The Julien Baker & Torres concert, slated for May 12 at The Admiral, was cancelled over the weekend. The reason: “Due to recent events, Julien Baker is prioritizing her well-being and taking time to focus on her health.” Refunds are being issued.
We’re just entering the spring tour season but most of the summer tours have been announced, and the schedule is looking kinda light indie-music-wise. However, last-minute touring shows pop up now and then.
Below is the updated list of touring indie bands on my radar. Let me know what I’m missing. The standouts (for me, anyway) are Florist, Built to Spill, Maha Festival, Rilo Kiley, Samia, Father John Misty and Elvis Costello.
– Future Islands, May 7 at The Admiral
– Julien Baker & Torres, May 12 CANCELED
– Being Dead, May 13 at Reverb
– Black Country, New Road, May 14 at Slowdown
– Spellling, May 15 at The Waiting Room
– Anna McClellan, May 17 at Slowdown
– Friko, May 20 at Reverb
– Florist, May 24 at Reverb
– Southern Culture on the Skids, May 27 at Waiting Room
– Panchiko, June 8 at The Slowdown
– Samantha Crain, June 17 at Reverb
– Har Mar Superstar, June 20 at Reverb
– Michael Cera Palen, June 24 at Reverb
– The English Beat, June 24 at The Waiting Room
– Holy Fawn, June 25 at Reverb
– Tripping Daisy, June 27 at The Waiting Room
– Hurray for the Riff Raff, July 15 CANCELED
– The Avett Brothers, July 17 at The Astro Amphitheater
– Built to Spill, July 20 at The Waiting Room
– Maha Festival, Aug. 2 at RiverFront Park
– Laura Jane Grace & Band, Aug. 2 at The Slowdown
– The Head and the Heart, Aug. 10 at Astro Amphitheater
– Gregory Alan Isakov, Aug. 18 at The Astro
– Brooks Nielsen (of Growlers), Sept. 8 at The Waiting Room
– Rilo Kiley, Sept. 17 at The Astro Amphitheater
– The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Sept. 23 at Slowdown
– Swans, Sept 28 at The Waiting Room
– Samia, Sept. 29 at The Waiting Room
– Father John Misty, Sept. 30 at Astro Theater
– Franz Ferdinand, Oct. 7 at The Admiral
– Elvis Costello & The Imposter, Oct. 22 at Steelhouse Omaha
Omaha-based alt-country act Clarence Tilton has been working the release of their latest album, Queen of the Brawl, since the first single, “Fred’s Colt,” dropped last October. The song featured contributions by country music legend Marty Stuart.
A second single from the album, “Flyaway Cafe,” featuring Tanya Tucker’s daughter, Presley, dropped a month later. It wouldn’t be until April 4 before the full album was released, and now, tonight, we get the album release show for Queen of the Brawl at Reverb Lounge.
Homer’s Music’s MarQ Manner interviewed the band for The Reader (yes, The Reader is back, but only online), wherein they talk about the new album. You can read that interview here. What I’d love to know is how much the Tiltons have invested in this record, from talent to production to promotion, and if it’s all paying off beyond self-releasing a quality collection of country-flavored story-songs.
There’s a worn-leather ease to Queen that reflects a band so comfortable playing together it seems like they’ve always been here and will be around long after we’re gone, not unlike the Midwestern plains that spawned them. While the Weber brothers, Corey and Chris, continue to be the band’s center-point thanks to their stellar guitar-pickin’ skills, don’t forget Paul Novak, who also sings on a number of tracks (He wrote the second Tucker-contributed song, “Pretty Things”). In fact, glance the liner notes and you’ll see all three Tiltons have songwriting credits throughout.
Stylistically, the album vacillates between traditional country and ‘90s alt-country, with songs like “Sorrow and Sail,” and “Fred’s Colt” recalling my favorite alt-country act, The Silos. But more traditional C&W ultimately wins out. If the band really wanted to pressure-test this album with a die-hard country crowd they’d play a dance hall like Bushwacker’s, where two-steppin’ is required (at least when they’re not hosting hair-metal bands). Is there any better compliment for country music than a dance-floor full of scootin’?
