Laura Jane Grace & The Mississippi Medicals brought their Road to Punk Rock Bowling Tour to Oklahoma City’s Beer City Hall, marking Grace’s first musical return to Oklahoma since 2022. On this special tour, Grace and the Mississippi Medicals tackled two Midwest dates before taking the stage of Punk Rock Bowling in Vegas. This fun evening saw Grace play a gamut songs (26 to be precise), ranging from her music with the Mississippi Medicals, in the Trauma Tropes, Devouring Mothers, and even Against Me!
Grace made international news back in March for performing her new song “Your God (God’s Dick)” at a Bernie Sanders rally in Wisconsin. If you haven’t heard the single, do yourself a favor and turn it on right now. You’re missing golden lyrical nuggets like, “When he whips out his meat, does your world fall to its knees? Does he shoot wads of honey and cum twice on Easter Sunday? What’s his favorite position? Missionary? Magic bullet?”
A protest song through and through, “Your God (God’s Dick)” more than accomplished its goal, and—dare I say it—would’ve made Woody Guthrie proud. It’s a song of catharsis for those who have faced any sort of backlash from some of the religious Right who have weaponized their faith against transgender and queer people.
Hearing a room full of queer kids and adults alike scream these lyrics back to Grace is a reminder of the power community has. In Oklahoma, living as yourself is an act of protest, as the LGBTQ+ community have received an onslaught of attacks through proposed bills and rhetoric since Inauguration Day, so hearing and seeing so many people yell along to Grace’s lyrics felt empowering to say the least—and it was one of the highlights of the entire night. The spirit of Woody Guthrie was alive and well in Beer City’s small room.
During the performance, Grace also gave a shoutout to Tulsa, saying that her song “Give Up the Ghost” has a direct tie to the city. She told the audience about her last concert in Oklahoma and how afterwards, she wandered to the Tulsa landmark, the Center of the Universe—a sound tunnel phenomenon. In that pocket, she screamed out to the universe, and the experience was immortalized with her lyrics, “And I’m standing at the center of the universe, screaming at God, ‘I’m not done.’” When she sang these lyrics, it was as the sound tunnel opened itself up, allowing us all to share in that personal moment with her. It was such a poignant moment for the audience to remember for years to come.
One of the biggest highlights of the evening was when Jenni Rose came back out on stage to sing “Black Me Out” with Grace. Rose is most well-known as the lead singer of the Vandoliers, and she helped open up the night by playing solo. Her set was highly emotional as Rose broke down multiple times throughout the performance, thanking fans for their support and welcoming. It marked her first return to Oklahoma since coming out as trans earlier this year.
It was enough to bring a tear to the eye—and there weren’t many dry eyes in the house—to watch the two women sing “Black Me Out” together. It’s difficult to put into words what it felt like to experience that moment. “Black Me Out” is a song of bittersweet pride. It’s about saying goodbye to the person you were and the people you used to believe were friends and welcoming whatever comes next with open arms. Whatever that may be for Rose, I hope she carries the love that was in that room for her.
The concert came to an end, but not before Grace and the Mississippi Medicals played an encore that ran the clock right to 11 p.m. Before kicking into the last song “Sink, Florida, Sink” Grace took a look at the clock on the side of the stage and without hesitation audibly said, “fuck it” and played the Against Me! song.
Laura Jane Grace is one of the most daring and innovative artists in today’s scene, and her new album Adventure Club (releasing July 18) will no doubt become of the most defining albums of 2025 if “Your God (God’s Dick)” is any indication of what’s to come.
