THESE TUNES @ NOON ARTISTS WILL BE PERFORMING AT CARNEY FEST 2026 MAY 2ND.
Experience the magic of The Church Studio during the “Tunes @ Noon” series (Tue-Thu-Sat). Enjoy intimate live performances from talented Americana, jazz, and rock musicians in a legendary setting. Your admission includes a museum tour of the renowned facility where Leon Russell made history. After the show, explore the vibrant shops and restaurants of Studio Row, the heart of the Pearl District’s creative scene. Check the latest lineup on the official Church Studio events page and plan your visit!
By Deborah McLaren
Jim Bachmann
“Tulsa—there’s just an embarrassment of music riches here.” – Jim Bachmann
“My musical DNA is a bit of a greasy mix,” Jim Bachmann explained to me recently. “My parents were only 19 and 20 when I was born, so we grew up listening to everything together—the Doors, garage rock, the Marshall Tucker Band, you name it. Combine that with a country-picker grandpa, an uncle on 60s keyboards, and a great-grandpa who was a classic pianist in England, and the path was set. I never had a Plan B. I play country, but I’m not a country guy,
and I play blues, but I’m not a blues guy; I’m the result of all those sounds hitting me at once.”
In Arizona, they call this sound “Stonerbilly.” Born from the Sonoran Desert, Jim describes it as a “gritty, Southwest combination of country, honky-tonk, and “jammy” Americana, layered with Mexican-influenced textures from the borderlands.” It’s a sound that has allowed Jim to share the stage with icons and outlaws alike, including Billy Joe Shaver, Whitey Morgan and the 78’s, Reckless Kelly, and Shinyribs.
Jim’s move to Tulsa felt like pure destiny, sparked years ago in Florida when a stagehand gifted him a collection of Leon Russell photos. Jim held onto them for years, eventually reaching out to The Church Studio to see if they’d want them for their archives. A trip to Tulsa to hand-deliver the photos to Amber Acosta at the Harwelden Mansion changed everything. “She was so welcoming and gave us a tour of the mansion. A personal tour of the legendary studio followed the next day, capped off by a “magical” night watching Paul Benjamin play at The Colony. “It felt like the music was calling us back,” Jim recalls.
Jim Bachmann
For Jim and his wife, Heather—who have known each other since second grade—leaving their roots in Gilbert and Flagstaff was about expanding horizons. While they considered the Eastside of Nashville and the greasier side of Austin, the pull of Tulsa was undeniable. “I knew the legends like Leon Russell and JJ Cale, and I was a huge fan of John Fullbright, but I had no idea the full extent of what was happening here. We came for the music, and we stayed because it exceeded everything we imagined.”
The confirmation that they had made the right choice came on their very first day in town. After unloading the moving van, Jim and his father headed to the Mercury Lounge for a quiet Sunday afternoon beer. Knowing no one in the city, Jim was stunned when the musician on stage began playing a deep cut by Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers—a band so niche to Arizona that hearing it in a Tulsa dive bar felt like a glitch in the universe. “In that moment, I got touched by something,” Jim says. “The music acted as a bridge between my old life and this new one. I realized right then that things were going to be okay.”
Since that first Sunday, Jim has performed with BC and the Big Rig, Jared Tyler, and Poppa Foster. He recently wrapped recording on a new album featuring a solid lineup of Tulsa talent, including John Fullbright, Jesse Aycock, Patty Ryan, and Chris Bell. Slated for release by the end of the year, the record marks a new chapter for an artist who has finally found his place. “I feel like I’ve just been settling in,” Jim says. “I don’t think I’m ever going to leave. I feel like this is my home.”
Find Jim on all the streaming apps and Jim’s YouTube Channel, and check for upcoming music and tours at Jim Bachmann.
Jim Bachmann
Luke Rountree & The Wild Mercury
Luke Rountree’s music is drivable Americana. “Picture a Saturday evening,” he says. “The temperature’s a comfortable 78 degrees, and you’re driving around in your car having a radio sing-along.” His sound blends country and folk-rock, shaped in part by mid-’90s English bands like Radiohead and Travis. Every now and then, you might even hear a little of Tom Petty in the mix. The result is music made for the open road—songs that feel good and invite you to sing along.
