by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Catching up on that ol’ debble in-box…

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?

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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). 

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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. 

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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. 

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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
• – Swans, Sept 28 at The Waiting Room
• – Father John Misty, Sept. 30 at Astro Theater

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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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It’s Monday night in Omaha, which means concert night. Tonight it’s Bob Mould at The Waiting Room. And the show appears to have sold out over the weekend.

Mould’s latest, Here We Go Crazy (2025, Granary/BMG), is his first solo album since 2020’s Blue Hearts, and a respectable follow-up. If you’re a Mould fan, you’ll be satisfied, though compared to his early solo work, Sugar or his Husker Du output, it can be somewhat passive and predictable.

Everyone has their favorite Mould era. Mine is ’89-’90 Mould of Workbook/Black Sheets of Rain – one album a full-spectrum acoustic/electric gut-wrencher, the other an emotional tour de force that was a prelude to his more accessible work in Sugar. 

While there’s plenty of guitar and energy on the new record, it suffers from a lack of variety and feels like he recorded it over a weekend with his ol’ rhythm-section mates, bassist Jason Narducy and drummer Jon Wurster, who will be backing Mould tonight.

His 27-song setlist from last Friday’s show at Marquis Theater in Denver included only five songs from the new album along with seven Husker Du songs (including favorites es: “Love is All Around”/“Makes No Sense at All,” which he closed the show with). Also, a nice selection from his last few albums, but alas, nothing from Workbook/Black Sheets. You can’t always get what you want. Mould has been known to throw in a wildcard, so you never know. 

There could be as many folks at TWR tonight to see The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn as to see Mould. Finn’s new album, Always Been (2025, Tamarac/Thirty Tigers), has been getting plenty of huzzahs, including a review by the dean of rock critics, Robert Christgau, who gave the record an “A” and said “its 11 songs achieve a literary pitch that could win this alt-rock lifer a short story prize.” He also said the story-songs can be a bit of a bummer, but such can be the case from aging rock stars looking back at their lives. 

Finn has only been playing nine songs on this tour (like at his April 7 show in Seattle, according to Setlist.fm), only three songs from the new album and no Hold Steady songs. I’m unsure if this will be a solo acoustic set or not. I guess we’ll find out tonight.

Like I said, it’s sold out. Show starts at 8 p.m. See you there.

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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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Here comes the weekend. It’s mostly local shows, but there’s one wild-card thrown in on Saturday night.

First, tonight at The Sydney in Benson, Indian Caves headlines a show with country bumpkins Lightning Stills and Wedding. I’m told that Lightning Still will actually be playing last after Indian Caves. Published start time is 8 p.m. $10.

Also tonight, Grapefruit Records is hosting an in-store performance by Expensive People – a new project featuring Lonnie Methe (Naturaliste), Alex Boardman (Shelf Life, Rake Cash, Watch the Stereo) and Bryan Day (Public Eyesore/Eh?). The trio has a new tape out on Baltimore’s Spleencoffin Records. Oakland’s Big Cat also is performing along with Omaha legend Dereck Higgins. This one starts at 7:30. I’m unsure the cost (if any). Grapefruit Records is located at 1125 Jackson St. in the Old Market. 

Saturday night it’s back to The Sydney for groovy Seattle trio Black Ends. They call their sound “Gunk Pop,” which is a ginchy way of describing their psychedelic garage rock. Their latest album, Psychotic Spew, came out last year on Youth Riot Records. This four-band bill also includes Trees with Eyes, Amphibaphobia and The Ivory Claws. $8, 9 p.m. 

Meanwhile, across midtown at fabulous O’Leaver’s Saturday night, Frankie Chiaro headlines a show with Watson & Co. and Katie Kasher. This one’s free and starts at 9 p.m. 

Finally, Sunday night Tulsa’s Township & Range headlines at Reverb Lounge. You may remember the band’s frontman, Travis Linn, from his work in Black Squirrels and The Electroliners. Opening is the duo of Matt Whipkey and Mike Friedman. $10, 7 p.m. 

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.

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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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

FYI: Record Store Day is tomorrow, Saturday, April 12. I didn’t realize this until I did a Google query.  It’s sure not like the old days when RSD information literally flooded my in-box and social media streams. 

Here’s the list of “RSD special releases” available in limited quantities (or not at all) at participating records stores, which in Omaha include Homer’s, Grapefruit, Vinyl Cup and Recycled Sounds. If I was still buying vinyl, I’d be looking for The House of Love, The Mission Neverland, Graham Parker & The Figgs and The Cure/Four Tet remix 12-inch. 

Despite listening to more music than ever, I haven’t bought a new vinyl album in a few years. I simply don’t have enough room in my house for more (I also don’t buy books anymore, preferring to check out what I read from one of our convenient local libraries). 

Ah, but when it comes to music buyers, I’m the exception. The Recording Industry Association of America last month released its 2024 year-end revenue report and according to their numbers, vinyl sales last year were the highest since 1984. 

