Tonight at O’Leaver’s, Iowa City citizen Ed Gray takes the stage. Gray is something of a legend in the low-fi folk circuit. His first serious recordings involved John Crawford (Head of Femur, Grey Ghost), violinist Tiffany Kowalski (Lullaby for the Working Class, Mayday, Shelley Short), and producer Alex McManus (The Bruces, Bright Eyes). On his new record, Gray plays with a crapload of Omaha musicians that are usually seen orbiting around Simon Joyner. It’s a folkie treat in a style that is right at home with Simon and Outlaw Con Bandana. Hear for yourself at his myspace page. That said, it makes sense that he’s playing with Simon tonight, who, according to Ed, will be backing him along with the rest of the band, which he refers to as The Wind-Up Birds. Don’t know if this is a different line-up than we usually see in The Fallen Men or not, but there’s one way to find out. $5, 9 p.m.

But first, this member of the Academy for the Omaha Entertainment Awards will be venturing west, to Shag for the OEA showcase. The show starts at 7 and will include performances by Anonymous American, Scott Severin and a host of others (the schedule is here), while the American Music Awards are broadcast over Shag’s television screens. I suspect this will be a surreal event and that I and the rest of the Academy will be plied with booze, whores and drugs in an ill-fated attempt by the nominees to garner our votes. Fun!

There are a ton of questions that arose when the OEA nominees were announced last week, which I’ll attempt to answer in tomorrow’s column. Look for it, and a reflection on tonight’s festivities.

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