Jorma Kaukonen and John Hurlbut brought their Last Bus Tour 2026 to Tulsa’s Church Studio on Tuesday night for a magical performance in the heart of Leon Russell’s Sanctuary of Sound. Having kicked off this month-long, twelve city tour in Austin on April 2nd, the long-time collaborators performed two sets as part of The Church Studio’s Legacy Concert Series to a small and intimate audience smack dab in the middle of Russell’s legendary recording studio.
While many Kaukonen fans associate his post Jefferson Airplane collaborations with fellow Airplane and Hot Tuna bandmate, Jack Casady, Kaukonen and Hurlbut have maintained a multi-decade long friendship and partnership that began back in 1984 when the met at one of Kaukonen’s solo gigs. Over the years, with Hurlbut having transitioned from a tour manager and 20 year manager of the Fur Peace Ranch to frequent musical collaborator, the pair have even recorded music together. The duo’s most recent album One More Lifetime, which released in 2024 via Culture Factory, and its predecessor, The River Flows, released in 2020. There’s also been an official release of the “Legendary Typewriter Tapes” Kaukonen recorded with Janis Joplin at his California home in 1964 via Omnivore Recordings in 2023.
Over the course of the two sold-out intimate sets, each limited to approximately 100 attendees, Kaukonen would initially take the stage solo, performing a picker’s choice of original and traditional material such as “Good Shepherd,” “True Religion,” “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” and more. He would then welcome Hurlbut out to join him, and together they would close out the sets. The pair proceeded to provide some fancy guitar accompaniment through takes on Spencer Bohren’s “Travelin’” and “The Old Homestead” as well as Daniel Lanois’s “The Maker” and a slew of Dylan songs, including “All Along The Watchtower,” Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” and “She Belongs to Me.” All delivered through the studio’s pristine sound system in crystal clear sonic clarity.
I don’t think the significance of a music venue in shaping a performance can be overstated. A venue’s acoustics, atmosphere, and overall environment play such a crucial role in how the music is experienced by both performers and audiences. Anyone that’s attended a concert at a venue such as Red Rocks or the Ryman can testify to this and The Church Studio certainly deserves to be discussed in the same breath. Built in 1915 as the Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, the structure would go on to house other congregations over the years until Leon Russell purchased the run down building in 1972 and transformed it into a world class recording studio and created the home for Shelter Records and a key component of the “Tulsa Sound” to serve as a creative workshop for songwriters, musicians, engineers, and singers. successful and award-winning talent such as JJ Cale, Freddie King, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, Willie Nelson, Stevie Wonder, Asleep at the Wheel, The GAP Band, Jamie Oldaker, David Teegarden, Dwight Twilley, Steve Ripley, Bob Dylan, Jimmy Buffett, Mary McCreary, Phoebe Snow, Peter Tosh, and many, many more hung out or recorded in its studio.
After Russell’s stint, the building changed hands multiple times before ultimately being purchased in 2016 by Tulsa entrepreneur Teresa Knox and her husband, Ivan Acosta, who set about renovating the building over a five year period, before reopening to the public on March 1, 2022, the 50th anniversary of Russell’s original purchase of the building. The Church Studio was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.
Today, Knox and her team have created one of the finest music “museums” I’ve ever had the pleasure to visit and tour. I had recently stopped by The Church for the first time while in town for a Dylan tribute at Cain’s Ballroom. During that trip, I had some time to spare, and found myself touring the building last minute with a small group led by one of The Church Studio’s passionate volunteer docents, named Willis. I’m not usually the type that enjoys a “guided” tour, usually preferring wandering aimlessly, but I’m glad this tour turned out the way it did. The building itself, its facilities and displays are certainly fascinating, but on that day, it was Willis that absolutely won me over. As he led our small group from room to room throughout the sanctuary, we also engaged in one of the most informative and best music conversations I can remember, and when an opportunity to attend and document these performances arose, I jumped at the chance. My sincere thanks to Teresa, Stanton and her entire team. It was a privilege and an honor.
Kaukonen and Hurlbut’s performances from this evening were both filmed and recorded and will see a forthcoming release in the near future and will be available both in person at the Church Studio and via their website. I highly recommend signing up for their email newsletter to keep in the know of all things happening at the historic building that Leon built, and even more-so encourage you to stop by and tour or see a show at The Church yourself. Find out more information here: https://www.thechurchstudio.com
Jorma and John will be on the road through April, and Jorma will hit the road again in July and August with Jack Casady for a short run of Acoustic Hot Tuna dates. You can check out tour dates and more information on Kaukonen and the Fur Peace Ranch by visiting their websites here: https://jormakaukonen.com and https://furpeaceranch.com
Enjoy some of our previous coverage here: REVIEW: Jorma Kaukonen “Live at the Bottom Line – August 8, 2003”