“Vinyl’s 18th straight ascent scored nearly three-quarters of physical format revenue at $1.4B,” the RIAA reported, adding that for the third consecutive year, vinyl also outperformed Compact Disc sales, with 44M records shipped compared to 33M CDs. That said, CD sales grew 1% last year. 

Those 2024 numbers are impressive, but nothing compared to paid streaming, which last year exceeded 100 million subscriptions in the U.S. for the first time in history. “Streaming remained the biggest driver at $14.9B with paid subscriptions, ad-supported services, digital and customized radio, social media platforms, digital fitness apps, and others collectively accounting for 84% of total revenues for the third year in a row,” said the RIAA report.

Meanwhile, revenue from digitally downloaded music continued its decline – down 18% to $336 million. “Both digital album sales and individual track sales were down double digits,” the RIAA reported. “Downloads accounted for just 2% of US recorded music revenues in 2024, down from a peak of 43% of revenues in 2012.”

Ironically, the only music I buy these days outside a Spotify subscription and Sirius radio are digital downloads, and only because I don’t want to rely on a cellular signal when I’m listening to music while on a run. 

In case you were wondering, vinyl sales during the industry peak in the ‘70s reached north of 300 million units sold annually, according to RIAA. 

So, lots of people are buying vinyl, but are they listening to it? One of the most quoted statistics about vinyl came out of a 2023 trend report by research firm Luminate that said: “50% of consumers who have bought vinyl in the past 12 months own a record player, compared to 15% among music listeners overall.” The numbers were based on a survey of more than 3,900 U.S.-based respondents. 

The majority of those non-record-player-owning buyers, Luminate said, are “superfans” who want to support their artists by purchasing an “artifact.” I’ve always found the statistic a bit dubious, but then I think about all the comic book collectors who buy physical comicbooks and never read them, preferring to read them digitally for fear of harming their precious collectables.

Does it really matter why people are buying vinyl? The fact that the format continues to survive – and thrive – is pretty cool in an age when people are glued to their phones. So, here’s to another Record Store Day. And maybe you’ll run into me trying to find that Cure remix 12-inch…

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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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Last week it dawned on me that I better buy a couple VIP tickets to the 2025 Maha Festival, which is Aug. 2 down at the RiverFront Park. But much to my frustration, I couldn’t find an option to purchase VIP tix at the Maha etix webpage. 

The reason: Maha VIP tickets have already sold out. That was quick, and no doubt reflects the level of interest in this year’s line-up, headlined by Pixies, with Waxahatchee, Band of Horses, Magdalena Bay, Silversun Pickups and Little Brazil. 

Past Maha Festival VIP tickets were definitely worth the extra clams – food options, private bar, private AC restrooms and an exceptional viewing area. I have no idea where they’re setting up the VIP area for this year’s Maha festival, but it must be enticing if tickets sold out so quickly. 

General Admission tickets to Maha 2025 are still available for $79 (plus fees).

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Speaking of sold-out shows, while flipping through my Facebook feed last night I ran across a couple photos of David Nance and Mowed Sound opening the sold-out Jack White show at Steelhouse Omaha. To my knowledge, this was the first time a local band opened for a national touring band at Steelhouse. 

I guess that’s one of the benefits of having your latest album released on White’s Third Man Records label. 

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V.V. Volume 1 is a new compilation album announced over the weekend with a drop date of June 6. The 7-song vinyl album will include new songs by local artists Lodgings, Custom Catacombs, Neva Dinova, Ash Rayne Boe, The Sun-Less Trio, Violenteer and Stephen Bartolomei, who appears to be one of the folks behind the project. 

“There’s something distinctively collaborative about making a vinyl compilation album in 2025,” Bartolomei wrote on the project’s Bandcamp pre-order page. “Each recording includes past bandmates, tour mates, local repair technicians, studio engineers, and longtime friends. Putting together music for vinyl requires a high level of trust.”

Indeed. Four of the seven tracks were recorded at Mike Saklar’s Ant-Records, while the remaining were recorded at various studios in Omaha and Kansas City. 

The album will be celebrated with a release show June 6 at Slowdown with performances by six of the seven bands on the album. How did all this come about? I’ll let you know when I know more.

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Lady Lamb is singer/songwriter Aly Spaltro, who you may remember as Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, a moniker she dropped shortly after her 2013 debut, Ripely Pine. She’s actually been releasing EPs and LPs since 2009, bouncing between indie labels Ba Da Bing Records and Mom + Pop Records. Her latest, In the Mammoth Nothing of the Night, is a box set that includes a remastered version of Ripely Pine along with new recordings of songs written during that era. 

No doubt you’ll be hearing some of those songs tonight when Lady Lamb plays at Reverb Lounge. Massachusetts singer/songwriter Hannah Mohan opens the show at 8 p.m. $22.

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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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

First off, it’s the first Friday of the month and that means Benson First Friday (#BFF). Artists will be showing their wares in galleries and shops up and down Maple Street tonight, including at Ming Toy Gallery, 6066 Maple St., where we’ll be hosting the opening of Courtney Kenny Porto’s latest collection, “Shiney & Bright.” Come by, check out the art, have a drink and a treat. Love to see you. 

