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Let’s be real, it’s a little bit hard to look forward when what’s in front of us feels like a continual series of earthquakes. But we gotta keep living! Here are some of our predictions, hopes, dreads, and dreams for 2026. —Alicia Chesser
The Written Word Is Back, Baby!
With the resurrection of Oak Tree Books, the recent opening of Meadow Market Books on Cherry Street, and the surprising pop-up Bygone Magazines, I’m feeling better than ever about people holding words in their hands, as God intended, instead of on a screen, as Jeff Bezos intends. I’d love to see more bookshops and magazine shops all across the city; the more time people spend in bookshops, the less time they have to do things like run our education system into the ground, dump chicken shit in our rivers, or goon. All net goods for society! —Zack Reeves
The Music Industry Is Changing, And So Is Tulsa Hip-Hop
In 2026, I'll be paying attention to how artists release music. In 2025 a few major artists, such as 2 Chainz and Chance The Rapper, started selling more physical music, which has me wondering whether this will cause a trickle-down effect with more independent artists following suit, especially with the ethical concerns from Spotify's founder's investments. Also, with the rising costs of streaming, will pirating make a comeback?
Another area of focus for 2026 will be Tulsa's hip-hop population count, as new artists coming into the city and looking to make a name for themselves are compared against more established Tulsa artists, like Parris Chariz and Shyheim Nwadiei, who are now transitioning to other states.
Finally, as I look forward to the new year I would like to see more festivals. Last year's rain out/cancellation of the Hip-Hop 918 festival and the hiatus of the DreamLand Festival left a void in the hip-hop scene. I hope this year brings bigger and better programming.
What would I like to see less of? People complaining that there's nothing to do in Tulsa, while also not taking advantage of the programming offered. That means showing up to local music events that are often free, as well as creative community events that often provide food and drinks. You don't know what you have until it's gone. And believe me, 2025 showed that it can be gone! So show up, say hi to a new person, rinse and repeat. —Ryan Anderson
More New Starts In Food, Less Stress In The Brookside Trader Joe’s Parking Lot
Once I get over my holiday excess, I plan to restart at two new Japanese-focused spots: Natsukashii and Little Belly Izakaya. I'd love to see more of the city's mobile chefs find permanent homes if they want to—hat tip to Dante's Woodfire, Super Secret Donuts, and Natsukashii (the first permanent space for Et Al.) for their early promises to fulfill that wish. I want the smash burger to continue its reign over lesser types of burgers, for pizza toppings to get even weirder, and to only ever be served crunchy lettuces. But my sincerest Tulsa hope for 2026 is that the Broken Arrow Trader Joe's that just opened siphons some people away from this city's most stressful parking lot. —Becky Carman
The Word For Theatre In 2026: Intentionality
Most theatre companies in town operate on a July-to-June season schedule, so while the first half of 2026 is already set in motion, the back half is a blank canvas. To start the year, the community is bringing some big-hitting crowd pleasers to the PAC: Disney’s Frozen (Theatre Tulsa), To Kill a Mockingbird (World Stage Theatre), and Romeo and Juliet (Pembroke Players), to name a few.
Yet I’m equally (if not more so) drawn to the smaller projects. In February, Theatre North presents Nat Turner in Jerusalem, a 90-minute two-man show that brings fascinating acting challenges and philosophical debates. An original adaptation of Sophocles’ Antigone, produced by Riffraff Tulsa, will go up at 101 Archer in April. And I’m keen to see which two original one-act plays Heller Theatre Company will choose to present in March. This list is just a small look at all the (what I hope is strong) smaller-scale theatre that I'm anticipating.
For the rest of 2026, my chosen word is intentional. Intentional season planning. Intentional casting and creative decisions. I want to see stories that can only be told on the stage—whether that be a theatre at the PAC, a smaller black box, or a found space. I want to see bold choices, even if I don’t agree with them. I want to be fully immersed in a new perspective and learn something. —Alex Isaak
More Authentic Innovation, Less Slop
I’m agnostic when it comes to the Route 66 centennial, which will soon be taking over your social media feeds and public spaces, but I am excited about at least one element of the celebrations: a local production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, coming in late July. We were blown away by TPAC Presents’ recent productions of Ragtime and Fiddler on the Roof, and I love to see them tackling this Lynn Riggs-inspired classic with a cast that will include actors from across Oklahoma and show-adjacent nods to the Discoveryland version of the musical from days of yore. Catch me outside the PAC eating BBQ and slurping berries and cream in my fancy duds this summer.
That’s at the large-scale end of things. At the micro level, I’m ready for big action from some of the experimental musicians and performance artists I got to know last year. Shiloh Heart, everybody at Cyberfest, the ONE AUX homies … hell, even the Sacred Harp singers! If you’re doing any sort of non-mainstream performance-based art, I’m begging you: do more, please. We’re parched for it.
On that note, what I want more than anything this year is art that shakes shit up and consciously builds toward something better. There’s nothing surprising about AI slop; we’ll be keeping an eye on that this year as it continues to creep through Tulsa’s creative landscape. I want to see a strong voice, a perspective that comes out of left field, an approach to a medium or genre that generative code could never have laid out, a way of doing things that pulls rich traditions and lineages forward. I want to see more expressions of resistance to everything that’s killing our humanity. Time is short, and the times are dire. Let’s live a little—scratch that, a lot. —Alicia Chesser
More Comprehensive Local Journalism In 2026
As a lifelong Tulsan, the Tulsa World’s steady decline has been tough to watch. While the World still employs veteran journalists covering essential beats like city council and public education, its layoffs, ballooning subscription costs and difficult-to-use website have continued to cause public consternation, leaving the public with a weakening fourth estate.
But as Gene Perry of Rebuild Local News put it earlier this year in a Talk piece for us, “local journalism didn't fail. Its business model collapsed, and we haven't sufficiently built a new one to replace it.” I’ll be watching this year to see if more media startups try a different business model to do great reporting and storytelling. Longtime World columnist Ginnie Graham went full-on news creator mode by starting her own Substack and the Tulsa Flyer launched in October as a nonprofit with a ton of philanthropic funding.
Meanwhile, we’re chugging along just fine here at The Pickup. If building this new business model for Tulsa sounds good to you, get a subscription today. —Matt Carney
In Sum:
Less war, more burgers. —Mitch Gilliam
