The highly anticipated American Idol Tour came rolling into Tulsa last weekend for a quick stop at the BOK Center on Friday as part of their incredibly successful 2009 summer tour.

Fans inside the standing room only show, which started promptly at 7p.m. and lasted for a good two and a half hours, filled the arena stadium with an eager excitement as they waited for a glimpse of their favorite idol performers.

Although the American Idol Tour was booked the same weekend as Tulsa’s acclaimed Dfest music conference and festival, featuring more than 160 signed and unsigned bands from around the world, it didn’t really detour from the number of fans lining up to see the American Idol concert, which ran in competition to Dfest’s Friday night headliners.

It’s evident that the BOK Center was more than packed with idols fans of every age, singing along with their favorite idol songs.

The show, described as lively and engaging, started out with Sarver, who sang two songs, “In love with a girl,” and “Closer.” He was followed by American Idol finalist number nine, Megan Joy, singing, “Put your records on,” and “Tears dry on their own.”

McIntyre sang “Bend and Break,” and “A Thousand Miles,” followed by Giraud, who sang “Georgia on my Mind,” “Hard to Handle,” and “You Found Me.”

After a quick intermission, the show came back in full force featuring Allison Iraheta, singing songs such as “So What,” and “Crybaby.”  Gokey did amazing renditions of “PYT,” and “What Hurts the Most,” and songs such as “My Wish.”

American Idol number two finalist, Adam Lambert did a total of five songs, which more than brought to life a stunned and adoring BOK audience. 

As the highly anticipated Kris Allen took the stage, the crowd grew even more excited as he performed a total of five songs that included such hits as “Ain’t No Sunshine,” and “Hey Jude.”  Allen’s performance in Tulsa followed the death of his grandmother.  Yet, he remained strong, and appeared to be in great form as concert goers far and wide raved of the handsome and adorable young star, who is also working on his first album, in addition to performing on the 2009 American Idol Tour.

The Idol tour rolled out of Tulsa on Friday night and arrived in Arkansas for a sold-out show at the Verizon Alltel Arena in North Little Rock on Saturday night. 

On Saturday afternoon, Allen’s grandfather attended a special ceremony in Allen’s hometown of Jacksonville, Arkansas, which honored the American Idol 2009 Season Tour Winner, by updating the city’s welcome sign to read, “Welcome to Jacksonville, Boyhood Home of Kris Allen.”

Something truly appreciated were the efforts of Grober, Cilnis, and staff from the Verizon Alltel Arena who kindly made accommodations for me to attend the press hours in both Tulsa and North Little Rock and provided photo passes for our photographer at the shows in both venues.  

As the American Idol 2009 Summer Tour rolls on through its 52 stop concert schedule, reviews for each venue the show has booked and played, have been overwhelming positive.  Over and over, it’s been printed, this is one great summer concert and it is. 

The 2009 American Idol Concert Tour Schedule is listed below for those interested in catching this season’s tour or a second performance of this highly coveted show.  Tulsa Today was pleased to present the pre-concert exclusive of Allen, which published earlier in July. (See our entertainment section for the article or click here.)

Special thanks to all the 2009 American Idol finalists!  One thing is for certain, nearly everyone in Tulsa was rocking on Friday night.

July 24
Tulsa, OK
BOK Center

July 25
N. Little Rock, AR
Alltel Arena

July 26
Memphis, TN
FedExForum

July 28
Tampa, FL
St. Pete Times Forum

July 29
Sunrise, FL
BankAtlantic Center

July 31
Duluth, GA
Arena at Gwinnett Center

August 1
Charlotte, NC
Time Warner Cable Arena

August 2
Greensboro, NC
Greensboro Coliseum

August 4
Washington, DC
Verizon Center

August 5
Baltimore, MD
1st Mariner Arena

August 7
Atlantic City, NJ
Boardwalk Hall

August 8
Newark, NJ
Prudential Center

August 9
Newark, NJ
Prudential Center

August 11
Long Island, NY
Nassau Coliseum

August 12
Long Island, NY
Nassau Coliseum

August 14
Hamilton, ON
Copps Coliseum

August 15
Rochester, NY
BlueCross Arena

August 16
Hartford, CT
XL Center

August 18
Boston, MA TD
Banknorth Garden

August 19
Albany, NY
Times Union Center

August 20
Philadelphia, PA
Wachovia Center

August 22
Pittsburgh, PA
Mellon Arena

August 23
Cleveland, OH
Wolstein Center

August 25
Columbus, OH
Schottenstein Center

August 26
Auburn Hills, MI
Palace at Auburn Hills

August 28
Milwaukee, WI
Bradley Center

August 29
St. Louis, MO
Scottrade Center

August 30
Kansas City, MO
Sprint Center

September 1
Minneapolis, MN
Target Center

September 2
Rosemont, IL
Allstate Arena

September 4
Madison, WI
Alliant Energy Center

September 5
Indianapolis, IN
Conseco Fieldhouse 

September 6
Grand Rapids, MI
Van Andel Arena

September 8
Reading, PA
Sovereign Center

September 9
Wilkes Barre, PA
Wachovia Arena

September 10
Bridgeport, CT
Arena at Harbor Yard

September 12
Portland, ME
Cumberland County Civic Center

September 13
Providence, RI
Dunkin’ Donuts Center

September 14
Syracuse, NY
War Memorial at OnCenter

September 15
Manchester, NH
Verizon Wireless Arena

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Photo Credits: Kevin Pyle, Tulsa Today News. All Rights Reserved.