Bethlehem Steel plays tonight at O’Leaver’s.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

A couple quick news items…

Cursive’s Tim Kasher is among the more than 1,000 artists who have pledged to boycott Amazon festivals because of the company’s ties to ICE. Amazon Web Services is presenting the Intersect festival in Las Vegas.

“We the undersigned artists are outraged that Amazon continues to provide the technical backbone for ICE’s human rights abuses,” said the statement on the Fight for the Future website. 

The artists are pledging to not participate in Amazon-sponsored events, or engage in exclusive partnerships with Amazon in the future, until Amazon publicly commits to terminating existing contracts with military, law enforcement and governement agencies that commit human rights abuses. ICE was among those agencies listed. 

“We will not allow Amazon to exploit our creativity to promote its brand while it enables attacks on immigrants, communities of color, workers, and local economies. We call on all artists who believe in basic rights and human dignity to join us.”

Along with Kasher, other artists who signed the pledge include Ted Leo, Sadie Dupuis, Control Top, Pujol, Stef Chura, Deerhoof, Of Montreal and Bethlehem Steel, who are playing tonight at O’Leaver’s. See the full list at the website.  

* * *

New Algiers. The album, There Is No Year, comes out Jan. 17 on Matador. For the love of god, someone please book a show in Omaha. Currently their closest pass is Chicago April 3.

* * *

Tonight at O’Leaver’s the aforementioned Bethlehem Steel returns. The band’s self-titled sophomore album came out Sept. 13 on Exploding in Sound Records. Their sound is indie with a proggy edge fronted by Becca Ryskalczyk. It’s a great slate of openers tonight including Sean Pratt, Megan Siebe and Nutrition Fun. $7, 9 p.m. 

* * *

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 © 2019 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.