Groucho
Dustin Howard spends his days teaching music, mentoring young artists, and running Noise Town, a West Tulsa rehearsal, recording, and performance space built around the idea that music should be accessible, collaborative, and open to all, a place where students, local bands, and touring musicians regularly cross paths. You get the sense Howard is happiest when he’s building something, a song, a room, a scene, a community. Somewhere in the middle of all that, he still finds time to front Groucho, one of Tulsa’s most compelling live bands.
Groucho blends alternative rock, indie, synth textures, and raw guitar energy into something loud, pulsing, and constantly moving. One song may build slowly before breaking wide open, the next locking into a groove that pulls the whole room with it. There’s nothing predictable about it, and that’s part of the draw. The band balances musicianship with the kind of loose, unpredictable energy that makes live rock shows fun in the first place.
Howard handles lead vocals, guitar, keys, and synth, driving the band’s shape-shifting sound. On stage, he’s joined by Layne Farmen on bass and Royce Buckmaster on drums, a three-piece that sounds far bigger than it should.
Beyond the band, he’s also a working composer, with credits across film, television, and documentaries, including Sesame Street, HBO, and Osiyo: Voices of the Cherokee People, work that earned Heartland Emmy recognition.
Groucho was the third act ever to play Tunes @ Noon when the series launched in March 2024. Bringing them back feels a little like welcoming part of the series history into the room again.
