Oklahoma State’s basketball program is starting from scratch. After seven seasons under Mike Boynton’s leadership, the program needed a fresh voice in the locker room. Boynton was an incredible recruiter, but he was unable to find results on the court to show for it.

Cue the Steve Lutz hiring, which was an incredible get for Oklahoma State. With three years of head coaching experience, Lutz has yet to fail to reach the NCAA Tournament.

The Cowboys used to be a perennial tournament team, and reaching that level again is a priority for the program. While Boynton’s recruiting ability will be missed, Lutz has the ability to swiftly rebuild programs and make the NCAA Tournament — which leaves the program in good hands.

Watching the program’s ability to land solid recruiting and transfer portal classes following the head coaching move is something to keep an eye on. Lutz could soon be in the mix for a solid four-star center from the DFW.

Jaden Toombs, a 6-foot-9, 245-pound center from Dallas, TX, could be a strong target for the Cowboys for the 2025 recruiting class. He recently updated On3’s Jamie Shaw in his recruitment, confirming he wants to take a visit to Stillwater.

“I’m talking with schools like LSU, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State about possible visits,” Toombs said.

The Cowboys are going to have the opportunity to gain an edge on Toombs’ recruitment, but they’re not going to be able to use on-court success as a selling point.

“I would like to commit before the year is over,” Toombs said. “Hopefully before the November signing period.

Lutz will be able to fill out his roster and have a future outlook of the program, but no history with the program to his name. Fortunately, a few key principles within the Lutz-led program are what Toombs is looking for.

“I want to go a school that will play hard and let me be me. Development will be big for me too. I would like to go to a place where I can go and use my full skill set while also being able to play really hard,” Toombs said.

The Cowboys — playing in the Big 12 — have a big opportunity for development and improvement while competing at the highest level of college basketball. Oklahoma State could spark a relationship with Toombs now and use offseason workouts to try and convince the four-star center that Stillwater is the place to be.

“I just met them, they got a new staff, so we are just building our relationship,” Toombs said of Oklahoma State. “So, I want to get out there. They like how hard that I play and the motor I play with. They like for their bigs to have a skill set, and they said that is what they like about my game.”

Watching how Lutz navigates this new era, coaching in the Big 1interesting2 with a program in need of a turnaround will be intersting, and it’ll start with recruiting after Lutz fills out his current roster.

READ MORE: Could the Cowboys Have a Midseason Quarterback Change?

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Governor Kevin Stitt released a statement celebrating the $51 million federal investment in Tulsa’s Tech Hub. The Tech Hub, which focuses on autonomous technologies such as drones, will make Tulsa the world’s leading destination for innovation, investment and talent in this technology and will find uses in industries spanning agriculture, defense, energy, health care, manufacturing and beyond.

“Oklahoma has a long legacy of excellence in aviation, defense and manufacturing, which makes our great state the ideal location to lead the development of the next generation of autonomous technologies,” said Governor Stitt. “The future of autonomous systems is right here in Oklahoma, and I am thrilled to see the innovations Oklahoma companies are generating as we continue to become a top 10 state.”

Led by Tulsa Innovation Labs – an initiative of the George Kaiser Family Foundation – Tulsa received a “Tech Hub” designation in October 2023 from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA), recognizing northeastern Oklahoma’s potential to become globally competitive in the development of autonomous systems, such as drones. The designation also allowed the region to apply for implementation funding as part of EDA’s Tech Hubs Program, which aims to strengthen U.S. economic and national security. Through various projects and initiatives, THETA will create nearly 60,000 good jobs with wages higher than the current regional average.

“I’m grateful to organizations like Tulsa Innovation Labs, the George Kaiser Family Foundation and their partners for all their hard work to drive innovation to make Oklahoma a leader in secure autonomous systems,” Governor Stitt added. “These groups and their partners are working with us to secure our state’s economic future while simultaneously contributing to our national security and elevating Oklahoma’s international competitive standing.”

Governor Stitt and the Oklahoma Legislature submitted letters of commitment for Tulsa’s Tech Hub and Tulsa Innovation Labs as part of the application process. The state legislature committed to seeking $15 million in appropriations over a five-year period through the legislative budget process to bolster the Tech Hub’s efforts to grow our state’s autonomous systems workforce, enhance manufacturing and supply chain capabilities and support the expansion of research and development and commercialization activities.

