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Dreamland Festival, a new music festival created by artist and community leader Steph Simon, has announced its full lineup and slate of programming taking place Sep. 16-18, 2022. Simon previously launched ‘World Culture Music Festival’ in 2016 and operated a festival under that name from 2016 to 2021, with a year off in 2020 due to the global pandemic.
The Dreamland Festival is self-described as a “celebration of music, art and culture in the original ‘city of dreams’,” taking inspiration from Tulsa’s past, while providing an aspirational look towards the future.
The Williams Dreamland Theater was one of many businesses destroyed in the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, and Simon said he hopes that name can become a new identity for the city of Tulsa as we look towards the future.
“I wanted to establish a new nickname for the city and I felt like ‘Dreamland’ can be that,” Simon said. “I wrote a song a couple years ago called ‘Dreamland’ inspired by the legacy of Williams Dreamland theater and that song signifies a new beginning. Hopefully this festival continues to grow and becomes an annual celebration of everything Tulsa music, arts and culture.”
Dreamland Festival, a who’s who of Tulsa talent
The festival will feature nearly 100 musical performances from some of Tulsa’s most exciting talent, along with headline performances from national stars Rapsody, LaRussell, Murs and Father.
Artists like Simon, Dr. View, Dialtone, Combsy and Lex are highlights of the homegrown talent to be on display at the festival, and the full list of performers and tickets for a weekend music pass can be found on dreamlandtulsa.com.
Dreamland Festival will also feature a conference presented by non-profit organization Tulsa Creative Engine and software engineering school Holberton Tulsa. Spark Summit will take place at Dreamland Festival from Sep. 16-17 at the Holberton Tulsa campus located at 15 N. Cheyenne Ave.
More than just a music festival
The event is a catalyst for creative innovation in Tulsa and will feature panel conversations, keynotes, art installations, VR/AR experiences, workshops, performances and more.
“Tulsa is in the midst of a new creative renaissance,” Tulsa Creative Engine executive director Chris Davis said. “We are bringing together creative leaders from the worlds of music, art, technology and business to collaboratively take part in conversations about exactly what type of community we want to co-create together.”
The full slate of Spark Summit programming will be announced soon, but programming will focus on the intersections of music, art, tech and business. Spark Summit events are free to attend but RSVP is required at TCESparkSummit.com.
Dreamland Festival and Spark Summit are supported by a wide array of partners in addition to Tulsa Creative Engine and Holberton Tulsa including, Downtown Tulsa Partnership, Fansub, Tulsa Remote, Fire in Little Africa, Build in Tulsa, Ascension St. John, Tulsa Artist Fellowship, Aaru Entertainment, Asemio and more.
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