Oklahoma

Oklahoma State Fair announces 2025 concert lineup, from Black Stone Cherry to Joe Nichols

Published

10 months ago

May 30, 2025

Press Room

Oklahoma State Fair announces 2025 concert lineup, from Black Stone Cherry to Joe Nichols

The 2025 Oklahoma State Fair will take place September 11-21 at the OKC Fairgrounds.
Nightly free concerts on the Chickasaw Country Entertainment Stage will feature artists like Joe Nichols, Sister Sledge, and Black Stone Cherry.
The Bandshell will showcase Oklahoma performers daily.

The Oklahoma State Fair is about three and a half months away, but live music fans can go ahead and mark their calendars, since the event’s organizers have announced this year’s eclectic concert lineup.

One of the state’s largest yearly events, the 2025 Oklahoma State Fair is set for Sept. 11-21 at the OKC Fairgrounds, 3001 General Pershing Blvd.

This year’s fair will spotlight rock ‘n’ roll bands, country music artists, contemporary Christian hitmakers, R&B groups, tribute bands and more on its Chickasaw Country Entertainment Stage.

Admission to the nightly concerts is free with outside gate admission to the fair.

The 2025 Oklahoma State Fair concert lineup on the Chickasaw Country Entertainment Stage is:

7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11: Joe Nichols, the country singer known for hits like “Gimme That Girl” and “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off,” returns to the Oklahoma State Fair.
7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12: Sister Sledge, the Philadelphia sibling group of Debbie, Joni, Kathy and Kim Sledge, entered the cultural consciousness with their 1979 worldwide hit and iconic album “We Are Family.”
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13: Black Stone Cherry with The Kentucky Headhunters, two rock bands from the Bluegrass State, are heading this fall to the Oklahoma State Fair.
7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14: ZZ-KC is based in Kansas City and tours the country paying tribute to Rock and Roll Hall of Famers ZZ Top.
7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15: Josiah Queen, the “I am Barabbas” hitmaker who was named one of Amazon’s Breakthrough Artists to Watch for 2024, just wrapped his first headline tour as a contemporary Christian recording artist.
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16: Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone will bring their 1960s hits like “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter” and “I’m into Something Good” to OKC.
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept: 17: Shawn Klush – Tribute to Elvis returns to the Oklahoma State Fair with the addition of a horn section to add to the authenticity and excitement of his homage to The King.
7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18: Drew Baldridge, a country singer-songwriter hailing from Patoka, Illinois, has scored hit singles with “Dance with Ya” and “She’s Somebody’s Daughter.”
7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19: Hairball, a tribute band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2025 by performing classics by KISS, Van Halen, Queen and more, complete with pyrotechnics, costume changes and theatrical flair.
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20: Stephen Pearcy the Voice of RATT with Quiet Riot brings together the frontman for glam metal band behind the 1980s hits “Round and Round” and “Lay It Down” with the Los Angeles quartet known as the first heavy metal band to top Billboard charts.
7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21: Los Herederos de Nuevo Leon, a regional Mexican band specializing in norteño music, returns to close out the Oklahoma State Fair, which traditionally reserves the final concert slot on its Chickasaw Country Entertainment Stage for a Spanish-language act with appeal for a multi-generational Latino audience.

“I have been buying talent for the Oklahoma State Fair for quite some time, and I can honestly say this is one of the strongest lineups I can remember,” fair spokesman Scott Munz said in an email to The Oklahoman.

“Without hesitation, there is truly something for every musical taste during the 11 days of the 2025 Oklahoma State Fair.”

Along with the concerts on the Chickasaw Country Entertainment Stage, the Oklahoma State Fair will feature a diverse lineup of Oklahoma performers from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. daily at The Bandshell.

For more information on the concerts, carnival rides, food vendors, performances and other attractions at the 2025 Oklahoma State Fair, go to https://okstatefair.com.

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Oklahoma

Fire in Oklahoma City scrapyard produces massive smoke plume visible from downtown

Published

6 hours ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

Fire in Oklahoma City scrapyard produces massive smoke plume visible from downtown

A fire at a scrapyard near the OKC Fairgrounds has produced a massive plume of smoke visible in downtown Oklahoma City, officials report.

Oklahoma City Fire Department Assistant PIO John Chenoweth told The Oklahoman that the fire started at the scrapyard building near Northwest 10th Street and May Avenue, northeast of the OKC Fairgrounds.

The fire has been marked as “basically contained” as the Oklahoma City Fire Department is currently shifting to defensive methods. There are some active rubbish fires surrounding the metal building.

Chenoweth states there are no injuries, and all inside the building have been evacuated.

The cause of the fire and the extent of damage are unknown.

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Oklahoma fire map: See smoke, wildfires across state, red flag warnings

Track the latest wildfire and smoke information in Oklahoma with data that is updated frequently based on input from several incident and intelligence sources.

If you can’t see the map below, please click here.

How to prevent wildfires

While severely warm weather can worsen a wildfire spread, most are the result of human behavior. In fact, nearly 85% of wildfires in the U.S. are caused by humans, according to the National Park Service.

