Switchyard Festival Kicks Off In Downtown Tulsa

A national festival called Switchyard kicked off at the Hyatt in Downtown Tulsa today.

 The first-time event is hosted by the University of Tulsa and is described as a festival of art and intellect. This festival features 14 bands and dozens of speakers over the course of six days, where people can dive into literature, ideas, and music. The six days are set to be packed with speakers, panels, literature sessions, and music.

"The easiest way I can often describe this is Tulsa's version of South by Southwest. This is meant to be a big festival that encompasses all kinds of elements. This year, we're focusing in particular on banned books, so we're bringing in some of the authors of the most banned books in America,” said TU English Professor and Director of Switchyard Sean Latham.

Latham says the event brings together authors, musicians, speakers, and creatives.   

"I think we hope two things. One that TU's core mission as it always has been is to be at the heart of the City of Tulsa. This is sort of our attempt to do the work universities do, think about big ideas, have big but civil arguments about the most pressing issues of our time, and bring informed opinions to help guide our democratic process,” Latham said.

He says the second goal is to highlight the City of Tulsa.

"This is of course a city of great culture, of great creativity, and really rich and important history. So we want to show off all that Tulsa has to offer to the world here as well,” Latham said.

You can choose from different tracks like just speakers, just music, or both. The concerts will be each night at Cain's Ballroom and then afterward at the Hyatt.

You can find more information here: Switchyard (switchyardtulsa.com)