Anyway, opening for Clarence Tilton tonight at Reverb is Turn Turn Turn. $10, 8 p.m.
BTW, it’s also the first Friday of the month and that means Benson First Friday. Galleries and other businesses throughout Benson will be displaying art from some of the area’s finest talent. That includes at Ming Toy Gallery, 6066 Maple Street (right next to Legend Comics and Coffee), where we’re celebrating the opening of Nolan Tredway’s Alternate Plains. Come on by, check out this eye-popping art, have a drink and say hello. We’ll be there from 6 to 9 p.m.
The rest of the weekend is pretty light, at least when it comes to indie music.
Tomorrow night (Saturday) our old Kansas City friends Season to Risk plays at The Sydney in Benson. The band has been on the road in support of 1-800-MELTDOWN. Released last month on INIT Records, the record picks up right where they left off in the ‘90s. Latin-punk act Las Cruxes also is on the bill. The synth-and-drum duo Pagan Athletes opens the show at 9 p.m. $18.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend!
Politics sucked 20 years ago when George W. Bush was president.
In his first term, Bush invaded Iraq as a reaction to 9/11. The Iraq War’s death toll ranged from 151,000 to over a million Iraqis, depending on which study you point to. The numbers are still disputed to this day.
Ultimately, the war helped propel Bush to a narrow victory over democrat John Kerry in November 2004. And I can say from personal experience, a lot of people were pretty bummed about the prospect of the next four years.
Among them was Conor Oberst. Bright Eyes was about to reach the zenith of its popularity with the ambitious release of both I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn on Jan. 25, 2005. As part of the promotional tour for those albums, Bright Eyes appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on May 2, 2005 – a big deal for a band from Omaha. A year earlier, Bright Eyes had its network debut on Late Night With David Letterman, so national TV was nothing new, but this time, Oberst had something special up his sleeve.
Leno apparently had seen the rehearsal. During the opening monologue, when introducing the night’s guests, including Bright Eyes, Leno turned to bandleader Kevin Eubanks and said: “You hear the song he’s doing Kevin? I haven’t heard a protest song like this… you know I grew up in the sixties. I used to do a Jesse Winchester, a Jerry Jeff Walker, and Kris Kristofferson doing these anti-Nixon… This is a song that’s right up there. This will galvanize the audience. You’ll go one way or the other but you will have an opinion when he’s done.”
The performance took place at the tail-end of the show. Out walked Oberst with his acoustic guitar, dressed like a country singer, complete with a black cowboy hat. What happened next was pure TV Gold.
The song, “When the President Talks to God,” was released as a free iTunes download and was the B-side of a promotional 7-inch, with A-side “First Day of My Life.” It would go on to win Song of the Year at the 2006 PLUG Independent Music Awards and would help fuel the Dylan comparisons which Oberst never understood.
We thought we had it bad back then; we had no idea how bad things could become. Maybe it’s time for Bright Eyes to record the sequel…
* * *
Show-wise tonight, Oklahoma City band Husbands plays at Reverb with JW Francis. $20, 8 p.m.
Meanwhile, local rockers Cinema Stereo plays at The Sydney in Benson with Public Figure and the mighty Las Cruxes. $13, 9 p.m.
Saddle Creek Records has a history of discovering amazing talent and then somehow losing it to other record labels. One recent, unfortunate example is indie powerhouse Big Thief, who broke to a huge national audience with their debut studio album, Masterpiece in 2016, and the follow-up, Capacity, the following year, both released on Saddle Creek. But the band moved to legendary indie powerhouse 4AD Records with the release of U.F.O.F. in 2018.
Now Indigo De Souza, another rising indie star who got her start at Saddle Creek Records, has ditched the label after 2023’s All of This Will End, and today announced her full-length, Precipice, will be coming out July 25 on Loma Vista Recordings. Check out the first single, “Heartthrob,” below. De Souza will be doing limited touring, including performances at Pitchfork Festivals in London and Paris.
. 0 0 0 .
