OUT & ABOUT
Nashville’s ‘Oklahomie’ Singer, songwriter and filmmaker Luke Dick plays up his Oklahoma upbringing in quirky, heartfelt lyrics BY E VIE KLOPP HOLZER
74
JULY 2021
hen Oklahoma is your muse, you’re never too far from home. Sooner State native, filmmaker and musician Luke Dick is keen on collaborations, and living in Nashville has afforded him plenty. Natalie Hemby, Dierks Bentley, Kip Moore and Eric Church are just a few of his partners in rhyme. His music also shines on two Grammy-winning albums, “Golden Hour” by Kacey Musgraves and “Wildcard” by Miranda Lambert. “When I heard the steel guitar on [Lambert’s] ‘Bluebird,’ I said, ‘That’s got to be Luke’s song,’” says Aric Gilliland, Dick’s longtime friend from Yukon. “I can hear a song on the radio, and often enough, if it’s a Luke song, I can tell. I absolutely love how Luke weaves his history into his music – some ways more nuanced than others.”
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Dick often incorporates visuals and sounds from his past into his creative works. His “Red Dog” album is the soundtrack of his 2019 documentary, which shares stories of his upbringing and the unlikely community his mother discovered while dancing at an Oklahoma City topless bar. Look at the album’s lyrics – some unconventional, some sentimental – and you’ll see how much Oklahoma shows up at Dick’s collaborative table. “There’s something different about Oklahoma to me,” Dick says. “It’s not really the South. There’s a frontier mentality; but it’s not like Texas, like its own nation. There’s a definite, positive peculiarity about it. I always enjoy coming back.”
KIT WOOD
Luke Dick brings Oklahoma roots into his creative process.
