Skylily with Tyler Sexton
The Bend Mercantile
July 23, 2026
This summer has been a news doozy—we can’t even trust salad!—and lately I’ve found myself calibrating to comfort in the simplest ways, whether with a good book, an aggressive air conditioner, or a dreamy song (better yet, all three).
Apparently I’m not alone in this longing for a more analog speed. Pop culture just can’t quit the ‘90s, the last truly analog era, as fashion returns to jorts (yikes!) and the kids binge Friends. As a Gen Xer, I like my nostalgia traps a bit more ‘80s inflected. But in the ‘90s, the ethereal, otherworldly genre of dream pop hit its stride (noting here that ‘80s band Cocteau Twins were OG dreamy—I’ll not split hairs!), with home and lo-fi recording also paving the way for bedroom pop innovations of now.
Lately, drinking in a dreamy sound vibe has been a sweet spot for me, so when I saw that OKC act Skylily (née Sky Hemenway), one of many artists coming out of the stellar OKC dream and bedroom pop scenes, would be stopping by The Bend Mercantile at the end of her first-ever tour, I knew I had to leave news of sinister lettuce behind and head downtown.
The Bend Mercantile—part coffee shop, part bodega and gift shop—feels like your cool aunt’s apartment turned into a house concert venue, which is to say it was a perfect fit for the atmospheric sounds of Skylily and her opener, Tulsan Tyler Sexton. If you’ve ever had the chance to catch the Bend’s popular weekly jazz nights on Tuesdays, you already have a tangible sense of its commitment to community connection as a values cornerstone. It’s one of a few all-ages spots in town with sober options that features high caliber artists, and I’ve relished the opportunity to take my ten-year-old musician daughter with me to enjoy collaborative and improvisational acts in a place so intentionally welcoming.
When I was a Tulsa teen, my friends and I, eager for access to culture and striving for a place to belong, constantly took over the Java Dave's or Gold Coast coffee shops on Brookside, and it can’t be overstated how much third spaces can mean for young people or anyone else with a desire to create or to be inspired.
Expressing his appreciation for what he called the “gentle” environment at the Bend, Tyler Sexton began the night merging his bright guitar approach with the warmth of Josh Fudge’s keyboard for a set that relished in throwback influences. Sexton emphasized his admiration for George Harrision (wait, was “the quiet Beatle” actually the OG dream pop guru?), and the reference was clear in his emphasis on melody and a mellow vocal delivery, evidenced in songs such as “Miss Your Call” and his new single, “Changing your Mind.” It should be noted that OKC native Fudge is also an established singer-songwriter, producer, and notable on the bedroom pop scene, having released his first album at age 18 during the COVID years. His fourth and latest album, little league, just dropped this summer.
I first encountered Skylily when I was in deep on the two EPs from the band Shelly, and for once, the algorithm gifted me a solid local indie offering. Skylily has released two EPs and a first full album, last year’s Dirt Angel. What immediately struck me about Hemenway’s singing when I first heard it was how much, with Clairo as an obvious contemporary, it also reminded me of some of my favorite ‘90s female-fronted acts such as the Juliana Hatfield Three, Frente!, and The Sundays.
In the live show at The Bend, with her and her collaborator Mitch Bell (Performance Program Director for the Academy of Contemporary Music at the University of Central Oklahoma, aka ACM@UCO) both on guitar, Hemenway’s voice shined in high and clear registers above the often jangly arrangements. The songs featured from the Dug Up EP, especially “React,” were a highlight, and I highly recommend giving her album, Dirt Angel, a listen. It didn’t make it into the set, but “Leaking” is my favorite track on that record. So, so good.
It’s fascinating to live in a time that feels chaotic yet rich with life-giving art that’s so carefully created and curated right up the road here in Tulsa. I’ve now lived through decades that feel like they’re revisiting me in time loops and micro-trends, the complications of which, especially in limitations of old technologies, feel rounded off through a wistful lens. Skylily, after all, offers a cassette version of Dug Up as a collectible at her merch table. But would I have encountered Hemenway’s music without my streaming service? Maybe a both-and approach is a good compromise. (But don’t leave a cassette in your hot car in August.)
