PLANT MUSIC: Song of the Council Oak Premiere
The Council Oak Tree, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Kuykendall (The New Honey Shade)
Phone: 918-850-2500
Email: wildmtstudios@gmail.com
PLANT MUSIC Micro-Festival to Culminate in a Stunning Premiere: Song of the Council Oak
Tulsa, OK—The weeklong Plant Music Micro-Festival will conclude with the premiere of Song of the Council Oak, a groundbreaking electronic music performance by Mark Kuykendall (The New Honey Shade) on Sunday, February 23, 2025, at the Chimera Ballroom. This immersive event will unite music, nature, and cultural heritage, offering an unforgettable sensory experience.
A Landmark Composition Rooted in Tulsa's History
Song of the Council Oak is a tribute to the historic Council Oak Tree, a vital symbol of resilience and the foundation of the Muscogee Creek Nation in Tulsa. Composer Mark Kuykendall recorded biofeedback directly from the Council Oak Tree in September and October 2024, capturing its natural rhythms and vitality. This data has been transformed into music, voiced by Oklahoma’s first Buchla synthesizer. The result is a performance that symbolizes both the founding of Tulsa in 1836 and a milestone in the city’s synthesis history.
The evening will feature a live performance of this unique composition, accompanied by an artist talk from Kuykendall, who will discuss the innovative process behind the music. Special guest Muscogee Creek author JD Colbert will also share insights on the historical and cultural importance of the Council Oak Tree, adding depth and context to the event.
Event Details
Date: Sunday, February 23, 2025
Location: Chimera Ballroom, Tulsa, OK
Doors Open: 6:00 PM
Performance and Artist Talk: 7:00 PM
Tickets: $10
A Week of Creativity and Connection
The Song of the Council Oak is the culminating event of the Plant Music Micro-Festival, running from February 17–23, 2025. The festival includes:
Plant Music Wall Exhibition: A visual and auditory exploration of biofeedback-driven plant music at Inheritance Kitchen + Juicery, 108 S Detroit Ave, Tulsa, OK 74120. Drop in free! Appearances by Mark Kuykendall and a special edition PLANT MUSIC juice will be available - visit www.thenewhoneyshade.com for announcements.
Engineering for Girls Workshop: Hands-on learning with plants and Buchla synthesizers at Discovery Lab on February 22. Drop in free 10:30 AM - 4:00 PM at Discovery Lab, 3123 Riverside Dr, Tulsa, OK 74105
Celebrate Nature, Music, and Heritage
Tickets for Song of the Council Oak are just $10 and can be purchased at www.thenewhoneyshade.com/events. Don’t miss this chance to witness a fusion of modern technology, artistic expression, and cultural reverence in the heart of Tulsa.
For more information about the Plant Music Micro-Festival and Song of the Council Oak and to purchase tickets, visit www.thenewhoneyshade.com/events.
About The New Honey Shade
Mark Daniel Kuykendall, known through his musical moniker, The New Honey Shade, is an experimental electronic composer and multimedia artist known for exploring the intersection of sound, nature, and visual storytelling. His work incorporates biofeedback, field recordings, and analog synthesis to create immersive experiences that connect audiences with the natural world. In recent work, he has explored bio-sonification via his relationship with the flora and fauna on Wild Mountain where he lives in Osage County in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA.
About the Plant Music Micro-Festival
PLANT MUSIC by The New Honey Shade is an innovative bio-sonification performance that explores the symbiotic relationship between nature and sound. Utilizing live plants, Kuykendall harnesses the subtle bioelectrical signals they emit to create an evolving soundscape. This generative music experience invites audiences to witness the organic interplay between technology and the natural world, art and science, environment, and human creativity, transforming the plants' unseen rhythms into an auditory journey.
This project was supported by the Artists Creative Fund.
Artists Creative Fund (ACF) is a program of George Kaiser Family Foundation made possible with the support from the Tulsa Community Foundation and CACHE. ACF provides grants annually to improve funding, visibility and professional development for Tulsa-based artists and creatives. In 2024, 20 artists were selected to receive $10,000 to test, explore and create innovative work for debut during the grant period that concludes in March 2025.
GKFF is working in partnership with Creative Arkansas Community Hub & Exchange (CACHE), a Northwest Arkansas based, regional arts services provider, which led the application process and professional development programming. Visit artistscreativefund.art to learn more.
