'More meaning than just a honky-tonk show.' OKC band playing new marathon kick-off concert

Jason Scott still remembers the way the earth quaked on April 19, 1995.

"I remember the day. I remember being 20 miles away and the building shaking," recalled Scott, who grew up in Midwest City. "We knew people that lost their lives in the bombing."

Now, the Oklahoma native and his band, The High Heat, are opening a free concert Friday, April 22, to kick off the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon festivities.

"It's something that has a little more meaning than just a honky-tonk show, for sure," he said.

A new addition to the 22nd annual Run to Remember events April 22-24, the family-friendly concert at 6 p.m. April 22 in Scissortail Park will feature Texas country hitmakers Josh Abbott Band as the headliners. The music will be followed by fireworks at 9 p.m.

"We said, 'Let's do something for the community.' It will be 1,097 days since we ran a live race in April, and this is our way of saying thank you to the community. It's just a tip of the hat to people being resilient and strong and getting through this," said Race Director Kari Watkins, noting that the marathon went virtual in 2020 and shifted to fall in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We're hoping this is a new tradition."

Concert adds to OKC Memorial Marathon weekend

The Memorial Marathon is run annually on a late April Sunday to honor of those killed, injured and changed forever by the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995, in downtown Oklahoma City.

The kick-off concert will be a new addition to the Finish Line Festival, which brings food trucks, yard games, face painting, clowns and live music to Scissortail Park from 8:45 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 23, and 8:30 a.m. to noon Sunday, April 24.

"We love having our community partner groups bring fun and rollicking talent to the Love’s Travel Stops Stage for all to enjoy and celebrate all those who run or come out to cheer runners," Scissortail Park CEO Maureen Heffernan said in an email.

The Friday night concert and Finish Line Festival are presented by Continental Resources, which is in its 10th year of partnering with the OKC Memorial Marathon.

"They loved the idea. So, I texted Brian Bogert and Graham Colton ... and said, 'You guys do this as well as anyone in town: Will you help us?' They literally were here within 24 hours," Watkins said

The pair, who are operating partners in The Social Order Dining Collective, previously produced the 2019 Scissortail Park grand opening concert featuring Kings of Leon.

"They had this great plan put together, sent a note out to several bands and came back with a proposal. Those guys have really done yeoman's work on this. ... We really think the park will be packed, and we're so excited," said Watkins, who is also executive director of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.

"It's kind of a celebration of life, which is what the marathon really means. So, if you're not a runner, we hope you'll come down to the concert and celebrate."

Oklahoma band to follow marathon concert with Stagecoach showcase

For Scott, playing the Memorial Marathon concert will be an honor in a year already packed with highlights, starting with the long-awaited release of his band's first full-length album, "Castle Rock," in February.

"We were planning on releasing it in April of 2020. Then, we had a whole year off. Getting back into the live arena and just spending time on stage with each other in different environments, that kind of experience is important for us in our sound and our feel. And the only way you get that is by doing it, so having shows to play is something we're all very appreciative of," he said.

Since the release of his EP “Living Rooms" in 2018, much has changed for the Oklahoma City singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, including his band's lineup, which had major reverberations — literally — in the sound on "Castle Rock." Along with Scott, The High Heat now includes Alberto Roubert on drums, Taylor Johnson and Gabriel Mor on guitars, Garrison Brown on keys and Ryan Magnani on bass.

"We just wanted to make something louder and a little bit more unexpected. I felt like lyrically and conceptually, these songs were coming out just bigger and stronger than the bluegrass, folky first offering in 'Living Rooms,'" Scott said. "There's a lot of Red Dirt (music) between Texas and Oklahoma — and most of it's incredible. ... But we wanted to just step outside of that a little bit."

Earlier this month, "Castle Rock" cracked the Top 40 on the Americana album charts, and Scott and his cohorts opened for Texas country group Eli Young Band at the first official show for OKC's new hotspot Beer City Music Hall.

The Oklahoma band will kick off May by playing the star-studded Stagecoach Festival April 29-May 1 in Indio, California, where the lineup includes Carrie Underwood, Thomas Rhett, Luke Combs and more. Scott and his cohorts will perform May 1 on the Horseshoe Stage.

"We've just kept our heads down and kept working ... and friends telling friends led to Stagecoach," Scott said. "So, California, here we come."

He is thrilled to play the Memorial Marathon concert before they head West.

"Each time we get an opportunity like this, it's hard to come up with the words. We're very thankful, and we're gonna show up and show out," Scott said.

"Anything that pulls people together for a common memory and (cause) to support is something we need more and more of for sure these days."

OKC Memorial Marathon Kick-off Concert

Featuring: Josh Abbott Band and Jason Scott & the High Heat.

When: 6 p.m. Friday, April 22, with fireworks at 9 p.m.

Where: Scissortail Park, 300 SW 7.

Admission: Free.

Information: https://okcmarathon.com/event-information/weekend-schedule.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC band playing Memorial Marathon concert ahead of Stagecoach Fest