With its wide acres, rural areas and inconsistent weather patterns, Oklahoma is prone to grass fires. Forestry and safety experts offer several guidelines for residents on how to avoid starting a fire, which can often breakout from just one wrong spark.

Avoid using welding equipment.
Never drive on a flat tire.
Extinguish cigarettes completely before properly disposing of them, and never throw them outside of a window while driving.
Avoid parking on dry grass or dragging chains behind your car.

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma ranked in top 10 states attracting new residents, study says

Published

19 hours ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma ranked in top 10 states attracting new residents, study says

Oklahoma is in the top 10 states receiving new residents in the nation in recent years, a new survey suggests.

StorageCafe conducted a recent study utilizing U.S. Census data showing Oklahoma welcomed over 25,000 new residents in 2023, with millennials being the largest-represented generation among those entering the Sooner State.

Here’s what the study had to say about migration into Oklahoma.

Oklahoma among top 10 states to move to

According to StorageCafe, Oklahoma welcomed 25,000 new residents in 2023 in net migration.

New residents in Oklahoma were largely made up of millennials, those born between 1981 and 1996, at 27%.

Though Oklahomans and Texans don’t seem to be eye to eye in the football arena, Texas is “by far the largest source” of new Oklahoma residents.

Among the major reasons for the increase in migrants is likely Oklahoma’s affordability, with 36% of millennials buying a home within their first year in Oklahoma.

In addition, Oklahomans found major success in recruiting former California and Colorado residents to move to the state, rounding out the top 3 states bringing new residents.

What are the states attracting the most residents?

These states are the states with the highest migration numbers:

Texas (138,000)
Florida (137,000)
North Carolina (111,000)
South Carolina (72,000)
Georgia (62,000)
Arizona (57,000)
Indiana (32,000)
Colorado (31,000)
Tennessee (28,000)
Oklahoma (25,000)

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Oklahoma

Why Oklahoma HC Brent Venables Says John Mateer is ‘Focused’ Ahead of Spring Ball

Published

1 day ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

Why Oklahoma HC Brent Venables Says John Mateer is ‘Focused’ Ahead of Spring Ball

NORMAN — High highs and low lows defined John Mateer’s first season at Oklahoma.

Mateer, who transferred to OU ahead of the 2025 season, led the Sooners to a 10-3 record and their first College Football Playoff appearance since 2019. He threw for 1,215 yards and logged 11 touchdowns in OU’s first four games, helping them win each of them.

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“His best football was as good as there is in college football,” OU coach Brent Venables said.

In the back half of the season, though, Mateer wasn’t as efficient. After returning from a hand injury that kept him out of the Kent State game, Mateer completed only 59.4 percent of his passes for 1,670 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions over the Sooners’ final eight contests.

Venables is well aware of the good and the bad from Mateer’s first season in Norman. And the coach is pleased with Mateer’s focus throughout the first few months of the offseason.

“He’s in the building every day with his coaches, and very focused in that space,” Mateer said. “And I’ll meet with him frequently as well, from a leadership standpoint.”

Mateer’s up-and-down campaign came after his superb season at Washington State in 2024. As the Cougars’ starter that year, he threw for 3,370 yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

The SEC, though, is much more challenging than the primarily-Mountain West schedule that Mateer faced at WSU.

Venables is confident that Mateer will be more consistent in his second season with the Sooners, thanks to one year in the conference under his belt and the reps against Oklahoma’s defense throughout its spring and fall camps.

“I try to give him a defensive lens with plays that we’ve made some different cut ups for him,” Venables said. “The more you know about the other side of the ball, like intimately, deeply, like you know it maybe better than your side of the ball you can just elevate your game to another level.”

Though Mateer’s production dipped late in the season, he was far from the only inconsistent player on OU’s offense.

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The Sooners scored more than 30 points in only one of their final eight games. Oklahoma also averaged just 316.3 yards per game during that stretch and rushed for only 3.4 yards per carry.

OU’s front office did plenty to reinforce the unit during the offseason.

The Sooners signed three wide receivers — Trell Harris, Parker Livingstone and Mackenzie Alleyne — from the transfer portal. Oklahoma also added multiple tight ends, offensive linemen and running backs from the portal. The Sooners will also have several true freshmen — like running backs DeZephen Walker and Jonathan Hatton Jr. and wide receiver Jayden Petit — who may contribute immediately.

Venables noted how Mateer has grown as a leader since the start of last season and that he is much more “relational” than he was previously.

Ultimately, the coach believes that Mateer is in a better position to be one of college football’s best quarterbacks in 2026.

“He cares about the freshman walk-on guy as much as the new right tackle, and those are some of the qualities that John has that make him very endearing to everybody in the building,” Venables said. “He’s a passionate and an enthusiastic guy too, but he’s never been an over-the-top fake kind of guy, and you can’t fabricate just being genuine and authentic. And so he’s very relational with the guys.”

Oklahoma will begin its 2026 season against UTEP on Sept. 5.

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