Alvvays and Rep. Jared Deck (D-Norman), among others, will headline the 16th annual Norman Music Festival in April.
In a post on Instagram, Norman Music Festival announced eight of its headliners for the three-day event which will be held on April 25-27 in the Walker Arts District. The festival sets up stages at both outdoor and indoor venues to feature musicians from a wide range of genres and level of popularity.
Norman Music Festival announces its first round of headliners.
The festival is produced by Norman Music Alliance, a volunteer-run nonprofit that supports local musicians. Shari Jackson, the organization’s executive director, told the OU Daily there will be one more round of headliners announced before the full lineup is released.
On Thursday, the festival released the headliners for the Friday and Saturday nights of the event.
Friday will feature Los Angeles-based artist Blondshell and band Rocket on the Songwriter Alley stage. Blondshell was featured in Rolling Stone Magazine’s Top 100 Albums, ranking the artist’s 2023 self-titled album at number 11.
Six other artists have been announced for Saturday’s lineup: Alvvays, Husbands, Branjae, Brainstory, Deck and Tropa Magica.
“We pay attention and try to find out what's exciting and what is new and what music is really exciting people, and try to pull them to town,” Jackson told the Daily.
Grammy-nominated Canadian indie pop band Alvvays will take the Main Stage on Saturday, with support from Oklahoma City-based band Husbands, who will return for their third year of playing the festival.
Jackson said she is excited for Husbands to return to Norman Music Festival.
“They are definitely a headline worthy band out of Oklahoma City experiencing some really great success,” Jackson said. “We're happy to have them back on our main stage.”
With a diverse range of genres, Jackson said the festival is a chance to showcase the array of creativity found in Oklahoma alongside acclaimed touring acts. Three of the artists announced, including Deck and Branjae, are based in the state.
“Sometimes if you look at a place like Oklahoma, or other places, you might think of one kind of music versus another being attached to that space,” Jackson said. “Don’t underestimate this place.”
According to Jackson, this year’s Norman Music Festival received nearly 650 applications from mostly Oklahoma-based bands. She said the festival will feature about 75 performers.
Lineup updates can be found on Norman Music Festival’s Instagram and Facebook.
This story was edited by Karoline Leonard. Sophie Hemker and Nikkie Aisha copy edited this story.
