Marco Antonio Solis says thanks

The one thing

Marco Antonio Solis plays the BOK Center on Saturday, August 8 at 8 pm. He is out on Tour Gratitud 2026, a run of 23 shows that started July 24, 2026 in Austin and finishes October 11 in Highland, California, and he has said plainly that the whole thing is a thank you to the people who stayed with him. That is a lot of people. Five decades of songs, first with Los Bukis and then on his own, and a downtown arena full of Tulsans who know every word. If you have never been to an arena show sung entirely in Spanish, start here. The singing from the seats is half the performance.

Live music and comedy

Monday through Wednesday is nearly empty, so save your energy. The back half of the week does all the work.

• •The Black Crowes play Hard Rock Live in Catoosa on Thursday, August 6 at 8 pm, 21 and over. Doors open at 7 pm. Everyone in the room has to be 21, including anyone who bought through a resale site, so check before you drive out.
• •Advents headline The Vanguard the same night, Thursday, August 6 at 8 pm, if you would rather stay on Main Street.
• •The Stray Cats play The Cove at River Spirit on Friday, August 7 at 8 pm, 21 and over. All three of them, Brian Setzer, Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom. The 2025 fall tour came apart when Setzer got sick, and this summer run, which opened July 24 in Las Vegas, is the comeback.
• •Tom Kenny & the Hi-Seas land at The Vanguard on Friday, August 7 at 9:30 pm. Kenny is the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants, and the band is a proper revue with horns and harmony singers running through Chuck Berry, Sam Cooke and the Shangri-Las. Bring the kid who will not believe you.
• •Chris D'Elia plays Bricktown Comedy Club on Saturday, August 8 at 8:45 pm, with an earlier show the same evening and more on Friday, August 7.
• •Britt Nicole plays The Freeland Center for the Performing Arts in Bristow on Saturday, August 8 at 7:30 pm. It is a 40 minute drive down the turnpike and a much quieter room than anything downtown.
• •Rave On Main takes over The Vanguard late on Saturday, August 8 at 9 pm.

See the full concert calendar for everything on sale.

Festivals and free stuff

• •The First Friday Art Crawl runs Friday, August 7 from 6 to 9 pm across the Tulsa Arts District. Galleries and studios stay open late, admission is free, and you can walk the whole thing in an evening.
• •Oklahoma Comic Con fills the Arvest Convention Center downtown on Saturday, August 8 and Sunday, August 9. Tickets are required for that one.
• •The Tulsa Farmers' Market is open Wednesday, August 5 from 8 to 11 am and Saturday, August 8 from 7 to 11 am at 1 South Lewis. August is peak tomato and peach season, so go early.
• •The splash pad at Guthrie Green is free and running daily, which is still the best way to get through an Oklahoma August with kids in tow.

Sports

The Tulsa Drillers are on the road all week, down in Texas against the Corpus Christi Hooks from Tuesday, August 4 through Sunday, August 9. They are back at ONEOK Field on Tuesday, August 11 for six straight against the Arkansas Travelers. FC Tulsa is home on Saturday, August 8 at 7:30 pm against Detroit City FC, and that night is Greenwood Night. That puts a soccer match and an arena show a few blocks apart at almost the same hour, so leave early and expect downtown parking to be tight.

On the horizon

Saturday, August 15 is the busiest night of the month. Megan Moroney brings JP Saxe to the BOK Center, Ghostland Observatory are at Cain's Ballroom, and Jazz on the Green fills Guthrie Green with free music from 7 to 11 pm. The night before, Friday, August 14, Steve Earle & The Dukes play the Osage Event Center and Ookay is at The Vanguard. Then the Blue Whale Comedy Festival takes over the Arts District from August 20 through 23. Full rundown in next week's edition.