at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Tulsa. They will discuss their rise from having $1000 in the bank (between all of them) to selling multi-platinum records. They will also share their experience in creating new revenue streams like Tyson’s Butter Clothing and Edmond Records, the label of Dfest act The City Lives.

The panel will be available to all registered participants of the Dfest conference, at no additional charge to conference registration. Conference badges must be worn to gain entry; music festival wristbands are not valid for admission.

To register for the conference, visit www.dfest.com and click “tickets.” Conference badges are good for entry into the conference, trade show and music festival, with priority entrance to club stages.
At 11:50 p.m., July 25, The Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame will present the band with its “Rising Star” award on Dfest’s Hadaly Stage, prior to their performance.

The Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame gives the award to individuals or groups who have attained significant national notice for their musical talent and have a solid connection to Oklahoma by birthright, moving to the state at an early age, living in Oklahoma for a significant portion of his or her career, writing songs or music about Oklahoma, or furthering music in the state of Oklahoma.

“The All-American Rejects is an Oklahoma native band that’s achieved tremendous national success and proudly represents Oklahoma,” said Beth Seim, executive director of the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. “We’re excited to present them with this prestigious award at a festival that has put Oklahoma on the map.”

“We’re so appreciative that the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame is presenting the band with this award at Dfest,” said Tom Green, Dfest co-creator. “Oklahoma roots run deep at this festival, so we always make a point to feature an Oklahoma artist as a major headliner. This award from the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame solidifies this long-standing Dfest tradition.”

About Dfest

The seventh annual Dfest is the Midwest’s largest music festival and most comprehensive music conference. Featuring 11 stages in downtown Tulsa’s Blue Dome District July 25-26, Dfest will feature renowned national acts, including The All-American Rejects, The Roots, The Disco Biscuits, Clutch, Paramore, Zappa Plays Zappa, Ghostland Observatory, moe., Helmet, Phantom Planet, Edison Glass, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, AM, Ty England, Ravi, The Apples In Stereo, Joshua James and Cory Chisel. In addition, Dfest will feature 130 unsigned artists and more than 40 conference panelists. More than 60,000 music enthusiasts are expected to attend the two-day event that highlights more than 20 musical genres. Tickets are on sale now at www.dfest.com.

With astronomical gas prices and even higher airline tickets costs, many Americans are scaling back their vacations this year. But with the 7th Annual Dfest Conference and Music Festival July 25-26, Oklahomans don’t have to stray far to catch all the fun of a festival, but without the high prices.

According to AAA, the national average shows gas prices have increased nearly 19 percent from last summer, and in Oklahoma alone, gas prices are at a record high. However, an annual AAA survey showed Tulsa is the least expensive city to stay during a vacation out of the 49 large U.S. cities surveyed.

“Tulsa’s Dfest has all the fun of a summer vacation — culture, music, food and fun, but hardly costs a thing. So why not go on a staycation this year instead of a vacation?” said Davit Souders, Dfest Head Talent Buyer and Production Coordinator.

Dfest boasts the cheapest festival prices when compared to the top festivals in the nation.

“To see some of our headliners at other local venues could cost you anywhere from $25 to $200, and other major festivals in the nation can cost more than $500, not including gas,” said Angie Devore-Green, Dfest Co-Founder. “Dfest is an amazing festival, but is accessible to regular folks. It’s a world-class music experience for less than half the price, and you can even ride your bike to the festival grounds.”

Most vacations require lodging and frequent gas tank refills. With Dfest, filling up your tank will cost more than the festival, Devore said.

According to AAA 2007 Gas Watcher’s Guide, the average American gets 24.4 miles per gallon, with average gas prices running $3.91 per gallon. Here’s how Dfest stacks up to other nationally renowned festivals for Tulsa:

About DFEST

The seventh annual Dfest is the Midwest’s largest music festival and most comprehensive music conference. Featuring 11 stages in downtown Tulsa’s Blue Dome District July 25-26, Dfest will feature renowned national acts, including The All-American Rejects, The Roots, The Disco Biscuits, Clutch, Paramore, Zappa Plays Zappa, Ghostland Observatory, moe., Helmet, Phantom Planet, Edison Glass, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, AM, Ty England, Ravi, The Apples In Stereo, Joshua James and Cory Chisel. In addition, Dfest will feature 130 unsigned artists and more than 40 conference panelists. More than 60,000 music enthusiasts are expected to attend the two-day event that highlights more than 20 musical genres. Tickets are on sale now at www.okctickets.com and www.dfest.com.

Bixby’s Green Corn Festival kicks off this Thursday and goes through Saturday. The corn is delicious, roasted in 600° BBQ pits for maximum flavor.
It takes place at Charley Young Park, SE of 151st Street and Memorial Drive.
Hours:5 p.m. – 11 p.m. Thursday & Friday;10 a.m. – 11 p.m. Saturday. Call 918-366-9445 for more info.

If the first round of confirmations didn’t cut it for you, The All-American Rejects, The Roots, Ty England, moe., Phantom Planet and The Apples in Stereo all confirmed headlining spots with Tulsa’s Dfest today. With over 1500 submissions for the 120 stage spots, Dfest has definitely booked some great acts. If you have not got your tickets yet, make sure you do! You can get all the details on the Dfestwebsite, dfest.com.