No-Chili Cookoff and Bubble Concerts: 2020 Is So Weird

As the year of COVID winds to an end, the pandemic is threatening one of our most cherished Fall traditions. Like many, the changing of the leaves and a chill to the air each November spark in me a desire to gather with loved ones for the annual autumn feast. That beloved tradition, like everything in 2020, is going to be a little different this year.

I’m referring, of course, to the annual Horton Rock & Folk & Chili Cookoff, which is temporarily changing its name to the Rock & Folk & No-Chili Cookoff in its seventh year. The absence of chili is obviously due to safety concerns, as is the limited-capacity seating for the Nov. 7 event at Cain’s Ballroom.
I will certainly miss sampling chili from some of Tulsa’s best restaurants, as well as those offered up by home chefs in the musician category, but if you’re considering attending the event, the lack of chili is by no means a deal breaker.
First of all, it isn’t exactly “no chili.” Tables of four will include a boxed chili meal courtesy of Lambrusco’z. You can sample the chili and vote online for your favorite.
Secondly, the chili, as good as it is, will always play second fiddle to the music, which COVID can’t take away from us. This year’s lineup includes Paul Benjaman’s Sunday Night Thing (on a Saturday), Jacob Tovar, Brad Apsher and the Superials, and Nightingale.
Finally, it’s all for a good cause, raising funds for Horton Records, a Tulsa-based non-profit organization that provides support and tools for band management, promotion, booking, merchandising, and distribution to help local and regional musicians. Part of the fundraising effort is a silent auction, featuring a new painting by local artist Chris Mantle.
Tickets will only be sold as a reserved table of four. Tables will cost $160 and are available online at cainsballroom.com.
As always, non-perishable food donations and coats will be collected for those in need at the box office on the day of the show.
A free live stream courtesy of Live From Cain’s will be online through the Cain’s Ballroom Facebook page.
For more information, or to vote in the chili cookoff, visit hortonrecords.org.

Bubble Boys
This is a column about Tulsa music, and I rarely stray from that topic, as there is always more than enough going on in our music-rich city to fill a monthly column. But this month, I have to veer off-topic by about 100 miles and give a nod to our friends in Oklahoma City, the Flaming Lips.
With the possible exception of Bigfoot, nobody has done a better job of handling the pandemic.
At a recent concert at the Criterion in downtown Oklahoma City, the veteran rock band took COVID protocol to a new level with the first-ever bubble concert.
As strange as “bubble concert” sounds, for fans of the Flaming Lips, it actually makes sense. Bubbles, literal, human-sized, clear plastic bubbles have been a part of the band’s show for years. I remember seeing frontman Wayne Coyne thrilling the crowd at Wakarusa in 2006 as he crowd surfed in a giant bubble. It’s been a lasting image since that day, so when I saw footage of the bubble concert, which was picked up by numerous national news and entertainment outlets, I thought, “Of course they had a bubble concert.”
The 3,500-capacity Criterion was filled with 100 clear plastic bubbles, one for each audience member, so band and audience alike enjoyed the most COVID-safe concert to date.

“I like the way this looks, because you can get as excited as you want, you can scream as much as you want, you just can’t infect the person next to you, no matter what you forget about, how excited you get,’ Coyne told CNN. ‘That barrier is still there, they’re protected, and you’re protected… that part of it is what we really felt like was the success.”

Happy Hour
Also showing ingenuity amid the pandemic, albeit to a slightly lesser degree, is Mercury Lounge at 18th Street and Boston Avenue. While they don’t provide patrons with individual bubbles, the converted Sinclair station has taken commendable efforts to keep both its clientele and musicians safe since reopening in late May.
In addition to limiting capacity, a strict mask policy and Plexiglas dividers, the venue has gone a step further for musicians by providing a stage door for performers and separate bar access.
The garage-door windows provide excellent circulation inside, and a good view of the stage from the patio, making it a relatively safe venue if proper distancing is practiced.
Normally known as a late-night venue, the Mercury Lounge is offering, “November Afternoons,” an afternoon concert series, weekdays at 4 p.m. all month. Performing on Mondays is Stephanie Oliver, Jared Tyler on Tuesdays, Kalyn Kay on Wednesdays, Jesse Aycock on Thursdays and Brianna Wright on Fridays. This daily party on the patio is free, and booth reservation is available.
Mercury was one of the first venues in town to offer live streaming shows, and they are still using the stage during the day to record sets that can be posted online or sold as ticket add-ons. Visit mercuryloungetulsa.com for more information and tickets.

We are now nine months into this pandemic, which is way too long to go without live music. We can’t keep waiting. We must find a safe way, even if it means encasing ourselves in bubbles, to keep searching, keep listening.