From powerhouse vocalists Carrie Underwood and Kristin Chenoweth to indie rock stars The Flaming Lips and St. Vincent to country legends Blake Shelton and Vince Gill, Oklahoma has produced a lengthy and diverse list of famous musicians. The Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department honors these and other notable performers through the Oklahoma Music Trail itineraries it has put together.
More than 50 road trips are listed on the department’s website. As part of these multi-stop tours, travelers can visit places that were influential to the development of the featured Sooner State’s stars. Each listing includes details on why the chosen sites are significant to the artists and lists the mileage to the next stop.
For instance, the Carrie Underwood tour covers five cities: Tahlequah, Muskogee, Checotah, Eufaula and Tulsa. The two Tahlequah stops are at Northeastern State University, Carrie’s alma mater, and Sam & Ella’s Chicken Palace, where she worked during her college days. In her hometown of Checotah, fans check out where she attended high school and see an animal shelter the singer opened in 2011.
In addition to the artist-specific tours, the webpage includes trails that showcase musical genres, such as country, blues, folk, opera, jazz, and Christian and gospel.
To learn more, email the Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department’s Todd Stallbaumer or go to travelok.com.
Top photo: Oklahoma native Carrie Underwood
Photo by CC Flickr: Matthew Wittkopp: bit.ly/2XVDlqN
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