No Place like Home

Cain's Ballroom is easily the most important music venue in the state of Oklahoma. Tulsa is lucky to have a room with such a rich and varied history, and the room itself is lucky to have such considerate and savvy caretakers as the Rodgers family.

And we at UTW are lucky and proud to be hosting the first annual ABoT Music Awards in the same venue that's played host to Bob Dylan, The Sex Pistols and Elvis Costello, among many others.

"What better place than Cain's to have this show?" said Chad Rodgers, who, along with his family, runs and owns the building. "Local music is where it all begins... we're known as a landmark and there's lots of musical history here, but if you look around, even some of the local bands got their start playing here."

For those unaware, the Rodgers family purchased the building in 2002. It had suffered years of neglect, was in a state of disrepair, and had lost a lot of its relevance due to poor management. The Rodgers came in and completely remodeled the place, then officially opened with a sold-out Dwight Yoakam show in October of 2003. Under the new ownership, the Ballroom went from hosting two or three shows a year to more than 100.

"We've re-established Cain's Ballroom as a stopping ground for bands," Rodgers said. "We want to provide a cool, great venue, and the fact that the music history is here is just an added bonus... (the music history) means something, and it means something to a lot of the national artists that come in here. They sit here and go 'man, you think about the other artists who have been on this stage or walked across this floor...' it's a big deal to them."

It's a big deal to Tulsa artists, too. On a local level, there is no wish more ubiquitous than to play on the main stage of the Cain's.

On August 8, five bands will at least get the opportunity to play at Bob's, the side stage at Cain's. The ABoT Music Awards will feature performances from the Band of the Year nominees, which are Callupsie, Dead Sea Choir, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, My Solstice and Vandevander.

Look for more coverage on the ABoT Music Awards in each issue of UTW leading up to the show, and listen to the nominated bands, vote and purchase tickets at www.abotmusicawards.com.