Wilderado with special guest Ken Pomeroy
Soma Tulsa Rooftop Bar and Kitchen at the Brut Hotel
May 28, 2025
When I was in my early 20s (when the world was prepping for Y2K), I was living in North Carolina for graduate school. Twice a year, I would head back home to Tulsa to visit family. For almost a decade, I was on an annual cycle of “Christmas Tulsa” and “Summer Tulsa.” During Christmas Tulsa especially, friends who had scattered to other cities after high school showed up to Caz’s or Empire Bar, talking about their new lives in Denver or New York or Los Angeles. For about a week or so, at any of the handful of bars that were open downtown, you could experience the energy of a packed, dimly lit watering hole, where if you were especially lucky, a local band like Glass House or the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey would be playing, and you’d be reminded that Tulsa had its moments too.
A lot has changed in our city, and in my life, since these Tulsa moments felt few and far between. In reality, they’re happening all the time; we just might not realize how special Tulsa’s everyday music is. But some local venues are helping folks tap in in a different way. For just over a year now, Soma, the rooftop bar and restaurant at Brut Hotel, has been thoughtfully curating live music events, offering a community listening experience that is both local and elevated, welcoming and one-of-a-kind. From its Nomadic Mondays series featuring Jacob Tovar’s Country Cookout to its Sunset Serenade Concerts that highlight genres from Motown to Brazilian jazz, Soma has honed a vibe that’s utterly Tulsa—as well as rare, special, golden.
Sipping a favorite beverage and enjoying a familiar band while the sun sets over the Arkansas River feels like a prime Tulsa experience to me. Which is why, when hometown favorite Wilderado announced a stripped-down Wednesday night show in late May at Soma, I set the calendar reminder, made sure I had access to institutional wifi, and tried my luck at buying one of just over 100 tickets. In what felt like a miracle, I was somehow able to complete the purchase during the 90 seconds that tickets were available. Soon after the show sold out, the band announced that Cherokee singer-songwriter Ken Pomeroy would also be on the bill as a special guest, and the deal was sealed: this had the makings of one of those “Summer Tulsa” nights.
Wilderado has been on the indie rock scene for over a decade now, having toured with the likes of The Head and the Heart, Mt. Joy, The 1975, and Lindsay Buckingham and Christine McVie. They’ve sold out Red Rocks and Cain’s Ballroom and had a song on the Twisters soundtrack. This intimate evening wasn’t exactly typical of their gigs these days, and yet, as we lucky few with golden wristbands gathered around the small stage on the Brut Hotel rooftop, I was reminded of those fleeting Tulsa visits of my 20s, when I’d gather with old friends and other mutuals (in that “six degrees of Tulsa” way), huddled close to the band, not just hearing but feeling every lyric.
Pomeroy, with her partner Dakota McDaniel, opened the evening, sharing songs like “Pareidolia” and “Cicadas” (familiar to fans of Reservation Dogs) with her consistently clear and arresting delivery. Pomeroy’s voice projects such honesty—her angelic pitch and restrained approach combined with often dark lyrics make her sound timeless, appropriate for this rooftop stage with a river view or a back porch somewhere on a family homestead. She joined Wilderado for “Wall of Death” (the Twisters song) and “In-Between.” The latter song was recorded in a few different versions, and though it’s not the one on Wilderado’s new album, the version featuring Pomeroy is without a doubt the best one. The Soma crowd clearly agreed, singing along with every word.
These days, Wilderado’s founding members—Max Rainer (lead vocals, guitar), Tyler Wimpee (vocals, guitar), and Justin Kila (drums)—are joined by Aaron Boehler (bass) and Travis Linville (pedal steel), with Linville managing their tour. Maybe it was due to the tightness of the space, but the show felt as much like a conversation as a homecoming, everyone in sync as the guys played mostly from their new album, Talker, along with a few gems from their self-titled debut. Of course, “Surefire” was one big sing-along. “Make sure they can hear you in Jenks!” Rainer joked. Jenks may not have been listening, but a small crowd gathered across the street in DreamKeepers Park definitely was.
As night fell and the show ended, Rainer shared a heartfelt thanks to family, friends, and now familiar strangers (including the sisters next to me who drove up from Holdenville), this hometown crowd that landed tickets for a spot on the roof. I couldn’t help but notice that, other than taking the opportunity to snap a photo or two, my fellow attendees mostly had their phones put away. Maybe a golden wristband—a sense of an occasion’s rarity—nudges us to live in the moment a little more.
According to Rainer, it took living for many years in L.A. to realize how cool the Tulsa music scene was. Now he’s moved back, as have so many more of us. It’s officially Summer Tulsa, and with all that’s planned for the rooftop and beyond, we get to bask in these moments more often than not.