With Saddle Creek still in mind, today some news about Desaparecidos member Ian McElroy a.k.a. Rig 1. The former Omahan now New Yorker dropped a new single today, “Old Gaia,” that also features Brad Greenberg a.k.a. BrightA. It was released by Flower Moon Records, a label run by Maria Taylor of former Saddle Creek Records act, Azure Ray fame. Check it.
. 0 0 0 .
Saddle Creek got a shout out in the New York Times in a feature story about the Rilo Kiley’s “Resurrection” published this past Tuesday (link behind firewall). The article traces the band’s rise with the release of arguably their best album, The Execution of All Things, in 2002, and follow-up, More Adventurous, in 2004, both released by Creek. The band split with Saddle Creek for 2007’s Under the Blacklight, which came out on Warner Bros. They broke up a year later.
Now Rilo Kiley’s back and on the road again (including a show at the Astro Amphitheater Sept. 17), supporting last week’s reissue of Execution, again on Saddle Creek Records. The Times article states there’s a “greatest hits album” coming out on Saddle Creek; but are they talking about the reissue? Can’t imagine the Times being inaccurate…
. 0 0 0 .
Just a head’s up: As I was perusing upcoming shows on The Slowdown website, I noticed one of the few shows I was looking forward to seeing at the venue — Hurray for the Riff Raff — has canceled their July 15 show. No reason was given for the cancelation, as the tour continues to Chicago July 17…
. 0 0 0 .
One show that’s not cancelled is tonight’s Nada Surf concert at The Waiting Room. Described as an indie band, I’ve always thought of them as alternative, having scored a hit back in ’96 with the Weezer-ish track “Popular,” off their High/Low album, released on Elektra. Man, it must be weird singing that song almost 30 years later. The band has always made Omaha a tour stop, going back to the early 2000s. Chattanooga duo The Cle Elum opens the show at 8 p.m. $25.
Sometime around 2007, Omaha’s indie music scene had all its plates spinning in harmony — three very successful touring bands, an industry-respected record label, and two brand new, shiny venues destined to become the city’s most important indie music stages.
I began having a vision of a night when it all came together. It would be like in the film The Last Waltz, but instead of Robbie Robertson calling Neil Young or Joni to join him on stage, members from Omaha’s indie scene would come together and perform each other’s songs. After all, these bands grew up together and shared similar careers.
But it never happened. Maybe the closest we came was 2010’s Concert for Equality in Benson, a gig that saw performances by Bright Eyes, Desaparecidos and Lullaby for the Working Class, but even then, there was no mixing and matching, no classic moment where someone came in from the wings.
Well, last night’s Bright Eyes / Cursive concert at The Astro sort of filled that fantasy for me, at least with two iconic bands who grew out of the Nebraska scene. And it happened three times.
Cursive at The Astro Theater, April 27, 2025.
The first instance came toward the the end of Cursive’s propulsive opening set, which included all the usual chestnuts (“Sierra,” “Art is Hard,” “The Martyr,”) as well as a rousing version of “What the Fuck” from the new album, Devourer, and set-closer (and personal Cursive favorite), “From the Hips.”
Frontman Tim Kasher introduced the mashup-song, “Recluse I Don’t Have to Love,” giving no hints as to what was about to happen, simply saying, “Let’s see how this goes.” Halfway through the usual jangling version of “The Recluse” on bounded Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst as if he just got back from a trip to Cabela’s, wearing a camo-hoodie that partially obscured his face. He grabbed the mic and spit out lines from “Lover I Don’t Have to Love,” perfectly melding it with “The Recluse.” The crowd of around 1,200 (in my guestimation) went wild.
But the real mash-up moments came during Bright Eyes’ workman-like set. When the band first kicked off its tour late last year in support of their latest album, Five Dice, All Threes (2025, Dead Oceans), YouTube videos began popping up showing a groggy, out-of-it Oberst struggling to get through the night. Fans lambasted his performances on social media. In mid-September, the band announced it was cancelling or postponing tour dates “on the advice of doctors,” including an upcoming appearance at Riot Fest and a show at Steelhouse Omaha. Oberst reappeared in an online video in mid-October saying he “was feeling a lot better” and that the tour would go on in 2025 “if all goes well as planned.”
