Blue Note Lounge and Oklahomans for Health host a monthly concert series to raise funds for the nonprofit as it gears up for a petition drive to legalize medical marijuana.
The next Third Fridays concert at Blue Note Lounge, 2408 N. Robinson Ave., includes Oklahoma City-based doom metal and stoner-rock bands CobraJab, Splifflifter and TurboWizard.
Doors open 9 p.m. Feb. 19, and showtime is around 10 p.m., said Justin Hayden of Oklahomans for Health.
The group plans to launch a 90-day petition process in the spring and will use the concert series to collect signatures and register people to vote, Hayden said. Until then, the shows will help raise money for the organizations general fund, to hire a few part-time employees in larger cities to help lead operations. The nonprofit also hopes to expand its advertising budget as it considers possible billboard and TV ads.
Oklahomans for Health reached out to several area venues to host the series, and Blue Note offered to let the group host the events without paying additional fees. Organizers also found some acts for the series through the venue.
We dont really know that many bands yet because were still kind of a young organization, Hayden said.
Showing support
A January Third Fridays show featured The Bourgeois, Alan Doyle and They Came from Above.
Hayden said turnout for that show was a little lower than they hoped, but that he hopes the series builds some name recognition as time goes on.
Last year, Oklahomans for Health came just short of the 130,000 signatures it needed to push for an amendment to the state constitution. This year, the group is changing its focus to state statutes, which would only require 65,000 signatures to put on a state ballot.
Were way more excited about this, Hayden said. The drawback is that its easier for legislators and for people to repeal state statutes.
The organization will be running another petition simultaneously that would make it more difficult for the Oklahoma Legislature to overturn a statute, should medical marijuana pass a vote of the people.
Hayden has been working on a few of his own musical projects recently. He said combining the promotion of local music with a cause like this seemed like a natural fit.
I figured if I was into making music and trying to learn how to do that and learning the promotional side of that, I might as well combine it with supporting medical marijuana, he said.
Bands that have participated in the series so far, Hayden said, have been enthusiastic about the cause.
We dont have the ability to really pay the bands, so they have to be willing to support [the cause], Hayden said. I buy them gas for coming down if they come from Tulsa.
Find Oklahomans for Health at oklahomansforhealth.com.
Print headline: Green show, Oklahomans for Health is using a concert series to raise funds and promote the legalization of medical marijuana.