by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The announcement that early-aughts indie act Rilo Kiley has been booked to play The Astro in La Vista Sept. 17 (tickets went on sale this morning) has spurred speculation as to who will be headlining the 2025 Maha Music Festival. RK had been one of the front-runners.

The last time Maha hosted a festival back in 2023, organizers announced the line-up the last week of February. However, Outlandia Festival organizers — now part of the Maha Festival team — didn’t announce their 2024 festival until the end of March.  

So far Maha Festival organizers have only said that the one-day festival is taking place Aug. 2 at the new RiverFront Park in downtown Omaha. I was told the headliner was booked months ago, and rumors continue to float among the “indie illuminati” as to who it is.  A friend of mine who says he’s “in the know” but wouldn’t give me a name told me the headliner is a well-known band that hasn’t played here in a very long time, although several of its members have played here over the years in various side projects. That’s rather broad.

Don’t ask me, I’m out of the loop, but I can make some educated guesses based on a few factors: 

1. As mentioned, Maha “combined forces” with the Outlandia Festival after Outlandia’s demise in 2024. That mean’s Maha’s original four founders – Mike App, Tre Breshear, Tyler Owen and Mike Toohey – are back in some capacity. What that “capacity” is, I’m not certain. These guys are all Gen X’ers and love legacy indie acts. 
2. The production company that worked with Maha in the past and that used to produce the Outlandia Festival – 1% Productions – also will be back to produce this year’s Maha Festival. For you younger readers, 1% is a big reason Omaha became nationally known for its indie music scene in the early part of this century. And while they’ve expanded their booking focus to more mainstream pop, R&B and C&W acts for their venues (which include The Waiting Room, Reverb Lounge, The Astro and The Admiral theaters), 1% still has an immense network of indie music contacts.
3. Before making any guess, eliminate acts that are either already booked for Nebraska shows, nearby festivals or have played here in the past year. So strike a line through festival favorites Jack White, Future Islands, Rilo Kiley, Bright Eyes, The Faint, Gregory Alan Isakov, Bob Mould, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Bob Dylan, Mannequin Pussy, Lord Huron, Real Estate, Cursive, Black Country, New Road, Indigo Girls, MJ Lenderman, Fontaines, D.C., Of Montreal, Orville Peck, Flaming Lips, The Head and the Heart , The Lumineers and Lana Del Rey. 
4. Also eliminate bands that are either not touring or are already playing gigs Aug. 2. This tougher list includes Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arcade Fire, Beck, Wet Leg, Nation of Language, Phoebe Bridgers, Jamie XX, Adrianne Lenker, Nine Inch Nails, GBV and Wilco.

So who does that leave? 

• – Well, on top of my list is The Pixies, who are playing the Palace Theater July 31 and Aug. 1 in Minneapolis and have the next day off on their tour. The band would be quite a get for the first Maha Fest down at the much larger RiverFront Park, and I know the Outlandia guys love them some Pixies.

• – Next on the list: St. Vincent. She’s played a number of sold-out Omaha shows in the past and has an Aug. 30 date at Chicago’s Soldier Field.

• – The Black Keys, who cancelled a national tour a year or so ago, are back and are playing a spring/summer U.S. Tour followed by a European tour that wraps up in mid-July, followed by an Atlanta festival in mid September. For some reason, they’re an Omaha favorite.

• – And then there’s our old pals Spoon. The band reportedly has a new album coming out this year and begins a national tour at the end of August that so far doesn’t include Nebraska. This Maha Festival veteran would be a great draw.

Here are a few additional guesses that are more like wishes:

• – LCD Soundsystem – The band that keeps touring despite having broken up a few years ago is playing gigs throughout the spring and early summer, but are likely out of Maha’s price range. 

• – The Hard Quartet, the new band from Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus with Matt Sweeney, Jim White and Emmett Kelly. Their debut album came out last year on Matador and they’re touring the US and Europe throughout the spring and summer.

• – Waxahatchee – The indie folk act has managed to avoid Nebraska on all its tours, including their next U.S. tour, which kicks off in March and continues through September. 

• – Perfume Genius – They’ve got a hot new album coming out on Matador Records and their June tour skips Omaha. 

• – Sharon Van Etten – She also has a red-hot album out now on Jagjaguwar, but her early summer tour skips Omaha. 

• – Horsegirl – Too small to headline a festival, the band played Outlandia two years ago, but their new album is a critical smash and could make them this year’s Wet Leg. 

Also-run possibilities: Japanese Breakfast, the ever-present Father John Misty, Youth Lagoon.

One last clue about Maha’s festival line-up: I’ve been told by a couple organizers that “I’ll like some of the bands but not like others.” So what else is new? Isn’t that the way with any festival?

Who do you think Maha’s headliner will be? For now, we wait…

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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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.