Television personalities, doctors, home builders and attorneys are just a few of the many careers and walks of life represented by the 40 Under 40 Class of 2015. Forty personalities and 40 unique stories share one common bond: Each of these 40 has worked hard to be successful at a young age.
In the first of our video series, learn what keeps the 2015 Class in the Sooner State, and find out their favorite things Oklahoma offers young professionals today. In the second of our video series, learn what advice our 40 have for young people today to help set them on a path towards success.
The annual event at Honor Heights Park in Muskogee kicks off the spring season with an explosion of life and color featuring hundreds of varieties of azaleas, tulips and other beautiful species. Join the thousands who attend every year and discover for yourself how awe-inspiring spring can be. View Map
Photo courtesy Oklahoma City Civic Center Music Hall.
Photo courtesy Oklahoma City Civic Center Music Hall.
Thursday, April 2 –
Alton Brown combines humor, magic and culinary-science to produce one wildly entertaining show for all ages. A two-hour show, Alton Brown Live! The Edible Inevitable Tour brings stand-up comedy, food experimentation, talk show antics, music and, the always fun, fan interaction to every stage it lands on, along with “a few other things no one in his right mind would allow me to do on TV,” says Brown. At every show, the first few rows of the theater become the “Poncho Zone,” because things can get a little messy that close to the action. Other than just a performing act, Brown is the author of seven books including his 2002 cookbook, I’m Just Here for the Food, which won the James Beard award, and Good Eats, a New York Times bestseller. This May, Brown will host the James Beard Awards ceremony at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. You may have also seen Brown on TV as the host of Iron Chef America, Cutthroat Kitchen and Food Network’s series Good Eats, which won the Peabody award in 2006. On Thursday, April 2, American TV personality, celebrity chef, author, actor and cinematographer Alton Brown comes to Oklahoma City’s Civic Center Music Hall for a one-of-a-kind performance. For more information, visit www.okcciviccenter.com.
The 21-year-old Ariana Grande is known more today for her young musical career than she is for the six years she spent acting, both on Broadway and television. Grande became an artist to watch in August 2013 when her debut studio album, Yours Truly, earned the No. 1 one spot on the U.S. Billboard 200. Almost exactly one year later, she released her second album, My Everything, that includes hit singles “One Last Time,” “Problem,” featuring Iggy Azalea, and “Break Free.” In her short stint in the pop music industry, Grande has worked with many top artists, including Iggy Azela, Jessie J, Nicki Minaj, Zedd and Big Sean. She has also racked up some noteworthy honors including two nominations at this year’s 57th Grammys for Best Pop Vocal Album for My Everything and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Bang Bang,” with Jessie J and Nicki Minaj. She has recently performed on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and is now touring the country on her Honeymoon Tour, set to stop at Oklahoma City’s Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave., on April 3. So young in her career, there’s a lot fans haven’t seen from this rising star. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. For more information visit www.chesapeakearena.com.
Merle Haggard is a storyteller, and he tells his stories through country music. His lyrics, which depict his experiences and views of the world around him, have always been relatable by many. Loyal fans love him not only for the talent and sound he exudes, but also the honesty that’s at the backbone of his music. While Haggard was born in Bakersfield, Calif., his parents spent most of their lives in Checotah, Okla., where his father even played music on Oklahoma stages. At age 9, Haggard’s father passed away, and Haggard spiraled into rebellion. It was getting locked up at San Quentin at 20 years old that gave him the reality check he needed. Loving music since he was young – growing up listening to Bob Wills and Lefty Frizzel, his musical idol – Haggard had a unique talent that was just waiting to be released, and he had endured the life experiences and learned the hard lessons that cause for good music. Seven years after being released, Haggard landed his first No. 1 spot on the charts with “The Fugitive.” That same year, “Sing Me Back Home” topped the charts, with “Mama Tried” doing the same in 1968. It was evident early on that he had a special way of connecting with his fans, and great music followed. In 1969 Haggard gave his fans “Okie From Muskogee,” which would become his signature song. During the late ‘60s, when the Vietnam War drew a divisive line between supporters and non-supports in the United States, Haggard was not only a country star and chart-topper but also a political symbol. Through his entire career, he continued writing music that carried messages he felt passionate about. Some of his greatest hits include “Workin’ Man Blues” (1969), “The Fightin’ Side of Me” (1970), “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink” (1980), “Big City” (1981) and “That’s The Way Love Goes” (1983). While Haggard embodied country music, his music would mingle with other genres here and there to support the story he was trying to tell – evidence of a great musician. In 1994, Haggard was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and in 1997 he was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, honors well deserved. On Friday, April 3, Haggard will be at Thackerville’s Grand Casino Hotel and Resort, his second out of three shows he’s playing in Oklahoma in April. For more information, visit www.grandresortok.com.
