Slapout featured at July 3 Full Moon Concert

The Stillwater band Slapout will perform at the free Full Moon Concert Friday, July 3 in Centennial Park, 301 East Grand in Tonkawa, and will serve as the band’s CD release party for their 2020 album, Redbud.  The album features 13 songs, ten of which are original, with three interpretations of Oklahoma folk music and poetry. The group’s performance in Tonkawa in 2019 resulted in a new song, “Labyrinth,” and they will also debut another new tune on July 3, “Quarantine,” inspired by the 2020 SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Formed in Stillwater after the demise of their college band, The Delicious Militia, Derek McCubbin and Hugh Foley have been leading the folk-rock ensemble of Slapout since 2003. Often adding Aleks Wolfe on bass guitar and Justin Johnson on drums, Slapout has performed at street fairs, in museums, art galleries, gypsum plants, and in living room and back yard parties. They have presented “cowboy music” at performances for a Smithsonian Roots Music Exhibit, at the Oklahoma Historical Society’s statewide annual meeting, and libraries around the state.

With an emphasis on lyrics that relate to their Oklahoma home and humorous observations about life, Slapout features a musical sensibility that is both familiar and exploratory, combining various instruments and lineups with a primary goal of entertaining audiences. With two independent albums and a five-song EP of originals, as well as a Christmas compilation, Slapout has been featured on KUSH radio in Cushing, and written up favorably by critics in Sweden, Arizona, and Oklahoma.

As a result of Hugh Foley’s work as an Oklahoma music historian, Slapout is also known for its educational interpretations of significant historic music associated with Oklahoma. A professor of fine arts at Rogers State University in Claremore, Oklahoma, Dr. Foley’s Oklahoma Music Guide is considered a definitive work on the subject.

The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. and is free to all. Since seating in the park is limited, the public is invited to bring lawn chairs or blankets. Snacks, drinks, and pets on leashes are welcome, and restrooms are located across the street in the Santa Fe Depot.

Throughout the evening, concert goers may walk the world’s only heart-shaped labyrinth, and the evening concludes with the traditional group howl at the full moon. North Central Oklahoma Arts Council and Heart in the Park Committee sponsor the free monthly concerts in the park. Next month’s Full Moon Concert scheduled for Monday, August 3, will feature Hillcrest Ensemble performing “The Great American Songbook”.

Heart in the Park and NCOAC are not liable for any risks for Covid-19. All Heart in the Park and NCOAC events will abide by CDC Guidelines. In case of inclement weather, the concert may be cancelled. Check for Full Moon Concert updates on NCOAC Facebook: www.facebook.com/TonkawaArts/

To contact Slapout, write [email protected].

The Stillwater band, Slapout, will star at the July 3 Full Moon Concert sponsored by North Central Oklahoma Arts Council and Heart in the Park in Tonkawa’s Centennial Park. The music begins at 7:30 p.m. and admission is free. The event will also serve as the band’s CD release party for their 2020 album, Redbud.