TULSA, Okla. — In 1915, Grace Methodist Episcopal Church was one of the earliest churches built within the City of Tulsa. It went on to survive the Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921 and in 1928, the church transitioned to the First United Brethren Church.
Between 1946 and 1948, the church was known as the First Evangelical United Brethren Church and finally, in 1961, it was renamed the First Church of God.
This historic place of worship has sat on the same corner of East 3rd Street and South Trenton Avenue for 110 years and has contributed greatly to the historic fabric of Tulsa — not just as a religious sanctuary but as a musical one as well.
Tulsa native and musician Leon Russell purchased the church in 1972, turning the sacred building into The Church Studio.
The Church Studio has become an iconic landmark in Tulsa and has served as the place where many musicians have come to record their music. From Leon Russell himself to Greenwood’s GAP Band to Motown’s Stevie Wonder to Eric Clapton and more. The list is endless.
Ronnie Carlson, Chief Operations Officer for The Church Studio, said the studio has been doing cool things since its beginning.
“In 1915, it was a Methodist Episcopal Church before the denomination separated. It’s also one of Tulsa’s first multi-racial churches,” said Ronnie. “We love that about our history; all races were worshipping in this building back in 1915. Then a young Leon Russell [who] was at the top of the food chain in 1972 — according to Rolling Stone, he was the number one touring artist at that time — [he] wanted to come back home to Oklahoma.”
Ronnie said Leon Russell bought the church in the seventies and converted it into the studio most people know today.
While The Church Studio changed hands a few times, it was bought in 2016 by Theresa Knox who proceeded to fix up the building. The Church Studio officially reopened in 2022, and Ronnie said they have been busy ever since.
“We do recordings, which is our focus, but we also do a lot of programming, and we are a venue rental space,” said Ronnie. “We do a lot of corporate meetings, we’ve done weddings — we also do a program called ‘Tunes at Noon,’ which is a way to really highlight the eclectic and talented music community that’s in Tulsa. We do that every Tuesday and Saturday, and sometimes Thursday at noon, so people come in around 11 and they do a tour, or they come in at 12, watch the music [and] do a tour after, if they want.”
Music lovers, historians, tourists and the general public are all invited to visit The Church Studio, take a tour and even grab a drink at their bar.
“You can enjoy the bar without even getting a tour,” said Ronnie. “Just tell the front desk when you check in. This is just a cultural hub…”
Ronnie said they are usually pretty busy between recording sessions and tours.
“…We’re booked up like every day, almost, doing recordings. It’s great to see all the big names coming back to Tulsa to record, but really our bread-and-butter is local music. About 80 percent of our clients are local,” Ronnie continued.
The Tulsa community is a main priority and point of interest for The Church Studio. Ronnie said one of their goals is to be part of the reclamation of Tulsa being a music destination.
“We want to play,” said Ronnie. “We want to be one spoke of the wheel to reclaim Tulsa as being a music destination, and there’s a lot of help with that. We’revery proud of our contribution.”
Another important focus of The Church Studio is education. Ronnie said The Church Studio has a small engineering school which allows students to learn about music production with hands-on sessions.
“We keep it at five students or less so that way we can really devote sufficient time to teaching that, and the students get to play with an insane gear list, work on actual sessions and work on actual mix sessions, as well,” Ronnie said. “It’s really like an old school internship, and we believe in that. You really learn engineering through the action of doing. There’s the theory component as well.”
On top of the engineering school, The Church Studio works with local schools and teachers.
“We’ve done free recording sessions in the past for school projects, and we’re still developing some other curriculum for students,” said Ronnie. “We’re very active with the schools, especially the public schools.”
The Church Studio is available for all. Ronnie said if you are interested in recording, volunteering as a tour guide, or taking a class, you can send an email to info@thechurchstudio.com.
For more information on the history of The Church Studio, Leon Russell, or to plan your visit, click here.
