Academy Of Contemporary Music: Training Oklahoma Musicians

Some of the world's most famous performers have come from Oklahoma. Now, the next class of musicians is being trained in downtown Oklahoma City at the Academy of Contemporary Music at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Roger Daltrey from the Who, Jackson Browne and the president of Warner Brothers Records have all been here, and that's just the short list. The Academy of Contemporary Music at UCO also hosts music industry pros like the Flaming Lips, managed by the ACM's own CEO.

"I'm not a musician, I don't know how to work in a studio, but I love music," said Scott Booker, CEO of ACM at UCO. "And I wanted to help people sell music, and connect people to wonderful songs and bands."

It's been almost four years since the ACM at UCO played its first riff. And Booker thinks downtown is the best place it could have happened.

"By having these musicians here that are just starting out, it's opened the door for restaurants and bars locally here in Automobile Alley, in Midtown, here in Bricktown, to experiment with having young "starving musicians," Brooks said.

The ACM's staff has decades of experience to share with its students, with hopes of turning young musicians into music-business-savvy veterans.

"That's what ACM at UCO is really about, is that connection, between performance, production, and music business creating a lively, exciting scene right here in Oklahoma City," said Brooks.

Bringing together music professionals to help graduate the next group of music professionals, the ACM at UCO in Bricktown is just another one of those places that makes Oklahoma City downtown proud.