“This investment not only strengthens our state’s economic foundation but positions the Greater Tulsa Region as a global leader alongside other great Tech Hubs across America,” said Jennifer Hankins, managing director of Tulsa Innovation Labs. “We are excited to partner with the governor and state of Oklahoma to usher in the future of innovation. We look forward to the day when autonomous vehicles, drones and robotics in use worldwide – whether protecting Americans on the battlefield or delivering medicine to the Heartland’s rural communities – bear the moniker ‘Tested and Made in Tulsa, USA’.”

Even 35 years later, Monica Taylor still remembers her first trip out to The Farm, the Stillwater homestead now recognized as the birthplace of Oklahoma’s Red Dirt music.  

“The first thing I thought was, ‘Oh my God, I’ve found my people,’” the Perkins singer-songwriter recalled with a laugh. “All the picking, all the (song) circles, oh, wow, it was just amazing. That was about 1989 or so … and ever since then, those people have been my family.”

If the Oklahoma songwriters’ scene is a big family, the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah is one of its biggest yearly reunions. Affectionately known as WoodyFest, the long-running event brings together dozens of Sooner State musicians, along with players from far and wide who admire the iconic folk troubadour the fest is named for.

“There are so many people there that you see. … With the artists, there’s some that you join on stage, some that you just chat with backstage and some that you pick with all night long in the parking lot,” Taylor said. “But it’s not just the artists: People come from all over the country — actually, from all over the world; there are always people who come from Europe, Australia and Canada, for sure — to enjoy every single day and every moment of the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival. And they are family.”

Dubbed “The Cimarron Songbird” by the early WoodyFest staples the late Bob Childers and Jimmy LaFave, Taylor has become a fixture at the 27th annual event, playing 25 editions so far. The recent Restless Spirit Award honoree will join fellow WoodyFest legacy artists Ellis Paul and Joel Rafael in performing at this year’s opening-night concert, “Twenty-Seven Julys in Okemah: Memories of WoodyFest,” at 7 p.m. July 10 at Okemah’s historic Crystal Theatre.

In 2021, Taylor embarked with her husband, fellow musician Travis Fite, on recording her current project, the multi-volume “Red Dirt Ramble.” Paying tribute to the pioneers of Red Dirt music, the collection features 55 guest vocalists and musicians, and she’ll be playing selections from Vol. 1 during her WoodyFest opening-night set. She’s also planning to perform a few songs from her early WoodyFest days with the Farm Couple, her former duo with the late Patrick Williams.

“There is not a line, really, between the audience and the artist, and the artists make lifetime fans and friends at WoodyFest. And it’s a beautiful thing for everybody,” said Taylor, who will host on July 15 her Annual Post Woodyfest Concert featuring Don Conoscenti and Tim Easton at the Old Church Center in Perkins.

Organized by the nonprofit Woody Guthrie Coalition, WoodyFest 2024 is scheduled for July 10-14 at multiple venues in Guthrie’s hometown of Okemah. Here’s what you need to know about the 27th Annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival: 

Who was Woody Guthrie?

Legendary singer-songwriter Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Guthrie was born on July 14, 1912, in Okemah. He would have been 112 years old this year.   

The festival annually takes place on and around his July 14 birthday in his Okfuskee County hometown, which he once described as “one of the singingest, square dancingest, drinkingest, yellingest, preachingest, walkingest, talkingest, laughingest, cryingest, shootingest, fist fightingest, bleedingest, gamblingest, gun, club and razor carryingest of our ranch towns and farm towns because it blossomed out into one of our first Oil Boom Towns.”  

Guthrie died Oct. 3, 1967, at the Creedmoor State Hospital in Queens, New York, of Huntington’s disease, a degenerative genetic neurological disorder. He was just 55 years old.   

But in his relatively short life, he wrote prose, poetry and thousands of songs — including “This Land is Your Land,” “Oklahoma Hills” and “Pastures of Plenty” — and influenced a wide range of musicians, from Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger to Lead Belly and Guthrie’s own son, Arlo Guthrie. 

More than half a century after Guthrie’s death, the iconic singer-songwriter’s influence continues to grow: He has been cited as an inspiration by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Ani DiFranco, Joan Baez and many more. He was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2006.

Who will be playing WoodyFest 2024?   

Along with the trio playing the July 10 opening-night WoodyFest retrospective, this year’s festival will feature more than 50 musical acts performing at the Crystal Theatre, Rocky Road Tavern, Bound for Glory Stage at the Hen House restaurant and Pastures of Plenty outdoor stage.

The lineup features Guthrie’s granddaughter Annie Guthrie as well Guthrie great-granddaughter Serena Guthrie. 

