Get psyched

New festival seeks to expand your musical consciousness

Tulsa is run amok with music festivals, from the massive Center of the Universe Festival, which last year attracted a reported 80,000 to the heart of the Brady Arts District, to the Backwoods Bash, a three-day camping and music event on Keystone Lake, to the brand new Hop Jam, a music and craft beer festival put on by the Hanson camp.

Now, we can add one more to the list: Tulsa Psych Fest, a fledgling mini-festival that, come June 28, will bring 14 bands to two stages in downtown Tulsa in a single night. The event’s organizer, Moonshine front-woman Sarah Dickenson, said all she set out to do was book a show.

“I didn’t really expect it to be this ambitious,” Dickenson said over the low-level din of the festival’s chosen venue, The Yeti, 417 N. Main Street. “I just wanted an excuse for all of our out-of-town friends’ bands to come to town and play one awesome show. We saw that these small-scale psych fests were coming together around the country and we thought, Tulsa hasn’t really done anything like this before. It just kind of snowballed from there.”

The lineup includes bands from as far away as Carlsbad, Calif., and will feature psychedelic light shows on both stages by Austin-based artistic collective Ether Wave.

“Festival” may be a generous classification – after all, the event is in one bar on a single night. But small festivals like this one fill a unique gap in Tulsa’s family of music events. The problem with big music festivals is, in order to draw the crowd necessary to turn a profit, organizers need to book a big-name headliner. As the festival becomes successful, local musicians, even the big ones, tend to get lost in the fray, either pushed aside by national acts on the side stages where local or regional acts once had a home, or, if the festival becomes too expansive, as with Austin’s SXSW, there is simply too much happening to make an impact.

Small festivals like this one serve a dual purpose, at once putting burgeoning local artists on stage in front of an exponentially larger audience than they would typically draw alone, and exposing any Tulsan willing to shell out $5 to bands they wouldn’t have heard otherwise.

“People in Tulsa are starting to be really interested in local music, they aren’t satisfied to just wait for the next big show at the Cain’s,” Dickenson said. “And, it gives the bands in our scene, which can be cliquish, the opportunity to play to some people they haven’t before, and to kind of come together and lift each other up.”

Tulsa Psych Fest Line-Up

Hell Cactus Stage (Indoor)

Akiba – 5:45 p.m.
This OKC four-piece plays self-described “ghetto-blasting laptop indie power-pop.”

Cosmostanza – 6:55 p.m.
A guitar-and-drum duo, these OKC lads play fast garage-punk and tunes similar to Thee Oh Sees or Broncho. standout track: “Avant-Garde”
http://facebook.com/cosmostanza

Noun Verb Adjective – 8:05 p.m.
This Tulsa five-piece plays trippy pop cobbled together from all manner of instrumentation. standout track: “Feynman Lectures on Physics: Vol. 1”
facebook.com/NounVerbAdjective

Fabulous Minx – 9:15 p.m.
This freaked out Tulsa guitar-and-drum duo with a sometimes saxophone player plays roots and rockabilly-inspired rock ‘n’ roll. standout track: “Good Girls Cuttin’ Loose”
facebook.com/FabulousMinx

Moonshine – 10:25 p.m.
This local band, fronted by event-organizer Sarah Dickenson, draws heavily from late 70s hard rock bands like Black Sabbath and Pentagram. standout track: “Broke Joke”
facebook.com/tfarchctib

Mellowphant – 11:35 p.m.
Named for a mythical half-elephant beast, this Austin, Texas, trio plays garage and psych-pop. standout track: “Tiny Apartment”
facebook.com/VoltaireCasinoMusic

Lochness Mobsters – 12:45
Originally from Lake Charles, La., this Austin, Texas, band that plays “a tasteful mix of surf and upbeat garage rock.” standout track: “Yes, I Do”
facebook.com/Lochness.Live

Moon View Stage (Outdoor)

Pillage People – 5:10 p.m.
They are people. They come to pillage. This surf-rock trio hails from right here in Tulsa, Okla.
facebook.com/pillagepeoplemusic

The Flood – 6:20 p.m.
Another guitar-and-drum duo from right here in Tulsa, these high-school boys play Black Keys-style blues rock well beyond their years. standout track: “Yard Sale”
facebook.com/TheFloodMusic

Psychotic Reaction – 7:30 p.m.
Blues rock that sounds like “the velvet underground on acid, blue cheer on meth and the hellacopters after they huffed like 50 gallons of paint thinner.” standout track: “Get You Alone”
facebook.com/psychoticreactionband

La Panther Happens – 8:40 p.m.
These local fellows play a brand of guitar and organ pop that draws from Memphis soul, 60s girl-group and early psychedelic bands like the Zombies. standout track: “Solid Gold Buzz”
facebook.com/la.happens?fref=ts

Dead Mockingbirds – 9:50 p.m.
This Dallas, Texas, four-piece plays rowdy, sweaty, loud rock ‘n’ roll with a southern bent. standout track: “White”
facebook.com/deadmockingbirds

Pagiins – 11:00 p.m.
Hailing from Fort Smith, Ark., this five-piece plays hyped-up garage with sing-along moments. standout track: “What’s the Point?”
facebook.com/Pagiins

The Swift Beats – 12:00 p.m.
This Carlsbad, California, four-piece band plays jangly surf and blues-based rock ‘n’ roll. standout track: “Tough Love”
facebook.com/TheSwiftBeats