RAMBLIN ROUND: 'There's something happening here': McAlester's live music scene continues comeback

Jun. 12—I'm thinking about the opening lines to Buffalo Springfield's recording of Stephen Stills' song "For What It's Worth" — the one that begins with the lines "There's something happening here. What it is ain't exactly clear."

It reminds me of what's currently happening in McAlester; and what is happening is getting clearer by the day.

While Stills' lyrics were about riots protesting curfews along LA's Sunset Strip, at least the first two lines could be applied to McAlester — for there is indeed something happening here, as far as live music lovers are concerned.

With the success of last year's Dancing Rabbit Music Festival and this year's lineup for May, June and July, the Dancing Rabbit Music Association's members stated goals of once again making McAlester a live music center, entertaining locals and drawing in out-of-town visitors is, well, happening here.

Could it be that McAlester is entering on a new golden age where live music is concerned? It sure looks and sounds that way to me as well as others who have been watching and listening.

The Dancing Rabbit Musical Festival is offering another free outdoor concert between Third Street and Fifth Street along Choctaw Avenue on Saturday, June 11, with music set to begin on the outdoor main stage at 6 p.m., organizers said.

A diverse group of performers are in the lineup: Flobots, which is an experimental rap/rock band; Josie Dunne, a Nashville-based pop artist who will be the first female featured performer on the outdoor main stage, and Stroke 9, an alternative rock band known for its hit, "Little Black Backpack," with the band's last album, "Calafrio," encompassing a more laid-back, acoustic and harmony laden-vibe for the group.

I spoke this week with Jamie "Jonny 5" Laurie from Flobots, along with Dunne about her upcoming McAlester performance and with Luke Esterkyn from Stroke 9. All three were stoked about coming to McAlester and performing at the Dancing Rabbit Music Festival.

June's show follows in the wake of the May Dancing Rabbit concert, featuring a trio of remarkable singer-songwriters, Tulsa's John Moreland, Joe Pug and Travis Linville.

June's show is delivering a different kind of music altogether.

"This will be our biggest show ever," said Dancing Rabbit Music Association President Blake Lynch.

Here's another reason I think McAlester is embarking on a special time for live music performances at this time, presented in the form of a riddle.

What does McAlester have in common with cities such as Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Buffalo, New York; Brooklyn, New York, Portland, Maine; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Santa Fe, New Mexico, Boulder, Colorado and other well-known cities from around the U.S.?

All of the above-mentioned cities, along with 26 others, are part of the itinerary for James McMurtry's current full band tour — with McMurtry's June 7 show at the refurbished Downtown 312 venue the inaugural event for the Dancing Rabbit Music Association's ticketed Spotlight Series, in contrast with the Dancing Rabbit Festival's free outdoor concerts.

Not to worry. Not only did McMurtry's local fans buy up the tickets, his out-of-town fans did as well, drawing music lovers from around the state to his McAlester show, including Darren Roberts from Tulsa; Trina Hope, from Norman, and David Huss, from Smithville, in McCurtain County, near Broken Bow — all of whom contributed to making the show a sold-out event.

All of the fans I spoke with were impressed not only with McMurtry and the band's performance, they liked up close and personal intimacy of the concert as well — with McMurtry at one point letting his band take a break, while he picked up an acoustic guitar, stepped from stage and walked right up to his fans, with no microphone used — or needed — for the song.

It doesn't get much better than that when seeing an artist of McMurtry's caliber, who's nominated for Song of the Year at the Americana Music Association's September awards show for his recording of "Canola Fields."

After the quiet moment with the acoustic, McMurtry's band returned, he strapped one of his electric guitars on again, and they proceeded to rock the rafters.

Not only was McAlester on the tour itinerary along with the bigger cities, McMurtry's Spotlight Series performance at Downtown 312 marked the first stop on the tour.

If this the beginning of a new golden age for live music in McAlester, when did the last one occur? My nomination would be a time period encompassing the late 1990s and the early 2000s.

That's around the time when Chris Clark operated the Ice House — the former venue along Choctaw Avenue that had once literally been a place to buy blocks of ice.

Clark refurbished it into a restaurant and club, then proceeded to bring an outstanding array of talent to The Icehouse's stage.

A few of the performers who performed the Ice House include the legendary Merle Haggard, Tulsa's Leon Russell, Australia's Little River Band and Robby Krieger, who'd been the remarkable lead guitarist for The Doors and the writer of most of their immortal song "Light My Fire." (Although the Doors shared writing credits on their songs, Krieger, not Jim Morrison, is recognized as the driving force behind the writing of their first big hit).

Clark also brought The Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band to perform in McAlester — at that time estranged from their original fiddler, banjoist and sometimes guitarist John McKuen. No problem. Clark brought McKuen to the Ice House for a solo performance, which turned into a benefit for the family of local Highway Patrol Trooper Rocky Eales, who was shot and killed in action during a drug raid at a residence in the Sallisaw area.

During that general time period, Texas songwriter Gary P. Nunn moved to Hanna, in nearby McIntosh County, and held a music festival at his property there. Nunn became well-known as an artist in his own right, as well as a member of Jerry Jeff Walker's famed Lost Gonzo Bad. Nunn's best-known song is "London Homesick Blues," with its refrain of "I want to go home with the armadillo," which served for years as the theme song for the long-running television show, "Austin City Limits."

Nearly 23 years ago, McAlester held its 100-year Centennial Celebration, when Walmart brought the Charlie Daniels Band to McAlester for a performance on the outdoor stage at the Pittsburg County Fairgrounds, adjacent to the Southeast Expo Center.

Also as part of the city's Centennial Celebration, the News-Capital brought Willie Nelson to town in 1999 to celebrate the 100th year since North McAlester and South McAlester were incorporated together into a single entity.

Willie Nelson and Family weren't the only musicians who performed on the outdoor stage that day.

Others included McAlester's own Carter Baumert and the Panhandlers. McKuen, the multi-instrumentalist best known for his work with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Nunn, also performed prior to Willie's performance — with McKuen even sitting in for a few songs with Willie.

By the time of his McAlester performance, Willie had already performed in front of presidents and kings, been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and been the recipient of Kennedy Center honors in Washington. Still, he told me on his bus after the show he prefers to criss-cross the nation and play music for the people in cities such as McAlester.

He said events such as the Kennedy Center honors were something to dress-up for and attend — but he indicated they're not for kicking out the jams.

"I enjoy this," Willie said, referring to the concert he'd just completed to a crowd of appreciative fans.

That's not so different from what Jamie "Jonny 5" Laurie of the Flobots told me over the phone earlier this week, shortly before he stepped onstage to perform in Houston.

"Some of our favorite places to play aren't the big cities," Laurie said. "I want to know and understand what McAlester is all about. I'm looking forward to playing for the people and meeting them afterwards."

Before I stepped off the bus with Willie that day, I asked about his impression of his McAlester concert.

"We had a good day," said Willie. "We had a good sound system and we had a good crowd."

The Dancing Rabbit Music Festival events so far have featured good sound systems and good crowds. Dancing Rabbit Music Festival organizers are providing the sound system.

It's up to McAlester-area residents and our visitors to keep providng the crowds.

Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com.