Luke Rountree began writing songs as a teenager and still carries the influence of those early years growing up in Tahlequah, in Oklahoma’s Ozark foothills. After attending the University of Central Oklahoma and spending time in Oklahoma City, he says what he missed most was the camaraderie of musicians gathering in a room, playing together, and sparking new ideas. His band reflects those long-standing musical ties. Bassist John Freise has played with Rountree for more than 15 years, joined by renowned Oklahoma City drummer Trent Austin and guitarist Gilson Machtolff for live shows.
Rountree’s first record, Milk River, introduced his style of Americana and folk-leaning country. Its a blend of storytelling and melodic songwriting. He was honored to have the song “Madeline” nominated as a semi-finalist in the 2025 Unsigned Only Music Awards.
Now he’s working on a second album, Bamboo Harvester, which he plans to record live in the studio. The project marks a shift from more acoustic arrangements to a fuller band sound, with producer and recording engineer Machtolff, also from Tahlequah, helping shape the sessions. The album title carries a quirky bit of nostalgia: Bamboo Harvester was the real name of the horse that played the TV star, Mister Ed, a connection Rountree spent his childhood hearing adults talk about and debate. Whether the original star is truly buried near Tahlequah, Oklahoma, remains a point of local contention.
While a marked grave sits on a private farm north of town, most evidence suggests it belongs to Pumpkin, a stand-in used for publicity shots. The monument’s cautious wording is a nod to this uncertainty—a way of saying the history is messy, but the community chooses to honor the legend anyway. Rountree says, “The new record represents my hometown; looking at the past is a little fuzzy.” Perhaps it’s a way of choosing the emotional truth over the literal one.
His connection to The Church Studio started when his brother Clint Rountree, who lives in Skiatook and shares his love of music, encouraged Rountree to connect, saying, “Hey, this is a cool place you should know about.” He sent a simple cold email inquiring about Tunes @ Noon and told me, “The studio graciously welcomed me in. Walking through the rooms where so many artists have recorded—and seeing the legendary console used on Dylan’s Time Out of Mind album—was deeply inspiring.” The experience sparked new creative energy and led to conversations about performing at Carney Fest 2026.
These days, he’s proud to represent his hometown, taking the music on the road and building support with shows across Oklahoma and Texas. “What I’ve always loved about music is that it feels like a language—a way we can communicate with each other and be moved together, even if we’ve never met.”
Keep up with Luke Rountree on Facebook and Youtube.
See his calendar and scheduled events at Luke Rountree; music available on all streaming platforms.
Luke Rountree
Luke Rountree and The Wild Mercury
Brother Rabbit
“Lyrics are very important to me; I think very deeply about the words I choose, convey, and send to listeners.” — Susie Quiroz
For Susie Quiroz, the atmospheric world of Brother Rabbit began in the quiet of the Oklahoma countryside. Raised in a home-schooled household in Claremore without a TV, she was encouraged to embrace boredom—a gift that sparked a lifelong obsession with songwriting and a dream of fronting a rock band. After years of teaching herself guitar and searching for the right collaborators, the pieces finally fell together while working at a Tulsa Guitar Center.
It was there she met longtime guitarist and co-writer James Reza (originally from Broken Arrow), whose creative partnership has spanned nearly the entire 16-year life of the band. It was also at GC where she met her husband, Luis Quiroz. Originally from Mexico before moving to Bixby, Luis was a veteran of the hardcore scene (Piece of Mind) before joining Brother Rabbit as drummer and producer in 2020. This long-simmering evolution has led to their latest record, These Days Are Not as Dark as They Seem. Recorded in the couple’s own backyard studio, the album—and its haunting lead single “Microscope“—perfectly captures their blend of ’60s psych and ’80s noise rock, proving that the most profound creativity often starts in the simplest of places.
“The connection with The Church Studio, playing the Tunes @ Noon series, led us to a significant milestone,” Quiroz says, “performing at Carney Fest 2026. While stepping into a venue with such a rich legacy is humbling, we are honored to be part of a day that celebrates the heart of the Tulsa Sound. We’ll be taking the stage to perform a set entirely of new material from our upcoming album. We are excited to share these new sounds with the studio’s dedicated membership and the local community in such an iconic, intimate setting. Eventually we hope to record at the studio.”
Catch Brother Rabbit on tour, or at the Vanguard in Tulsa.
Follow along on Facebook and Youtube; music available on all streaming platforms.
Brother Rabbit: Luis Quiroz, Susie Quiroz, and James Reza