Wanda Jackson, Darci Lynne and Wade Hayes helping Oklahoma Opry launch $10 million campaign
Over the past five years, rising Sooner State stars Darci Lynne, Kaitlin Butts and Kylie Morgan have all made their debuts on the famed Grand Ole Opry.
But before they stepped into that iconic Nashville circle, all three started out on a stage much closer to home, as performers at the long-running Oklahoma Opry.
"It's just so fun to see: They have had a place here to learn, and then they can go out and conquer," said Oklahoma Opry Executive Director Cindy Scarberry.
"That's what the Opry is about."
After almost half a century of making music in Capitol Hill and Stockyards City, the venerable Oklahoma City institution now is working on making its permanent home in another historic OKC district: Bricktown.
Formally the Opry Heritage Foundation of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Opry is officially launching Oct. 27 its $10 million Brick by Brick Capital Campaign so it can convert the 114-year-old warehouse at 19 E California Ave. into its new music hall and school.
"We've joked about, 'It took us 46 years to be an overnight success.' ... But when we became a nonprofit in 2004, we were thinking about 'OK, what is our mission, in addition to being that incubator for singer-songwriters and family-friendly entertainment?' ... (It's) to provide quality music education and artist development," said Scarberry, while standing in the Opry's temporary downtown performance home at the Academy of Contemporary Music at the University of Central Oklahoma.
How are a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and a country chart-topper helping launch the campaign?
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Honorary Campaign Chair Wanda Jackson will help officially launch the Oklahoma Opry's Brick by Brick Capital Campaign at a VIP reception Oct. 27.
"Wanda has been a great supporter of ours for years; we have been lucky to be able to be her backing band," Scarberry said of the 86-year-old OKC music icon known as the "Queen of Rockabilly." "She's no longer singing, but she is happy to make appearances ... and she is sassy as ever."
The emcees for the VIP event will be Oklahoma Opry and 93.3 JakeFM host Owen Pickard and 2017 "America's Got Talent" winner Darci Lynne. Two years before she won the NBC talent contest as a 12-year-old singing ventriloquist, Darci Lynne, now 19, was a bashful OKC girl getting her start at the Oklahoma Opry.
"Before anyone knew who she was, she was Darci Farmer ... and she came and she stood on that stage down at the Stockyards and just almost froze. These are not exaggerations with regard to how timid and shy she was," said Clarke Farmer, Darci Lynne's dad and a member of the Oklahoma Opry's board of directors, during a recent tour of the warehouse intended to become the organization's forever home.
"But Cindy and the band, they just put their wings around her, and she had a fantastic little show that night. ... The confidence and the mentorship that she got is really what laid the foundation for her beginning to step up into bigger and more advanced performances. Then, of course, you saw the ultimate result on 'America's Got Talent.'"
Following the VIP launch, the public is invited to a campaign benefit concert featuring chart-topping country singer-songwriter Wade Hayes at 9:30 p.m. Oct. 27 at Oklahoma Ranch. The "Old Enough to Know Better" hitmaker hails from Bethel Acres, and another Nashville-based country artist from Oklahoma, Zach Ray, who is originally from Blanchard, will open the show.
The Oklahoma Opry will follow the campaign kick-off concert with another entertaining fundraising event: The Secret Singer 2023.
"It's one of my favorite things that we do ... because this is where we do our version of 'The Masked Singer.' The artists will perform all in costume. Our celebrity judges will try to figure out who they are. Are they a celebrity that is known nationally or internationally? Maybe. Are they a local celebrity? Are they a local newscaster, politician, city official? We don't know, so it's gonna be a fun night," Scarberry said.
The Secret Singer 2023 is set for 7 p.m. Oct. 28 at ACM@UCO with local TV personality and musician Lucas Ross, Miss Oklahoma 2021 Ashleigh Robinson and Allied Arts President and CEO Sunny Cearly serving as the judges and Jackson providing color commentary.
What does the Oklahoma Opry do?
Founded in 1977 by the late Granville “Grant” Leftwich, the Oklahoma Opry is best known for putting on family-friendly shows featuring a mix of new performers and special guests, along with a house band. Leftwich created a network of opportunities that brought into the spotlight new Sooner State stars, including country hitmaker Bryan White, Red Dirt music standout Cody Canada and singer-songwriter Katrina Elam, who has co-written hits for Carrie Underwood and Reba McEntire.
