Tulsa’s emo-pop darlings CLIFFDIVER played their final show on July 18 at the Vanguard to a sold-out crowd of fans, friends, and family. With support from Morris Village and Leisure Hour, the beautiful evening of music careened between unadulterated joy and a profound sadness as bittersweet as it comes.
Back in May, CLIFFDIVER announced their indefinite hiatus, citing the group’s inability to tour consistently due to health reasons and personal obligations as the driving factor behind the decision. In tandem with their statement, the band announced two final home-state shows—one in OKC and the other in Tulsa—cheekily saying that they’re “just going out for smokes, kids.”
Ahead of the final show in Tulsa, CLIFFDIVER gave fans one last parting gift: a surprise three-track EP titled C-SIDES, a release that fans will not doubt be spinning for years to come. Fans lucky enough to be in attendance at these final shows were able to hear “Bored,” a song from the EP, played for the first ime.
This once-in-a-lifetime show saw fans coming in from all over the country to say goodbye to their favorite band. One such fan, Ana Kiko, even came in from the U.K. to catch the show. This marked Kiko’s seventh time seeing the band. “I ended up joining (CLIFFDIVER’s) Discord community, which is full of some of the most amazing people. They’re the reason I decided to make the journey,” Kiko says. “CLIFFDIVER is one of my favorite bands and people, but knowing that so many of my community friends were going to the show made it so important for me to be there. I don’t regret that.”
Another fan, C, flew in from Virginia to see the band for the first—and last — time. “When they announced they were breaking up … I knew I had to be there,” she says, “I’ll be honest, I’m not a long-time listener, but when I found them this year, their music really clicked for me, and I needed to hear it in person.”
It wasn’t just fans who made the journey. Indiana-based group Leisure Hour — save for member Frank Blation, who lives in T-town—traveled to Tulsa to provide support for the show. Before ending their set, vocalist Isaiah Neal pulled out his phone and read a prepared speech about his love and adoration for CLIFFDIVER.
“There are certain people that allow you to truly be yourself, but they also encourage and teach you how to become the person you want to be. This is CLIFFDIVER,” Neal says. “We would not be the band we are today without them, but more importantly, we would not be the people we are today without them.”
As soon as the band of the hour took the stage, the crowd erupted in wild cheers, chanting each member’s name. One fan even began erratically waving around a massive blown-up photo of drummer Eliot Cooper’s face.
The five-piece kicked off their set with “thirty, flirty, and thriving!!!” from their album Birdwatching. From the get-go, it was almost like the audience competed with the band to see who could sing the songs the loudest. There’s something so cathartic about hearing an entire venue filled with people screaming along to the lyrics “30 years, and I still don’t know shit. 30 years and I still don’t know. Here’s to hoping I outgrow this.”
Between songs—and tears—members of the band told stories, thanked fans and each other for the memories of the past eight years. One poignant moment saw Joey Duff, co-lead vocalist, look to his friend and bandmate Briana Wright and say, “One of the greatest joys in my life is getting to sing with her.” The love and respect each member has for one another is palpable; it’s a family affair for them.
Duffy’s son, Dallas, joined the band on stage multiple times throughout the night, singing with his dad—the pride in his eyes lighting up his entire face. However, Dallas wasn’t the only special guest to make an appearance during the set. About halfway through the set, Dony Nickles, the band’s saxophonist who left the group in 2024, joined the band on stage much to the delight of the audience, who immediately exploded in cheers of “Dony! Dony! Dony!” It was the perfect surprise, helping to bring in the end of an era.
The evening came to an end with “Gas City” as waves of fans crowdsurfed. The band was joined on stage by a litany of friends/family like their merch seller, members of Leisure Hour, Dallas, Bri’s daughter, and more. It was a beautiful ending for a band that means so much to so many people.
“For the final time, we have been CLIFFDIVER,” Duffy says as he and his bandmates took a bow on stage.
So here’s goodbye to a band that is always, and I mean always, on point with their song titles—“black lodge breakfast burrito (limited time only),” “Frankie Muniz Don’t Smoke No Mids,” “All of My Problems Started the First Time I Saw Cameron Diaz in The Mask,” etc.—and unflinchingly takes a look at mental health in such an earnest way that has resonated with so many fans struggling with the same issues.
Frankie, a fan who drove in from St. Louis, says, “The themes of healthy masculinity, self-control, complex relationships and especially past struggles with mental health and being okay again just really resonate with me.”
Kiko describes the show as the “greatest night” she’s ever had. “I hugged everyone in my little Discord community, tears in our eyes, at the end of the show.”
More than anything, besides the masterclass music, zany song titles and everything in between, CLIFFDIVER is community—one that will live on long after the final notes played on Saturday night.
CLIFFDIVER
Leisure Hour
Morris Village
