Why Ella Langley’s tip jar is in new Country Music Hall of Fame’s exhibit
Ella Langley on being part of the Country Music Hall of Fame’s new ‘American Current’s exhibit and the story behind the tip jar on display.
- Langley is the Academy of Country Music’s reigning New Female Artist of the Year.
- Country star Ella Langley and metalcore band Motionless in White will play at the Zoo Amphitheatre.
- Motionless in White’s “The Sweat and Blood Tour” is scheduled for an Aug. 11 show.
One of Oklahoma City’s oldest still-operating entertainment venues will welcome one of country music’s hottest new stars this summer.
Plus, a popular metalcore band from Scranton, Pennsylvania, is bringing its “Sweat and Blood Tour” to town before summer’s end.
Ella Langley, the Academy of Country Music’s reigning New Female Artist of the Year, has announced plans for her “The Dandelion Tour,” which will include a June 18 show at the Zoo Amphitheatre.
The “That’s Why We Fight” and “You Look Like You Love Me” hitmaker’s OKC stop on her 15-city headlining tour is the first 2026 show announced at the venue affectionately known as the Zoo Amp, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary season this year.
Plus, hard rockers Motionless in White are bringing their first North American headlining tour in nearly three years to OKC for an Aug. 11 Zoo Amp show.
They’re the first of several big concerts expected to be announced for the amphitheater’s milestone anniversary season, following a star-powered 2025 with shows featuring chart-topping Mexican music star Ivan Cornejo, “Ordinary” pop hitmaker Alex Warren, Grammy-winning Christian music star Lauren Daigle and more.
What is the history of OKC’s Zoo Amphitheatre?
One of OKC’s most beloved outdoor concert venues, the Zoo Amphitheatre’s storied history dates back to 1933, when construction started on the venue as part of the Civilian Conservation Corps, an economic recovery program established to provide jobs during the Great Depression.
Between 1933 and 1936, about 400 men lived in tents and wooden barracks in the area while they labored to lay the groundwork for Lincoln Park, the Oklahoma City Zoo, Zoo Lake and the Zoo Amphitheatre.
The first public works project to be completed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in OKC, the Zoo Amp has been offering live entertainment since 1936, with “The Circus of 21 Death-Defying Acts” playing for the amphitheater’s first audience. In its early years, the Zoo Amphitheatre hosted circus extravaganzas, pageants, theatrical performances and public meetings, as well as concerts.
Although it’s had its ups and downs, the city-owned venue has hosted over the decades some of the top acts in music, including the Grateful Dead, Sting, Dire Straits, the Steve Miller Band, Santana, Judas Priest, Willie Nelson, Marvin Gaye, Joni Mitchell, Heart, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Oklahoma’s own JJ Cale, Cross Canadian Ragweed and The Flaming Lips.
In 2024, the venerable venue entered a new era as Los Angeles-based Gate 52, formerly SaveLive, was brought on as new management. A national concert promoter and venue management company, Gate 52 also manages the OKC venues The Criterion, Tower Theatre, Beer City Music Hall and Ponyboy.
Since, millions of dollars have been invested in modernizing the Zoo Amphitheatre, including new climate-controlled restrooms, expanded concession stands, additional entry gates, a new VIP “Glampground,” expanded and upgraded seating options and extensive backstage upgrades designed to attract more top-notch touring artists to OKC.
Who is Ella Langley?
An Alabama native, Langley, 26, broke into the country music scene by going viral on TikTok with her track “If You Have To” in 2021.
In 2023, she made her Grand Ole Opry debut, collaborated with Koe Wetzel on the song “That’s Why We Fight” and released her debut EP, “Excuse the Mess.”
The singer-songwriter followed with her debut full-length album “Hungover,” which named one of the best albums of 2024 by The New York Times and Rolling Stone. Her massive hit single, “You Look Like You Love me,” featuring fellow up-and-comer Riley Green, marked her Billboard Hot 100 debut, earned Langley her first No. 1 single on country radio, and made her the first of only two female artists to lead the Billboard Country Airplay Chart in 2024.
Langley received the most nominations at the 2025 ACM Awards with eight nods, including new female artist of the year, female artist of the year and six nominations for “You Look Like You Love Me,” including single of the year, song of the year (as an artist and songwriter), music event of the year and visual media of the year (as an artist and director).
In her first year as an ACM Awards nominee, she won a leading five prizes: for new female artist, single, music event and visual media of the year; the latter earned her two trophies, as both an artist and songwriter.
A few months later, she won prizes in three categories for “You Look Like You Love Me” at the Country Music Association Awards.
In January, Langley’s latest single, “Choosin’ Texas,” took her to the top of Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart for the first time. Written by Langley, Oklahoma native Luke Dick, former Tishomingo resident Miranda Lambert and Joybeth Taylor, it also recently reached the Top 5 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. She debuted it live last fall at the second annual Choctaw Music Fest at Durant’s Choctaw Casino & Resort ahead of performing it at the CMA Awards.
The hit is the lead single from “Dandelion,” Langley’s sophomore studio album, due out April 10.
Who is Motionless in White?
Motionless in White has drawn legions of fans since 2006 through a steady grind that elevated the metalcore quintet to gold-certified arena headliner. After earning three straight Top 5 debuts on the Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums roster, 2022’s “Scoring The End of the World” bowed at No. 1 on the chart and secured the band’s highest position on the Billboard 200 at No. 12.
The LP notably spawned the group’s second Recording Industry Association of America gold-certified hit and first Active Rock chart-topper, “Masterpiece.” The versatile band has collaborated on popular tracks with an array of fellow rockers, from Jonathan Davis of Korn and “Doom” composer Mick Gordon to Illenium and Knocked Loose.
In addition to playing sold-out headlining tours and playing direct support slots for Bring Me The Horizon and Slipknot, the group hosts, curates and headlines its own hometown Apocalypse Fest in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Two decades into their career, Motionless in White are planning a slew of new releases on the horizon for Roadrunner Records. The era begins with the new single “Afraid of the Dark,” which incorporates tightly executed metalcore with gothic overtures, industrial grit and an uplifting message to “follow the light in your heart and be not afraid of the dark.”
With “The Sweat and Blood Tour,” the band will have support from Lorna Shore, Fit For A King and Static Dress, who are all on the bill for the August OKC show.
When can fans get tickets to see Ella Langley and Motionless in White at OKC’s Zoo Amphitheatre?
Langley’s 2026 tour calendar opens with a February run as a special guest on Eric Church’s “Free the Machine Tour,” followed by several dates as a special guest on Morgan Wallen’s “Still the Problem” 2026 tour, starting with an April 18 stadium show at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
She will launch “The Dandelion Tour” in support of her second album May 7 at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio.
The supporting players on her headlining tour of arenas and amphitheaters will include Kameron Marlowe, Dylan Marlowe, Gabriella Rose, Laci Kaye Booth and up-and-coming Oklahoma native Kaitlin Butts. Dylan Marlowe and Rose will be the openers for the OKC show on June 18.
Presale for tickets and VIP packages begins at 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 5, at https://www.ellalangley.com. Tickets for Langley’s Zoo Amp show go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 6, at https://okczooamp.com.
For Motionless in White, Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning at noon Tuesday, Feb. 3, until 10 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5, at 10 p.m. through the Citi Entertainment program. For presale details, go to www.citientertainment.com.
Additional presales will run throughout this week ahead of the general on-sale starting at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 6. For OKC tickets and information, go to https://okczooamp.com.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.oklahoman.com ’
