TULSA, Okla. — The 2025 Tulsa Christmas Parade will have an anthem this year, a nod to this year's musical theme with deep Oklahoma roots.
The original song recorded at Tulsa's historic Church Studio premiered on Leon Day, June 26, 2025, which is Noel spelled backward.
The day marks the halfway point until Christmas, so organizers thought it would be the perfect opportunity to premiere the song at The Church Studio, the famous recording home of Leon Russell.
2 News was invited for an exclusive first listen.
The theme of the 99th annual Tulsa Christmas Parade is The Sounds of the Season: Christmas with The Church Studio. So, the idea to create a song was an instant hit.
"To pay tribute to this amazing building and all the legends that have come through here from Leon Russell and J.J. Cale to so many others. It really is a treat for our team," said Teresa Knox, CEO of The Church Studio. Knox is also this year's parade Grand Marshal.
Knox tells 2 News that, as far as she knows, there has never been an official Tulsa Christmas Parade song, so this may be a first.
WATCH: 2 News' first listen to new Tulsa Christmas Parade song
The song is called, OklaHome for Christmas, and everyone who worked on it is an Oklahoman. It was recorded at The Church Studio.
Grammy-winning artist and Okemah native John Fullbright pulled in over a handful of local musicians to play on it and is the song's Producer.
"There's not a lot of Christmas songs that are specifically about Oklahoma, so it's kind of nice to have our own," said Fullbright.
Singer-songwriter Audra Mae helped write the song.
She said, "It's Christmas through and through, and it's Okie through and through." Audra Mae has an impressive resume and a famous relative, Judy Garland. "I'm related to Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, and I'm so proud of it."
The sibling Country trio, Voth, are so proud of their Tulsa roots they wrote them into the lyrics.
Caleb Voth said, "It's just natural when you're from here. We threw in Cain's Ballroom, the Blue Whale, the Mother Road, and the Golden Driller. Everything came together really fast."
Voth says debuting the song in the iconic Church Studio, in their hometown for a parade so special is a gift.
"We're a Christmas family 100%!" said Cody Voth. "And the Tulsa Christmas Parade is a tradition, we've gone for years, so this is really cool!" said sister Hannah.
The toe-tapping tune was played live for the first time in front of an exclusive crowd of Tulsa Christmas Parade supporters, including past Tulsa Christmas Parade Grand Marshals Danny Boy O'Connor, founder of the Outsider's House Museum, and Muriel Fahrion, creator of Strawberry Shortcake, at the Leon Day Event.
OklaHome For Christmas will be available for free download closer to the holidays.
So, what would Leon Russell think about all this? Knox said, "I think he'd be really pleased with it."
We think Santa would approve, too.
This year's Tulsa Christmas Parade will be on Saturday, December 13, 2025 at 11 am in downtown Tulsa. You can learn more about the parade here.
The Church Studio is located at 304 S. Trenton Ave in Tulsa. It is still a recording studio and is also open for tours, you can learn more about it here.
Here are the links for the artists featured in the song here:
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