Songwriters & Tour Riders

KOSU
  • 5.0 (11)
  • MUSIC INTERVIEWS
  • UPDATED SEMIMONTHLY

Songwriters & Tour Riders is an Oklahoma music podcast, giving you an inside look at musicians coming from Oklahoma and those just passing through. Join host Matthew Viriyapah as musicians tell stories of recording, touring and living as an artist.

  1. FEB 6

    Haffway

    Sam Westhoff almost quit music and started working at Lowe's. Now, under the moniker Haffway, he's starting his first headlining tour in Tulsa after releasing his album, Wither, last fall. The album purposefully is a roller coaster of highs and lows, reflecting Westhoff's mental health journey, one that took him from a psych ward in September 2024 to the stage at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville just six months later. In this episode, he talks about moving from Tulsa to Nashville, and the difficulty of releasing his album Wither.

    38 min

  2. JAN 23

    Horton Records President Brian Horton

    Horton Records has been a home for what president Brian Horton estimated to be more than 150 different artist releases. But he has always thought the label's goal was not just to release music, but have music connect the community. That's the plan for this weekend's Horton Fest, celebrating 20 years since the label began. Over the weekend, Horton Fest will bring together Tulsa musicians and others Horton considers friends of the scene. In this episode, he talks about how they've made it 20 years as an independent label that only releases Oklahoma music, the evolution of the Tulsa music scene and what he hopes the future looks like.

    1h 12m
  3. Cheyenne

    JAN 9

    Cheyenne

    ​It’s been 20 years since Oklahoma band Cheyenne’s first album “I Am Haunted, I Am Alive” was released and singer Beau Jennings is bringing the band back together to play through it. At the time, Jennings was graduating college and unsure of where his life would take him. On this episode, he reflected on the album and reconnecting to songs written by a younger him and the decades since.

    47 min
  4. Lance Roark

    12/05/2025

    Lance Roark

    Lance Roark was singing at an open mic at a bar in Tahlequah one night, where RC Edwards — bassist for the then-on hiatus Turnpike Troubadours — was in the audience. With Turnpike on hiatus at the time, Edwards asked Roark to join his Americana rock band, RC & the Ambers. When Turnpike returned to the studio in 2022, Roark joined Edwards to co-write the song "Chipping Mill." Now as a solo artist, the Gore-native and Tahlequah resident has toured with Turnpike, as well as Shane Smith and the Castellows. His solo debut album, Bad Reputation, is about evolving and earning a reputation that maybe others perceive as bad.

    29 min
  5. Broncho

    11/12/2025

    Broncho

    It's been seven years since Broncho's last album release. In the time since, singer Ryan Lindsey has had two children and moved to Tulsa. Broncho's latest album, Natural Pleasure, is a return to a pace more natural to Lindsey. In this conversation, Lindsey reflects on 15 years of Broncho, the origins of the band and his musical life, and how this album is different from previous Broncho albums.

    1h 11m
  6. Chat Pile and Hayden Pedigo

    10/31/2025

    Chat Pile and Hayden Pedigo

    The day Hayden Pedigo moved to Oklahoma City, he messaged Chat Pile, a metal band that puts Oklahoma front and center on their albums. And despite their wildly different genres, they found they got along, watching movies and going to shows together. Hayden Pedigo is known for beautiful acoustic guitar. While Chat Pile songs are full of noise and growled lyrics. In this episode, they talk about how they met, what it was like working together, and how the album is still shocking even for Pedigo to listen to.

    27 min
  7. Brent Cobb

    10/02/2025

    Brent Cobb

    Brent Cobb has been writing songs and playing music since he was a teenager. Inspired by his son's discovery of classic and southern rock, Brent's latest album, Ain't Rocked in a While, looks back at his earliest influences while also exploring what it takes to be a working musician, just trying to make a living for the last two decades. In this episode, he talks about the highs of touring with the likes of Chris Stapleton, Tyler Childers and Luke Combs, while still having to deal with hecklers, like one he encountered in Oklahoma City.

    41 min
  8. Keyland

    09/04/2025

    Keyland

    When Kyle Ross isn't teaching English or coaching football in Bixby, he is the lead singer and songwriter of Americana band Keyland. They are opening up for The Droptines this Friday in Oklahoma City and will be playing Tiny Porch in Tulsa on Saturday. Matthew Viriyapah spoke to Ross before his show in Oklahoma City at Scissortail Park in June, opening up for Wilderado.

    10 min
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Songwriters & Tour Riders is an Oklahoma music podcast, giving you an inside look at musicians coming from Oklahoma and those just passing through. Join host Matthew Viriyapah as musicians tell stories of recording, touring and living as an artist.

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