Greg Burgess and his band Oklahoma Swing are heading back to Cameron University’s campus in Lawton for Country/Jazz Fusion, an annual concert blending big-band jazz, western swing and country music with the school’s own student and community jazz ensembles. The free show brings together Burgess’s fiddle work with the Cameron University Jazz Ensemble and the Lawton Jazz Orchestra, continuing a tradition that has run for nearly half a century.
The concert is scheduled for Nov. 10, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. in the University Theatre at 27th Street and A Avenue, according to The Duncan Banner.
A Veteran Fiddler Returns to the Stage
Burgess brings a deep résumé to Lawton. Cameron University’s release describes him as having played guitar and fiddle for more than 40 years, and The Banner also reports that he has played for more than 40 years. What both sources agree on is his pedigree: Burgess spent more than 20 years as part of the late Byron Berline’s band, per Cameron University, and he has won the Oklahoma State Fiddle Championship multiple times while frequently placing in the top 10 at national-level contests.
His honors extend beyond competition trophies. Burgess is a member of the Western Swing Hall of Fame and is featured in the Folk Life section of the Oklahoma History Center, the university noted. He tours with his own group, Oklahoma Swing, a detail confirmed by Bluegrass Today in its coverage of the 2023 Oklahoma State Fiddling Contest.
Jazz Ensembles Share the Bill
Both the Cameron University Jazz Ensemble and the Lawton Jazz Orchestra are under the direction of Dr. JD Little, according to the university’s release. The pairing of an outside country or western-swing act with the school’s jazz groups has become something of a template for this concert series; a release for a prior Country/Jazz Fusion show noted that headliner Tommy Hooker likewise performed alongside the Cameron University Jazz Ensemble and a Cameron University/Lawton Community Jazz Ensemble, as reported by The Lawton Constitution.
That Hooker-led concert, billed as Cameron’s 40th annual Country Jazz Fusion show, took place on a Tuesday, November 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the University Theatre, per the university’s announcement at the time. Admission then ran $10 for adults and $8 for seniors, military members and K-12 students, with CU students, faculty and staff admitted free with a campus ID. The 2026 edition follows a different structure: admission is free for everyone, though a ticket is still required.
Free Tickets and Where to Get Them
Tickets for this year’s concert can be reserved by calling 580-581-2346 or online through Cameron University’s arts, music and theatre events ticketing page. The Cameron University box office is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for those who prefer to call ahead rather than book online.
The concert series isn’t new to pairing jazz with outside country talent. A 2024 Cameron concert brought in vocalist and instrumentalist Ginny Mac for an evening billed as a mix of jazz and country, according to KSWO. That show was scheduled for 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 5 and, like this year’s event, was advertised as free for both students and the broader community.
A Concert Tradition Nearing Its Fifth Decade
Country/Jazz Fusion was established by then-Cameron music professor Dr. John Moots and has entertained southwest Oklahoma music fans for nearly half a century, per the Banner’s reporting. This year marks the concert’s 46th annual installment, a milestone that places Burgess’s return squarely within a long-running campus tradition rather than a one-off booking.
For longtime attendees of the series, the night offers a chance to hear a state fiddle champion trade licks with student musicians in a format that has defined the concert since its earliest years. With ticket reservations open and admission free, concertgoers can mark Nov. 10 on the calendar.