Bright Eyes at The Astro Theater, April 27, 2025.
Well, it obviously has, as Oberst appeared to be recovered from whatever ailed him last year. Considering last night’s Astro concert was the last of this leg of the tour, one would expect his voice to be slightly ragged, but Oberst was in fine voice throughout the night, preforming a 19-song set and three-song encore that included selections from throughout the Bright Eyes catalog.
Among the highlights were rousing versions of “Mariana Trench,” “Shell Games,” and a cover of Daniel Johnston’s “Devil Town.” Joining the core band of Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott were drummer Conner Helms Conor Elmes, bassist Alex Levine and multi-instrumentalist/vocalist MiWi La Lupa. Oberst did his usual politicizing when he introduced “Old Soul Song (for the New World Order),” imploring fans to do something – anything – to protest against actions of the current administration. “I, for one, do not plan to live in Elon Trump’s fascist wet dream,” he said. The crowd roared with approval.
But for me, the set’s high-water mark came when Oberst called members of Cursive to the stage to join him on a couple songs. First was a stunning version of “Nothing Gets Crossed Out,” from 2002’s Lifted, with Kasher handling most of the lead vocals and cellist Megan Siebe adding layers of emotional depth.
The second came during the encore. Oberst again called for Cursive, but especially for Ted Stevens, who would sing leads on a cover of Lullaby for the Working Class song “Hypnotist (Song for Daniel H.),” from 1997’s I Never Even Asked for Light. Stevens fronted Lullaby before joining Cursive. Siebe again joined him onstage along with drummer Pat Oakes. In both cases, Oberst joined in on vocals, and it was very much the kind of shared moment I’d always dreamed of. Siebe and Oakes remained on stage for a boisterous version of “Let’s Not Shit Ourselves (to Love and to Be Loved)” that closed out the night in celebratory style.
Now if we could only get The Faint to join Bright Eyes and Cursive on a tour…
You survived the worst monsoon/hailstorm since last year’s worst monsoon/hailstorm (leading up to next week’s worst monsoon/hailstorm) and deserve a weekend of premium indie rock shows. So where are they happening? Well, chum, you’ve come to the right place.
It starts tonight at Reverb Lounge. Cryogeyser is three-piece shoegaze band from El Lay fronted by singer/songwriter Shawn Marom whose latest self-titled album has been compared to ’90s-era Ride (by the folks at Monster Children), whereas I was reminded of ‘90s indie acts like Madder Rose and Scrawl. Their latest single, “Mountain,” features guest vocals by Karly Hartzman of Wednesday and is somewhat awesome (see video below). Joining them on this tour is Kansas City slowcore trio Flooding (an appropriate band for what we went through yesterday) and Lincoln’s Ghostlike. 8 p.m., $20.
Meanwhile, right down the street at The Sydney in Benson, Detroit alt-goth duo Vazum headlines. Omaha goth-rockers Absence+Alchemy opens at 9 p.m. $10.
Seems like this Ty Segall acoustic showcase happening Saturday night at Scottish Rite Hall (202 So. 20th St. in downtown Omaha) was announced over a year ago, and now here it is. This show is intriguing; my last Segall experience was one of the loudest concerts in memory. How will his songwriting translate in a quieter acoustic setting? You might be pleasantly surprised. Opening is Los Angeles singer/songwriter MIkal Cronin, whose worked with such acts as Thee Oh Sees, King Tuff, Shannon and the Clams.
My last Scottish Rite experience was for a Jenny Lewis show way back in March 2006. The hall was kind of a bare-bones concrete-stepped auditorium. Anyway… Tickets range from $30 (balcony) to $40; show starts at 8 p.m.
I’m happy to report that fabulous O’Leaver’s survived the Great Saddle Creek Flood of 2025 unscathed and is hosting a three-artist show with singer/songwriters Ronette Lee, Vernon John and Paul Petersen. The show’s free and starts at 9.
