Advertise on podcast: Songwriters & Tour Riders

Kalyn Fay made her way back home after graduating with a Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking from the University of Arkansas to take a job curating Native Art at the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa. She recently left that position to pursue music full-time, and this spring, released her first album in seven years. Ahead of her live recording in July at The Church Studio in Tulsa, the Cherokee folk musician came to KOSU to perform her song "Windsong" and talk about her latest album ᎠᎾᏒᎤ (Garden) and why she decided to leave her full-time job of nearly five years.

Traindodge's Jason Smith formed the band with bassist Chris Allen and his younger brother Rob Smith in 1996 when the places for a punk band to play in Oklahoma ranged from houses, convenience stores, and bowling alleys. 30 years later, Traindodge has kept chugging along. They released their eighth LP The Alley Parade in 2023 and will be playing Resonant Head in Oklahoma City on Saturday, July 11. Later this fall they will be opening for Chat Pile at Tower Theatre in Oklahoma City. On this episode, Jason Smith talks about the 1990s punk scene in Oklahoma and their album The Alley Parade.

When Ramsey Thornton graduated college during COVID, he wasn't sure what to do. He just wanted to do something with music. He enrolled into a masters of history program at Oklahoma State University to study the history of the banjo and worked as an intern at the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa. But while juggling academics and music, he soon found work playing drums, banjo and guitar for numerous different Oklahoma artists and bands like Ken Pomeroy, Wilderado and Keyland. He released his debut album, I Called It!, in May 2026 and played two sold out shows at Drifters Theater in Tulsa.

Johnny Mullenax didn't expect playing a weekly brunch show in Tulsa would help launch his touring career. Now he's playing at festivals and stages across America and Europe. In this episode, Johnny Mullenax talks about starting the bluegrass brunch, touring, and plays his song 'Used to Work For a Living.'

While Clay Street Unit was formed in Denver, most of their members are transplants, with lead singer Sam Walker originally hailing from Alabama. There, he was in a jam band that covered Phish and Grateful Dead songs. Clay Street Unit’s first album, titled Sin & Squalor, was scheduled for release last year through a Sony label. But, when the label folded and the release of the bluegrass band's album was uncertain, it was just another thing for Sam Walker and the group to weather. In this episode, Sam Walker talks about finally being able to release the album and the mix of influences that make up the sextet's sound.

Sam Westhoff almost quit music and started working at Lowe's. Now, under the moniker Haffway, he's starting his first headlining tour in Tulsa after releasing his album, Wither, last fall. The album purposefully is a roller coaster of highs and lows, reflecting Westhoff's mental health journey, one that took him from a psych ward in September 2024 to the stage at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville just six months later. In this episode, he talks about moving from Tulsa to Nashville, and the difficulty of releasing his album Wither.

Horton Records has been a home for what president Brian Horton estimated to be more than 150 different artist releases. But he has always thought the label's goal was not just to release music, but have music connect the community. That's the plan for this weekend's Horton Fest, celebrating 20 years since the label began. Over the weekend, Horton Fest will bring together Tulsa musicians and others Horton considers friends of the scene. In this episode, he talks about how they've made it 20 years as an independent label that only releases Oklahoma music, the evolution of the Tulsa music scene and what he hopes the future looks like.

​It’s been 20 years since Oklahoma band Cheyenne’s first album “I Am Haunted, I Am Alive” was released and singer Beau Jennings is bringing the band back together to play through it. At the time, Jennings was graduating college and unsure of where his life would take him. On this episode, he reflected on the album and reconnecting to songs written by a younger him and the decades since.

Lance Roark was singing at an open mic at a bar in Tahlequah one night, where RC Edwards — bassist for the then-on hiatus Turnpike Troubadours — was in the audience. With Turnpike on hiatus at the time, Edwards asked Roark to join his Americana rock band, RC & the Ambers. When Turnpike returned to the studio in 2022, Roark joined Edwards to co-write the song "Chipping Mill." Now as a solo artist, the Gore-native and Tahlequah resident has toured with Turnpike, as well as Shane Smith and the Castellows. His solo debut album, Bad Reputation, is about evolving and earning a reputation that maybe others perceive as bad.

It's been seven years since Broncho's last album release. In the time since, singer Ryan Lindsey has had two children and moved to Tulsa. Broncho's latest album, Natural Pleasure, is a return to a pace more natural to Lindsey. In this conversation, Lindsey reflects on 15 years of Broncho, the origins of the band and his musical life, and how this album is different from previous Broncho albums.

The day Hayden Pedigo moved to Oklahoma City, he messaged Chat Pile, a metal band that puts Oklahoma front and center on their albums. And despite their wildly different genres, they found they got along, watching movies and going to shows together. Hayden Pedigo is known for beautiful acoustic guitar. While Chat Pile songs are full of noise and growled lyrics. In this episode, they talk about how they met, what it was like working together, and how the album is still shocking even for Pedigo to listen to.

Brent Cobb has been writing songs and playing music since he was a teenager. Inspired by his son's discovery of classic and southern rock, Brent's latest album, Ain't Rocked in a While, looks back at his earliest influences while also exploring what it takes to be a working musician, just trying to make a living for the last two decades. In this episode, he talks about the highs of touring with the likes of Chris Stapleton, Tyler Childers and Luke Combs, while still having to deal with hecklers, like one he encountered in Oklahoma City.

When Kyle Ross isn't teaching English or coaching football in Bixby, he is the lead singer and songwriter of Americana band Keyland. They are opening up for The Droptines this Friday in Oklahoma City and will be playing Tiny Porch in Tulsa on Saturday. Matthew Viriyapah spoke to Ross before his show in Oklahoma City at Scissortail Park in June, opening up for Wilderado.

Noeline Hofmann was playing bars after quitting her job working on a ranch when Zach Bryan came across her singing on TikTok in 2023. The two recorded a duet of that song “Purple Gas” which kickstarted the Canadian twenty-something's country career that has continued to overlap with Oklahoma. She toured with Stillwater's Wyatt Flores and had her first American sold-out headlining date in Tulsa earlier this year. She’s spent this summer opening up for The Turnpike Troubadours and Zach Bryan on their European tour, and is opening for them and Oklahoma rock band Kings of Leon in San Francisco this Friday, Aug. 15. Matthew Viriyapah spoke to her before her show in Oklahoma City at 89th Street this spring to talk about those Oklahoma connections, her song "Purple Gas" and her latest music.

Texas singer-songwriter Vincent Neil Emerson released his latest album, Golden Crystal Kingdom in 2023. In this episode, Vincent Neil Emerson talks about the title track, the song he wrote inspired by Uvalde, Texas, and connecting with other Native musicians.