Iron and Wine with DUG and Ken Pomeroy
Guthrie Green
October 25, 2026
Guthrie Green opened in 2012 to great fanfare as an accessible venue to complement and strengthen the activities of downtown Tulsa’s arts organizations, akin to sister “urban oasis” parks such as Klyde Warren in Dallas and Discovery Green in Houston, designed both aesthetically and operationally to signal transformation in formerly industrial or blighted areas. On the Green, I’ve always felt a bit of the vibe of the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival down the road in Okemah. Many of the same artists, such as Slaid Cleaves, Ellis Paul, Monica Taylor, and John Fullbright, have consistently played both venues, each of which intentionally foregrounds accessible and free opportunities for audiences.
Across from the Woody Guthrie Center, Guthrie Green has been an obvious analogue to this archive of Oklahoma’s historical and musical past, its free events and clean energy operation pointing toward a future that we can sing about if not quite yet live. The recent Iron and Wine show made this urban park indeed feel like the Pastures of Plenty, with hometown band and opener Ken Pomeroy anchoring the evening in songs that speak in so many ways to this place and time.
Lately the Guthrie Green programming team has been killing it with the concert schedule, striking an effective balance between local and touring acts, coinciding with greater attention to Tulsa music overall. Over some years, the show schedule was at times inconsistent, no doubt due at least in part to the challenges of booking live events during the pandemic, but also suffering from a seemingly “more is more” approach, with multiple acts appearing over hours and lineups that didn’t always seem intentionally curated.
This evening with Iron and Wine, Ken Pomeroy, and DUG follows several cutting-edge acts (Mdou Moctar, Unknown Mortal Orchestra) and more widely recognized bands (Digable Planets, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings) that Guthrie Green has blessed us with lately, along with local talents (John Fullbright, Broncho) that are also recognized on national and international stages. Against a backdrop of perfect October weather, each band on this particular bill commented on the palpable vibe of the evening, the sense of togetherness and positivity among thousands that is such an antidote to the latest bad news, a reminder that being present IRL is how we’ll get somewhere new together.
There is no more reliable way to find an immediate groove in a Tulsa crowd than to announce from the stage that your band is in full consensus that Oklahoma is, in fact, better than Texas. DUG, a Dublin-based duo with American roots and a wicked sense of humor, thereby charmed us with a short set of songs notable for their melding of American old-time and Irish folk with a dash of western storytelling and resonator guitar for good measure.