Oklahomans on this year’s WoodyFest roster include the Red Dirt Rangers, Ken Pomeroy, John Fullbright, Carter Sampson, Travis Linville, Selby Minner, Gypsy Twang, Jacob Tovar, Jared Deck, Jared Tyler, Randy Crouch, Susan Herndon, Melissa Hembree, Cassie Latshaw, Peggy Johnson, Miss Brown to You, RT Valine, Joe Baxter, Kierston White and Nellie Clay.

The lineup also features David Amram, Beat Root Revival, Butch Hancock, Jaimee Harris, The Deslondes, James McMurtry, Jamie Lin Wilson, Opal Agafia, Crys Matthews and Willi Carlilse.

Several daytime song swaps are on the schedule for this year’s festival, plus the WoodyFest House Band — Norman guitar hero Terry “Buffalo” Ware, bassist Uncle Don Morris, accordion and keyboard player T.Z. Wright and drummer Michael McCarty — will play their new House Band Happy Hour each day July 11-13.

Hosted by Dan Martin, the open mic is another daily festival highlight: It’s set for 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Rocky Road Tavern.

WoodyFest 2024 will include camping, poetry, Children’s Festival and more

WoodyFest 2024 will include two longstanding traditions that raise money for the Huntington’s Disease Society of America: Mary Jo’s Pancake Breakfast at 8:30 a.m. July 13 at the Rocky Road Tavern and the event-closing Hoot for Huntington’s at noon July 14 at the Crystal Theatre.

This year’s free WoodyFest Children’s Festival from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 13 at Okemah City Park will include harmonica instruction, a water slide, games, storytelling and a children’s stage. The Red Dirt Rangers and the winners of the Children’s Festival songwriting contest will perform. 

Also on July 13, the Woody Guthrie Poets will perform at 11 a.m. at the Okfuskee County History Center, while the Native Spirit Collection Art Show, hosted by the Thlopthlocco Tribal Town, will be on view from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. inside The Grind coffee shop.

WoodyFest is famous for its campfire jams. Camping will be available at the Okemah Round-Up Club Arena starting at 3 p.m. July 5. All sites are first come, first served, and limited camper hookups are available.

What panels and workshops will be presented at WoodyFest 2024? 

WoodyFest annually includes a slate of free educational panels, with experts and activists covering timely topics as well as Guthrie’s life and legacy. This year’s sessions include:

• “Something to Say: Making Music that Matters,” with Barry Ollman
• “Legends and Legacy — Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame Induction,” with Deana McCloud
• “Secrets from the Woody Guthrie Archive,” with Guthrie granddaughter Anna Canoni and Rafael
• “Lead Belly’s Contributions to American Roots Music,” with Alvin Singh
• “Struggles and Victories: United Mine Workers of America,” with Tom Breiding
• “Native American Music of Oklahoma,” with Hugh Foley
• “I Didn’t Want to Tell You: Mental Health and Musicians,” with Chad Cochran
• “Growing Up with Woody,” with Tamara Logsdon Hawkinson
• “Arlo Guthrie’s Guthrie Center,” with Annie Guthrie and Shivadas (Mo) Guthrie

In addition, the festival will feature songwriting workshops with Paul and Canoni.

How will the free WoodyFest app and shuttle help attendees navigate the festival?

Last year’s debut of the WoodyFest mobile app was successful, especially when Oklahoma’s unpredictable weather forced organizers to move the event’s outdoor performances at the last minute, so the coalition is making the app available again in the Google Play store.

Plus, festivalgoers who have mobility issues or just want to beat the heat can catch a ride on the event’s new free daytime shuttle service, which will make continuous loops among the festival venues, stopping at each one in 30-minute intervals.

How much are WoodyFest tickets and how can people get them?  

WoodyFest offers several free panels, activities and concerts, including all indoor daytime performances on July 11.

Tickets to the opening-night concert on July 10 are $30 in advance or $35 at the door of the Crystal Theatre. 

Music lovers ages 17 and older will need wristbands to enter the Crystal Theatre and the Hen House’s Bound for Glory stage July 12 and 13 as well as to attend all evening performances at the Pastures of Plenty.

Attendees 16 and younger will be admitted free of charge at the Pastures of Plenty if accompanied by an adult.

Single-day tickets for July 12 or 13 are $60. Passes for the Pastures of Plenty on July 11 are $40.

Weekend and three-day passes range from $100 to $250.

All passes purchased in advance must be exchanged for wristbands at the all-ages festival. 

Tickets and information are available at woodyfest.com.