Lincoln’s old Royal Grove sign…

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I told you to expect changes at Hear Nebraska. Yesterday HN’s Andrew Stellmon announced that the organization’s website no longer will be covering music news, at least on a daily basis.

The site has provided daily local music news updates for the past few years. Now with the merger of Hear Nebraska and Lincoln’s The Bay to form Rabble Mill, HN is slightly altering its mission.

“Under Rabble Mill, we will still work to highlight and build-up Nebraska’s culture, and that most certainly includes music as well as art, skateboarding and other creative endeavors,” Stellmon wrote. “This time, everything will focus on youth, from those executing coverage and learning valuable skills to the stories they tell.

“What does that mean for Hear Nebraska dot org? Aside from a couple more pieces this week and two Good Living Tour stories early next year, the site will stop publishing for a time.”

I’ve had people ask me if this marks the end of Hear Nebraska. I think it might mark the end of HN as we knew it. Time will tell what the organization looks like in the future beyond not reporting music news daily. I don’t know if HN will continue to maintain its online gig calendar or cover rock shows via photography, though I’ve asked. I’ll let you know when I know.

I’m going to miss seeing all those bright, shiny Hear Nebraska faces at gigs with their cameras. HN was a good place to promote upcoming shows; the calendar (if it is, indeed, gone) will be missed. As for their show coverage, there’s a limit to what can be done creatively with gig photos — after awhile they all began to look the same. And HN writers kind of had their hands tied when it came to reporting shows for fear of offending a performer. HN — like SLAM Omaha before it — is all about supporting local music, not critiquing it.

In this Facebook era we live in, do we really need a website that provides daily local music news? Maybe, maybe not. Regardless, Lazy-i will continue to cover local and national indie music, be it on a daily basis or otherwise…

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More news yesterday…

Lincoln music venue Vega announced via its Facebook page that it’s closing for good after its New Year’s Eve show. The Mardocks — Eli and Carrie — are instead redirecting their efforts to the old Royal Grove property, which has been around since the 1930s. The new Royal Grove’s grand opening is Jan. 25, featuring a performance by DJ Darude. With a capacity of around 1,000, will Royal Grove also book some of the larger touring indie bands? Time will tell…

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Lazy-i Best of 2017

Speaking of news, did you miss the announcement about the Lazy-i Best of 2017 Comp CD?

The collection includes my favorite indie tunes I’ve come across throughout last year as part of my tireless work as a music critic for Lazy-i. Among those represented: SUSTO, David Nance, King Krule, Sheer Mag, Alvvays, LCS Soundsystem, Beck, Lupines, Uranium Club and lots more. The full track listing is here, or take a listen if you have Spotify.

So the big news is you, too, could win a copy of the CD. To enter, either: 1. Send an email with your mailing address to tim.mcmahan@gmail.com, or 2) Write a comment on one of my Lazy-i related posts in Facebook, or 3) Retweet a Lazy-i tweet. You also can enter by sending me a direct message in Facebook or Twitter. Hurry, contest deadline is midnight Jan. 5.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.