There’s also a sort of hidden show Saturday evening featuring Cowboy Eastern at Benson Theater as part of the Benson Film Festival. Fest organizers are taking a shot at adding live music to the event. Their set is scheduled for 6 p.m. and is $10 or free with an all-access pass. More info at bensonfilmfest.com.
Sunday is the big Bright Eyes/Cursive show at The Astro Theater in La Vista. It’s the last date of their joint tour and a sort-of homecoming that’s bound to include some surprises. Or maybe not. I guess we’ll see.
On this tour, Conor and Co. have been playing a 19-song set with 3-song encore that includes songs from throughout his catalog as well as a couple tunes with Cursive, even a Lullaby for the Working Class cover. Check out the setlist from last night’s show in Louisville.
Finally, competing with that big BE/Cursive show is UK punk band Bad Nerves at The Waiting Room. They describe themselves as the bastard child of a Ramones/Strokes one-night stand. Their last album, 2024’s Still Nervous, was released on Loosegroove Records. Very poppy, very fast, very fun. San Francisco rockers Spiritual Cramp is tour support. Omaha’s Social Cinema opens the show at 8. $25.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend!
Reverb Lounge continues to book some interesting acts; tonight it’s Brooklyn-based post-punk no-wave artist Pons.
The description at onerpercentproductions.com says Pons is an experimental project that began in North Carolina with guitarist/vocalist Sam Cameron and drummer Jack Parker. They added second percussionist Sebastien Carnot after they released their first EP in 2018, according to Totally Wired.
The band moved to NYC after the release of their 2020 debut, Intellect. Their 2023 full length, The Liquid Self, was released on Dedstrange Records, a label run by Death by Audio / A Place to Bury Strangers’ Oliver Ackerman, along with Mitchell O’Sullivan and Steven Matrick.
Their latest single is a cover of Suicide’s “Fast Money Music,” and appears to have some connection to Gogol Bordello, who posted the video. Reminds me lots of acts like Devo, Uranium Club and various egg punk acts. It’s not necessarily indicative of their overall sound, which is much more percussive, and weird.
Pons has become known in some circles for their madcap live shows. This one could be sneaky good. Opening the show is Omaha’s Trees with Eyes and Lincoln electropunks Benjamin Gear X. $15, 8 p.m.
It’s Monday night in Omaha, which means concert night. Tonight it’s Mssv (Main Steam Stop Valve) at Reverb Lounge.
The trio consists of free jazz guitarist Mike Baggetta, drummer Stephen Hodges, who’s worked with Tom Waits, Sam Phillips, James Harman and David Lynch, and legendary bassist Mike Watt, best known for his work in ’80s post-punk bands MInutemen and fIREHOSE, though Watt’s played with a ton of luminaries including Porno For Pyros, The Stooges, J Mascis, the list goes on and on. In fact, most folks at Reverb tonight will be there to see Watt. who’s one of the most amiable guys in rock. Seems like everyone has either talked to him (or interviewed him) over the years.
That said, Mssv has been a band since 2019. The story goes (according to Wiki), Baggetta and Watt recorded an album with drummer Jim Keltner, who didn’t like traveling, so they brought on Hodges to tour that album. The trio has since recorded six albums, including their most recent, On And On (2025, Big Ego Records). Their mostly instrumental, proggy music combines jazz and punk for a noisy, angular sonic stew. At age 67, and after a number of illnesses, it’s good just to see Mr. Watt is still at it.
Kansas City’s Dan Jones & The Squids plays a more straight-forward style of post-punk, with Jones crediting Minutemen, Robert Pollard and The Meat Puppet as influences. Their latest is 2023’s Rock and Roll Daydreams.
Opening the show at 8 p.m. is Omaha synth-and-drums punk duo, Pagan Athletes. $18. I wouldn’t be surprised if this one sold out…
I looked and looked, and there doesn’t seem to be any indie shows this weekend involving either local or touring indie bands. Omaha is a metropolitan area with a population of over 1 million. Just saying.
In the city’s defense, it is Easter weekend, and let’s face it, the weather sucks. In the old days, we’d say this was a Brothers weekend, as in a weekend to hang out at the Brothers Lounge. Ah, but The Brothers hasn’t been open in years.