Formerly the Rodeo Opry, the Oklahoma Opry is continuing its live weekly shows at 7 p.m. Saturdays at ACM@UCO until it can open its new Bricktown home. The shows are then broadcast from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. every Sunday on 99.7 FM The Wolf (formerly Hank FM).
In addition to its live shows, the Oklahoma Opry launched in 2009 its Granville School of Music. Modeled after the W.O. Smith Music School in Nashville, the program provides low-cost one-on-one and small-group music lessons to students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunches at school. Each music lesson costs just 50 cents.
"This has grown to be just such a huge part of who we are," Scarberry said. "Made possible because of our wonderful support in the community, Granville has been a great place ... for kids to dream."
In 2017, the Oklahoma Opry also started the first Oklahoma chapter of Guitars 4 Vets, a nonprofit program providing relief to struggling veterans through the healing power of music and community.
"At the same time, we were reaching out to them, the Oklahoma City VA was reaching out. And they said, 'How can we get this program in Oklahoma?' So, they connected us. That partnership has really grown into this beautiful program ... that's had such an impact," Scarberry said.
What brings the Oklahoma Opry to Bricktown?
For about 15 years, Oklahoma Opry put on its show in the venerable Rodeo Theater in Stockyards City, now home to the nonprofit Rodeo Cinema. When its lease ended in 2020, the Opry moved its performances to a nearby event center and started searching for a new home.
Earlier this year, Opry leaders announced a deal with longtime Bricktown developer Don Karchmer to lease with an option to buy and convert the unused warehouse into its new venue, school and office space.
Standing outside the Bricktown warehouse, which boasts the red brick façade that is a hallmark of the downtown OKC entertainment district, Scarberry can see the future.
"This will be hopefully a beautiful sign and marquee and patio. The musicians have already put in their wish list (that) they want to be able to come out here, plug in right here and play and be heard. ... I might tell them that's in Phase 2, though," she said.
How is the Oklahoma Opry enhancing Bricktown's live music scene?
The Oklahoma Opry's Brick by Brick Capital Campaign includes two phases. The goal for Phase 1 is $6.5 million, which includes $1.25 million to acquire the building and $5.25 million to secure it and begin renovations. The goal for Phase 2 is $3.5 million, which would let the organization complete the renovations and upgrade the lights and sound.
"That also helps us build our endowment: We have made a commitment to put 10% of all donations into our endowment, and we would like to continue that within our capital campaign," Scarberry said.
The centerpiece of the construction plans is a two-story auditorium with between 270 and 300 seats, where the Opry will perform its live shows. The plans also include a lobby space with a gift shop, dressing rooms for performers, an exhibit space to honor Oklahoma's rich music history, a suite to house out-of-town musicians and classrooms for its school and veterans program.
"With this space right here on the (Bricktown) Canal, we're so excited that we'll be able to offer more than just one show a week ... and not just country music. What kind of jazz shows could we do down here?" Scarberry said.
With its move to Bricktown, the organization already is becoming part of the district's live music scene, which includes Oklahoma Ranch, The Critierion, JJ’s Alley, Toby Keith’s I Love this Bar & Grill, Michael Murphy’s Dueling Piano Bar and ACM@UCO, where the Opry plans to perform its Saturday night shows until its new home is complete.
"We're being good neighbors. ... We love the idea of ACM and the Opry being next door to each other. It's just such a perfect thing," said ACM@UCO CEO and Executive Director Scott Booker.
He said the Oklahoma Opry is a great addition to Bricktown, with their Saturday night shows already complementing ACM's new Live Room Fridays weekly music showcases.
"Obviously, the Opry has been in Oklahoma City for a very long time. It was definitely something that was slightly out of my wheelhouse, because you know me, the weird alternative rock guy. But I have a great fondness for country music," he said.
"Having them here ... it's just a great energy."
OKLAHOMA OPRY BRICK BY BRICK KICK-OFF CONCERT
With: Wade Hayes with Zach Ray.
When: 9:30 p.m. Oct. 27. Doors open at 9 p.m.
Where: Oklahoma Ranch, 425 Kings of Leon Lane.
THE SECRET SINGER 2023
When: 7 p.m. Oct. 28. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Where: ACM@UCO, 25 S Oklahoma Ave.
Tickets and information: https://www.ohfo.org.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Opry launching $10 million campaign to build new OKC home