Out of Brooklyn, N.Y., alternative rock/hip-hop and electronic music by duo Ratatat continues reverberating through its music as well as in collaborations or remixes that include other big names in the industry. Members Mike Stroud and Evan Mast use their creative and instrumental talents to produce interesting and innovative musical layouts. Working with some of the biggest names in the industry, Ratatat has most recently been credited by Kid Cudi as the talent behind the sample of “Love,” an unreleased track from Cudi’s fourth album, Satellite Flight; the Journey to Mother Moon. “[The] sample is from one of my favorite Ratatat jams ‘Sunblocks.’” Cudi said of “Love” via his soundcloud. “And love to Evan and Mike for allowing me to release it.” Ratatat’s talents were also featured in Cudi’s 2009 Man on the Moon: The End of Day’s tracks “Alive” and “Pursuit of Happiness,” which also features MGMT. Ratatat’s talents alone can be heard on its albums that include Ratatat (2004), Ratatat Remixes Vol. 1 (2004), Classics (2006), Ratatat Remixes Vol. 2 (2007), LP3 (2008) and LP4 (2010). Fans are anticipating a new album to drop in 2015, which many predict will follow suit as LP5. On April 4, Ratatat will be at the Brady Theater with Despot, another artist the duo has collaborated with in the past; Despot’s “Look Alive,” released in 2013, was produced by Ratatat. The audience is sure to be energized be their electric sounds. For more information, visit www.bradytheater.com.
Adam Granduciel, David Hartley, Robbie Bennett, Charlie Hall, Anthony Lamarca and John Natchez are The War on Drugs. A Philadelphia-based band, The War on the Drugs adds its indie, bluesy, psych-rock sound and strong lyric assemblies to the American music genre. Frontman Granduciel’s talents, as well as the group’s overall sound, have even been compared to the genre’s greats that include Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty, which the band will admit have served as inspiration. Since their inception in 2005, The War on Drugs has released three studio albums including Wagonwheel Blues (2008), Slave Ambient (2011) and in March 2014, Lost in the Dream, whose critical acclaim cast the band into a new stratosphere of success they had not previously reached. In a recent interview with Weld, Harley, the band’s bassist, revealed the groups plan to begin recording its fourth album in April of this year; “After Coachella, we’re going to post up in L.A. and start recording,” he said. “We’re starting right away on the new record.” This year, The War on Drugs will arrive on other festival stages including The Governors Ball Music Festival and Bonnaroo in June and Lollapalooza this July. International festival appearances include Belgium’s Rock Werchter and the Netherlands’ Down the Rabbit Hole in June and Spain’s Vida Festival and France’s Days Off Festival in July. Earlier this year, the band was nominated for Best International Group at the 2015 Brit Awards, supporting evidence of its growing fame. On Sunday, April 5, the group will make a stop on their tour at Cain’s Ballroom. With a record of selling out shows, you’ll want to get your tickets quick. Hop Along will open the show at 8 p.m. For more information, visit www.cainsballroom.com.
Nickelback arrived on the Canadian rock scene in 1995. Twenty years later, they’ve sold more than 50 million records, securing top spots on Billboard charts on more than a few occasions. “How You Remind Me,” maybe the group’s most well-known hit, earned the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 when it debuted in 2001. Nickelback’s 2005 album All The Right Reasons found itself No.1 on the Billboard 200, with Here and Now (2011), Dark Horse (2008) and Silver Side Up (2001) debuting at No. 2. In February, Nickelback kicked off its 12th headlining tour in support of its eighth and latest studio album, No Fixed Address, which was released in November 2014, debuting No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums, Top Alternative Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums charts. The album’s lead single, “Edge of a Revolution,” landed the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart when it was released earlier that year in August. Stopping in 61 cities across North America, band members Chad Kroeger, Ryan Peake, Mike Kroeger and Daniel Adiar will arrive in Tulsa on Tuesday, April 7, for a performance at the BOK Center. Pop Evil will start the show. www.bokcenter.com
In the past 69 years, computers have gone from taking up an entire room to fitting inside our pockets as cell phones, and some much smaller. For Apple products, it all started 1976 when Steve Wozniak developed a computer – the hardware, circuit board design, and operating system – that would later be the Apple I. When Steve Jobs, who Wozniak had met when attending the University of California Berkeley, Jobs still in high school, and who he had worked with at numerous settings, wanted to sell the Apple I as a fully assembled printed circuit board, Apple Computers was born. Wozniak assembled the first boards in Jobs’ bedroom and garage. While Wozniak worked on designing the product, Jobs was in charge of marketing them. When Apple I’s success was realized, Wozniak designed the Apple II, the first personal computer that had the ability to display color, graphics and basic programing language built-in. Wozniak’s development of the Apple I and II made him a trailblazer in computer development, specifically the microcomputer revolution.
No longer working at Apple – Wozniak would permanently leave in 1987 – he still remains an “employee,” receives an annual stipend and is an Apple shareholder. Though Wozniak’s Apple inventions are his best-known contributions to computer science, he did not stop there. In 1987, the first programmable universal remote control was introduced to the market by one of his new ventures, CL 9, and in 2001, a new company of his, Wheels of Zeus (WOZ), was formed to create wireless GPS technologies. So much that we use today on our small, handheld cell phones can be credited, at some degree, to the work of Wozniak. On Tuesday, April 7, Oral Roberts University will welcome Wozniak to the Mabee Center as part of the OSU Tulsa Business Forum. Presented by OSU Spears School of Business and Corporate Sponsors, Questions & Answers with Steve Wozniak will go from 10 to 11:30 a.m. For more information, visit www.mabeecenter.com
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