My only recommendation would be to check out the Free Farm Spring Fundraiser at fabulous O’Leaver’s on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. “Find handmade local goods, awesome merch and always delicious food & drinks made from our locally grown produce!” says the event invitation. And it’s free, though they’re accepting donations.
If I missed a show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.
Former Omahan Mike Jawarski’s band SAVAK has an ew album coming out May 30 on Ernest Jennings Recording Co. called SQUAWK! (SAVAK, it seems, likes using all-caps). Their last album, Flavors of Paradise, was a welcome surprise and a high-water mark for the Brooklyn-based band.
Jaworski, known locally as Jaws, has Omaha music roots that go back to ‘90s band Hong Jyn Corp. He also ran Mt. Fuji Records, that released albums by local heroes Little Brazil. SQUAWK! is SAVAK’s seventh album. Check out the first single and video, “No Man’s Island,” below and pre-order the album here. BTW, still no future Omaha tour stops. What’s the deal, Jaws?
. 0 0 0 .
Omaha alt-country/Americana band Clarence Tilton released their third full-length, Queen of the Brawl!, April 4. They’ve been dropping singles from the album for months, including collaborations with Marty Stuart and Tanya Tucker’s daughter, Presley Tucker. The band’s album release show is May 2 at Reverb. The record is streaming on the usual services (though strangely, it’s not available on Bandcamp).
. 0 0 0 .
Sioux Falls post-punk band Shurr Jr. released their debut EP, Red Shelter, late last month via Omaha’s Max Trax Records. The power trio consists of guitarist/vocalist Nick Maxwell, drummer Frankie Maxwell and bass player Kelly Maxwell. The siblings’ father, Frank Maxwell, was an Omaha music legend who played guitar in the band Fifth of May in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Buy the digital album from their Bandcamp page.
. 0 0 0 .
Speaking of Max Trax Records, the label announced Monday Leafblower’s LP, Burn Cruise, is slated for release June 13. The band consists of guitarist/vocalist Danny Maxwell (Little Brazil), guitarist Clark Jahn, drummer Tab Tworek and bassist/vocalist Craig Fort (Lightning Stills). They’re calling their sound “doom metal,” and I guess maybe it is, in an old-school, Ozzie sort of way. Judge for yourself when you watch the video for their first single, “Unsatisfied.” Preorder the vinyl here.
. 0 0 0 .
Here’s the updated list of touring indie bands headed our way. Let me know if I’m missing anything. What’s my next show? Either Bad Nerves or Bright Eyes/Cursive – both shows are April 27. We shall see..
– MSSV, April 21 at Reverb
– Cryogeyser, April 25 at Reverb
– Vazum, April 25 at The Sydney
– Ty Segall solo April 26 at Scottish Rite
– MURS, April 26 at Reverb
– Bright Eyes, April 27 at The Astro
– Bad Nerves, April 27 at The Waiting Room
– Nada Surf, April 30 at The Waiting Room
– Husbands, May 1 at Reverb
– Season to Risk, May 3 at The Sydney
– Future Islands, May 7 at The Admiral
– Julien Baker & Torres, May 12 at The Admiral
– Being Dead, May 13 at Reverb
– Black Country, New Road, May 14 at Slowdown
– Spellling, May 15 at The Waiting Room
– Anna McClellan, May 17 at Slowdown
– Friko, May 20 at Reverb
– Florist, May 24 at Reverb
– Southern Culture on the Skids, May 27 at Waiting Room
– Samantha Crain, June 17 at Reverb
– Har Mar Superstar, June 20 at Reverb
– Holy Fawn, June 25 at Reverb
– Hurray for the Riff Raff, July 15 at Slowdown
– The Avett Brothers, July 17 at The Astro Amphitheater
– Built to Spill, July 20 at The Waiting Room
– Maha Festival, Aug. 2 at RiverFront Park
– Rilo Kiley, Sept. 17 at The Astro Amphitheater
– The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Sept. 23 at Slowdown
Recent Comments