What happened before Ella Langley's Tulsa show was canceled

Danica Livingston already had her nails done with butterflies and a dandelion, and her mom, Rita Livingston, was finishing up her makeup in their downtown Tulsa hotel room when they got the bad news that their long-awaited concert plans were canceled .

Ella Langley's highly anticipated show set for Friday, Oct. 9, at Tulsa's BOK Center was called off just hours before it was scheduled to start due to "a serious security threat involving the safety of fans, venue personnel, and the artist."

"Danica's birthday is in August, so she's been waiting two months for this," said Rita Livingston, of Duncan. "I was like, 'How do I look at this little girl and tell her that we're not going to get to do this?' ... She took it like an absolute champ. She looked at us and said, 'Well, better safe than sorry, and at least we're still together. We'll figure it out.' And that's what we did."

Rita and Danica Livingston — along with Melissa Kerr, of Tuttle, their sister-in-law and aunt, respectively — were among the about 19,000 fans left disappointed when the up-and-coming country music superstar's sold-out Tulsa show was abruptly canceled.

In identical graphics, both Langley and the venue announced the sudden cancellation on social media at about 4:45 p.m. Friday.

"The safety and well-being of everyone involved is our absolute priority, and after careful consideration, we have determined that the show cannot proceed," the social media message to ticketholders read in part. "We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we prioritize the safety of all involved."

In a caption on her post, the record-setting "Choosin' Texas" hitmaker called canceling the concert an "incredibly difficult decision."

"This decision was made under the advisement of local authorities, the venue, and my security team," Langley added. "I know how much time, travel, money, and planning goes into coming to a show, and I can't tell you how sorry I am. This is not a decision that was made lightly. I was so looking forward to spending tonight with you, but your safety will always mean more to me than anything else. I refuse to put anyone in harm's way."

According to the "Important Show Update" announcing the cancelation, additional information and details regarding ticket refunds are to be shared as soon as possible. But Kerr, who bought the tickets to Langley's Tulsa concert as a 12th birthday present for her niece, told The Oklahoman on Saturday, Oct. 10, that she's already received her refund.

"So, I don't think they plan on rescheduling it," she said.

Neither representatives for Langley nor the BOK Center responded Saturday to The Oklahoman's requests for more information on the Tulsa concert cancelation .

Langley's blockbuster "The Dandelion Tour" is still scheduled to continue with a Saturday, Oct. 10, concert at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. The second leg of the tour is set to conclude Oct. 31 at Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Ella Langley draws crowd to OKC Zoo Amphitheatre: Photos

Ella Langley's Tulsa concert canceled after alleged call threatening 'great harm' with gunfire and bombs

In a since-deleted post on the Tulsa Police Department's Facebook, Capt. Richard Meulenberg said in a video that officers conducted security sweeps of the BOK Center, including searches with bomb-sniffing dogs, as is routine for events at the downtown Tulsa venue.

Although the initial searches found no threats, he said police returned to the BOK Center after a call came in "saying that someone was going to (do) great harm to the people here at this event in the way of shots fired and bombs," according to a transcript of the video shared by the Saving Country Music blog.

"So we came out again in an overabundance of caution, used our bomb dogs again, searched the entire area, we could not find a credible threat here at the BOK Center," Meulenberg said in the since-deleted video. "We advised the group that was supposed to be performing tonight that we could not find a credible threat. We would never tell anybody if we couldn't find a credible threat to cancel their event. So they made the decision to cancel their event."

According to screenshots of the now-deleted post , the Tulsa Police Department said the incident is under investigation and that "it is unfortunate that some nefarious characters successfully disrupted the event, ruining the evening for thousands of people."

Neither Meulenberg nor any member of the Tulsa Police Communications Unit responded to The Oklahoman's emailed request for more information.

Disappointed Oklahoma fans believe 'better safe than sorry' when it comes to the concert cancelation

Although she had mixed feelings after hearing the Tulsa Police statements, Rita Livingston said she thinks organizers made the best decision in canceling the concert.

"That's my 12-year-old daughter, and I would rather be safe than sorry. I don't want to put her in harm's way," Livingston said as they made the three-hour drive back to southern Oklahoma on Saturday. "Melissa and I spent probably two hours trying to figure out how we could get to Lubbock, and if we could afford tickets and a hotel room, and ... we just finally were like, 'We can't justify that,' because the ticket prices were going up."

So, the trio spent their Friday night in their Tulsa hotel room, eating sushi, drinking dirty sodas and watching "The Golden Girls" before heading home. They will make other plans for her daughter's belated 12th birthday, she said.

"Whether it's prank calling or genuinely serious, unfortunately, we live in a time where you just don't know anymore. ... After what happened in Las Vegas to Jason Aldean , it's like 'OK, well, I don't want anything happening to my family, so I understand.' And you're grateful for that, even though you're disappointed in the moment," Livingston said, referring to the deadly 2017 mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival.

Likewise, Oklahoma singer-songwriter Mallory Eagle spent her night eating tacos and experiencing a kind of "weird fever dream" instead of playing a free outdoor Tulsa show in conjunction with Langley's concert. Eagle and her band had just finished soundcheck for her latest performance in the BOK Center's "Rock the Block" outdoor pre-concert street party series when she got a call that her show had been canceled along with Langley's.

"I got a call from my point of contact, who said, 'Hey, you guys need to pack up and go. We have a security threat, and the show's canceled,' which was a bit jarring to the system. You think you're gonna be getting on stage and having this thing you've really looked forward ... but everyone's safety is more important," Eagle said. "What was scariest is that it just was vague. We weren't told any specifics. We were just told 'it's a security threat.' So, the mind can really wander at that point."

Although the cancelation was announced more than an hour before doors were scheduled to open at 6 p.m. for Langley's show, Eagle said there were already fans lining up outside the arena when word got out that the concert had been scrapped.

"My friend and I went to dinner after ... and there were all these little Ella Langley fans, these girls in their little cowboy boots and T-shirts that say 'Ella.' And we're all just kind of having a sad dinner," she said. "But it was also (with) gratitude; they did what they thought best."

The BOK Center is scheduled to host its next concert at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, when beloved gospel singer CeCe Winans performs .