Venue Review: Tower Theatre – Live Music in the Uptown 23rd District, OKC

Tower Theatre in UpTown 23rd District is OKC’s ideal music venue due to a beautiful balance of size, versatility, history, vibes, location, and quality. For anyone new to OKC’s music scene, Tower is an excellent starting point whether you want to experience OKC’s local artistry, community events, or touring headliners.

The Room – Intimate, Versatile, and State-of-the-art

The main room at Tower Theatre feels intimate, despite a truly mid-size capacity. That means you are close to the band and feel a sense of community with other concert-goers, but the venue can sell enough tickets to support major acts. The room is narrow and slopes downwards to the stage, allowing the crowd to funnel down to the band and feel surrounded by audience members even if the venue isn’t sold out. On big nights, the Tower can open the balcony and comfortably host just over 1,000 guests. The sound system consists of an impeccable array of mains and smaller stage speakers to ensure that the balance is clean no matter where you stand in the venue.

The room is versatile as well. For certain events, the Tower brings in seating or shows video on a custom screen and high-lumen projector.  Because Tower brings different types of entertainment, check on the type of show so you know what to expect in terms of seating versus standing, and whether or not the balcony is open. The versatility of the room keeps crowds coming back for a variety of experiences and really sets the Tower apart from other venues in OKC.

The Vibes – The interior, the history, the location

Understanding Tower Theatre’s unique background adds a lot to the experience. Tower’s hallmark sign has hung over 23rd street for decades and seen the venue’s start as OKC’s go-to movies theatre, its closure, a chapter where it temporarily operated as an adult movie theatre, a period where it was completely derelict, and its triumphant revival along with the rest of the beautiful Uptown 23rd District.

The impressive renovation leaves the room with enough of a sparkle that without knowing the story you’d think it was simply the new shiny venue in town. The lobby shows off a few relics from the past, including a massive dinosaur of a projector that really paints a picture of how the entertainment industry has evolved over the past century.

The Shows – Local Bands, Movies, and Touring Headliners

Tower Theatre gives concert-goers the luxury of selecting their favorite experience or trying something new. Tower’s Coop Showcase regularly brings a lineup of some of OKC’s best up-and-coming local bands. We love this because the high-quality venue and sound system allows fans to see local artist’s original music in a setting that does the music justice. In fact, here’s a Coop Showcase produced by Dennis Spielman of Uncovering Oklahoma…

In late 2017, Tower Theatre installed an incredible projector, and regularly shows current hit movies and cult classics like The Room and Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Chad Whitehead, Tower’s Talent Buyer, consistently brings stellar headliners from a variety of genres throughout the US. 

Summary

Tower Theatre is one of the best in town. It’s unique, locally owned and operated, and beautiful. If you haven’t been yet, we can’t recommend it enough. Catch a flick, connect with local artists, or stand a few feet from a national act. Tower’s website has everything you need to know.

Check out upcoming Live Music at Tower Theatre in the Uptown 23rd District of Oklahoma City: