HEADLINERS
2 0 2 4 O I B F P R O G R A M OKLAHOMA ’ S INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL
Evan Felker
Felker and friends give Turnpike Troubadours ' tunes the bluegrass treatment
by JOE MACK PHOTO by TOM DUNNING
T urnpike Troubadours frontman Evan Felker makes his triumphant return to Guthrie for a performance on the Byron Berline Memorial Stage at 8 p . m . on Thursday , October 10 .
Those that witnessed the last time Evan Felker played in Guthrie , it ’ s safe to say he didn ’ t lend the best version of himself to the situation .
Not long after the Turnpike Troubadours performed at Byron Berline ’ s Double Stop Fiddle Shop fundraising concert at the Scottish Rite Temple , Felker found himself checking out of the limelight to get help , and he got it … at a ranch in south Texas , where he worked on himself , his family , and horses .
Music would also play a therapeutic role in his recovery , and the creative juices again began to flow for Felker , which lead to reconnecting with his fellow Troubadours to get the band back together again , sending fans into a frenzy and sent ticket sales through the roof . Two sold-out nights at Tulsa ’ s historic Cain ’ s Ballroom and a few more at Billy Bob ’ s in Fort Worth would be the smallest rooms the band would play since that return nearly two years ago .
Joining Felker will be the core of the Trapp , Mullenax
& Moore band , bassist David Beckman , and a fluid roster of familiar faces to give each of these stadium-sized songs the right seasoning for the bluegrass skillet .
“ I fell in love with bluegrass when I lived in Stillwater , Oklahoma ,” Felker said in a rare interview with OIBF .
“ Hanging out there with the Parks family and going to Winfield really influenced my writing and way of thinking about music for the better . And there were these bohemian hangouts at The Commune and The Farm where people just meshed and played acoustic and bluegrass music all night . Those long campouts and jams were influential , and such a special place to get inspired musically .”
“ That love for bluegrass was already there , then I moved to Tahlequah and met Thomas Trapp . We became really close friends , and I got to see how generations of musical inspiration inspired him , which absolutely rubbed off on me ,” Felker said . “ And it wasn ’ t very long until I met Byron ( Berline ), and Thomas joined his band , and things just kept coming full circle in the bluegrass world that is always right there .”
Felker ’ s set is guaranteed to be dominated by selections from the Troubadours ’ catalog , but also some
OKLAHOMA ’ S INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL 2024 / 5