In Concert
Rascal Flatts
March 12
Rascal Flatts can’t get enough of Oklahoma. The best-selling country group of the last decade played Tulsa’s BOK Center last summer, but released its latest album, Nothing Like This, in November. That could mean a whole lotta new music for fans counting down the days to Rascal Flatts’ March 12 concert at the Oklahoma City Arena in downtown OKC. Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney are back to play songs from their first album released by Big Machine Records and continue a successful reign in country music. Although the band, which released its first album in 2000, has been credited with helping to break the old mold of country music, we can’t wait to see what lays ahead (including a reported project with teen pop titan Justin Bieber). Chart-topping artists Luke Ryan and Chris Young open. For tickets and other details, see www.theokcarena.com.

Art
Mediterranea
March 5 – May 15
In the late 19th century, the American tourist picked up wanderlust for locales considered far more exotic than the European destinations frequented before the American Civil War. That trend carried into the early part of the 20th century. Artists, too, skipped France, Germany and Italy for Spain, the Near East and North Africa and returned to the U.S. with a palette of new spices, light, languages and landscapes on the canvas. Mediterranea: American Art from the Graham D. Williford Collection, which opens at Norman’s Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art in March, brings a collection of work interpreting the cultures and monuments built on influences from Greco-Roman and Persian traditions as well as Christian and Islamic thought. It’s a look at another world from another time. Admission is $2-$5, free for children under 6. For more, go online to www.ou.edu/fjjma.

If it can be played on a violin, he’s played it all. Such a claim is believable when considering the brilliant career of Joshua Bell. A child prodigy, Bell went on to become one of the great virtuosos of the orchestral realm, performing at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and great stages all over the world. Bell is nothing less than a classical music star whether as soloist, as part of a chamber music ensemble or as conductor. Yet, even a celebrity has his down-to-earth side, and OK Mozart will bring it out of the maestro once again. Bell returns to the international music festival to perform with the Amici New York Orchestra at Bartlesville Community Center on June 18. Gustav Meier will be guest conductor. Bell will also play an afternoon show June 19 at Rose State Performing Arts Center in Midwest City as part of the OK Mozart OKC Series. For more, go to www.okmozart.com.

Decades past certainly had their jazz legends. In the 1920s, it was the undisputed Louis Armstrong. The 1950s saw Miles Davis move away from bebop’s pep to the Birth of the Cool. In the 1980s, another trumpet player named Wynton Marsalis appeared on the scene and quickly asserted himself as a true jazz artist. Marsalis – composer, bandleader and mentor – serves as artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City, so it only makes sense the impresario join the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra when it plays the Broken Arrow Performing Arts Center on Sept. 29. Marsalis and the orchestra are set to give a performance to remember, and it’s brought to Broken Arrow through the BAPAC’s Spotlight Series of music, dance and theater performances. Season tickets are currently available at www.thepacbac.com. Tickets to individual performances go on sale soon.

If you’ve ever watched a certain baker on TLC’s Cake Boss at work, the question, “How does he do it?” inevitably comes to mind. Confectionary superstar Buddy Valastro not only creates climbing, sprawling masterpieces of eggs, flour, sugar and food dye, but he does this amidst the buzz of life in his family business, Carlo’s Bakery, of Hoboken, N.J. The Boss hits the road with a stop at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center Nov. 8, where Valastro shares stories of what goes on behind the scenes of his hit TV show and about his Italian family. He also sets up to give live demonstrations of the techniques that have made him one of the most successful pastry artists today and a true master. Can you have your cake and eat it, too? Valastro prove that you can. www.myticketmaster.com

Isaac Rocha

Associate to CEO, The Bama Companies, Inc.

Is there a fashion icon or someone whose style you admire most? I love style inspired by the TV show, Mad Men. It’s simple, sharp, sophisticated and classic.

What is your favorite article of clothing? A cardigan or sweater with a dress shirt and tie.

What is your favorite accessory? I like adding pops of color through accessories, either with a tie, a watch, fun shoes, glasses or a ring.

Connie Seay

Owner of ConOak Partners

What is your favorite article of clothing? A vintage green Halston Studio 54 dress designed to swirl, drape and move – it’s great for dancing.

When you want to look great with little effort, what’s your go-to outfit? Classic black: Prada knitwear and pants with lipstick.

You are invited to have dinner with the President. What do you wear? A red Valentino dress.

Is there a fashion icon or someone whose style you admire most? I admire people who looked pulled together without trying too hard. It’s best to keep things simple.

What was your first fashion moment? I remember heading off to my first grade Christmas play in a green dress with polka dot sleeves, white tights and black patent leather shoes. I was ready to take on the world. 

When you want to look great with little effort, what’s your go-to outfit? I love sheath dresses, but I usually find myself in jeans, boots and a black turtleneck.

Is there a fashion icon or someone whose style you admire most? Gwyneth Paltrow. I love her simplicity, straight lines and touch of androgyny.

What stores do you shop at? I prefer boutiques to malls and department stores. When shopping in Tulsa, Abersons and Rope are my go-to places for unique fashion pieces.

When you want to look great with little effort, what’s your go-to outfit? A gorgeous collared shirt, cardigan, nice jeans and my favorite “Iciss” necklace. Makeup must be simple with nude lipstick.

Thursday, May 30, 8 p.m.

Tulsa knows how to make a rock legend feel welcome and at home. When Sir Paul McCartney returns to the BOK Center Wednesday, May 29-Thursday, May 30, for back-to-back concerts, he’ll be given a proclamation heralding May 29 as Paul McCartney Day in Oklahoma. He’ll even find that four downtown Tulsa streets have been temporarily renamed – Abbey Road, Penny Lane, Blackbird Boulevard and All Together Crossing – after Beatles songs. Yes, it will be a banner day for McCartney as he makes his return to the BOK Center, 200 S. Denver Ave., (his first visit was in 2009) with two concerts on his “Out There Tour.” While Wednesday’s show has sold out, some tickets ($56.50-$250) are still available to Thursday’s 8 p.m. show. Purchase them at www.bokcenter.com.