I am currently listening to Manic Fever, the latest studio album by Des Moines punk trio Greg Wheeler and the Poly Mall Cops (2023, High Dive Records). It sounds like sort of a hybrid between, say, Jay Reatard and early White Stripes. I actually quite dig it. Well, most of it. You might remember Wheeler from The Slats or Night Stories. The new project has opened for the likes of No Age, Bob Log III, Death Valley Girls, and so on. See them headline tonight at The Sydney. $10, 9 p.m. (Sydney Time)…

Wheeler is hardly a substitute for Jack White, whose playing at Steelhouse Omaha Saturday night. But that show has long been sold out. However you can find tickets online at Stubhub.com for a mere $82, which is actually pretty cheap if you’re a super fan – certainly cheaper than driving somewhere to see him. This one starts at 8 p.m. 

If you can’t get tickets or White simply ain’t your thing, check out Housewares at Reverb Lounge Saturday night. The new project by Fromanhole’s Doug and Daryl Kiser is a five-piece noise-rock band rounded out by Jason Koba of Thunder Power on drums, Scott Klemmensen of Reset on vocals, and Andy LaChance on keyboards. I caught the end of one song at their stage debut at The Sydney in November and it was violently loud! Speaking of violence, Randy Cotton’s band, Violenteer, also is on the bill, along with Sundown Effect. This will be a late night, starts at 9 p.m. $10. 

Finally, in the wildcard category, Sam Blasucci plays a peaceful, easy sounding SoCal style of indie rock (that borders on yacht). A modern-day Boz Scaggs? Maybe. Joining him Sunday at Reverb Lounge is Hudson Valley singer/songwriter Julia Zivic. $22, 8 p.m. 

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend!

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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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Didn’t get tickets to tonight’s Faint concert at The Waiting Room before it sold out weeks ago? Me, neither. Tickets were available at Stubhub.com for just north of $200 per ticket yesterday. 

Why wasn’t this concert held at The Admiral, Astro or any other venue larger than The Waiting Room? It’s tough to say. Both Admiral and Astro are available tonight. I’m guessing it was a joint decision by the band and the booker – 1% Productions – but still, it’s a head-scratcher. In the past, The Faint have played capacity shows at Sokol Auditorium – now called The Admiral – and based on the quick sell out, would have had not problem filling the old South Omaha ballroom again. Plack Blague and Jeff in Leather open tonight’s show at 8 p.m.

So, out of luck? Well, don’t fret. There are other things going on while all your friends are at The Faint concert. Among them is a concert just around the corner at Reverb Lounge headlined by California-based singer/songwriter Marlon Funaki. His dreamy style of guitar-driven indie pop appears to be entirely self-released, and despite not having record-label suport still has nearly a million monthly Spotify listeners. Is it the power of TikTok? I don’t know because I don’t have TikTok. Omaha newcomer Sand opens this show at 8 p.m.   $17.

Also tonight, Omaha’s indie folk orchestra, Midwest Dilemma, headlines at Slowdown’s front room. Joining them are Justin Bloss and Matt Cox. $12, 7 p.m. 

Back to tonight’s sold-out Faint concert… 

It’s surprising how the show sold out so quickly considering their tour isn’t supporting new music, but reissues of albums that came out literally decades ago. Here’s the setlist for their March 31 show at The Taft Theatre in Cincinnati, which they no doubt will replicate on stage tonight. It’s a well-balanced selection that includes songs from throughout their post-Media career, including a few nice dives into the under-appreciated 2019 album, Egowerks. 

I’ve heard and seen all these songs performed before (in some cases, over a dozen times). What will the band pull out of their hats to make this different than past shows? Likely nothing, as The Faint is one of those established acts that can continue to tour on the strength of their old material ad infinitum. I

The band isn’t not alone. Bright Eyes and Cursive — the other two jewels in the Nebraska/Saddle Creek triple crown of indie superstars — could also rest on their laurels and tour just playing past “hits,” but instead both bands continue to write, record and preform new music. 

They’re even finding ways to reinvent it. 

This past Monday, the bands released a “mash-up” track that combines BE’s “Lover I Don’t Have to Love” and Cursive’s “The Recluse.” The cleverly produced “Recluse I Don’t Have to Love” has been written about in just about every online publication that covers indie music. 

From the write-up included on the track’s Bandcamp page: 

“Best bud Carly (spouse to Cursive’s Matt Maginn) pointed out the musical hook and libertine similarities between (‘Lover I Don’t Have to Love’’s) lyrics, and ‘The Recluse’ by her husband’s band. For years it was an inside joke – ‘should we make a mashup, just for fun?’  And on the eve of Bright Eyes’ North American tour with Cursive, the Kash-up mashup dream has become a reality.  And it weirdly works.  Carly was right.”

The track is available from both Bright Eyes’ and Cursive’s bandcamp pages and judging by the “supported by” tiles, they’ve sold a shit-ton of copies. All profits from the song will benefit the Poison Oak Project, Bright Eyes’ 501C3 non-profit dedicated to advancing equity for LGBTQ+ people, with a particular focus on supporting the trans community.

One has to wonder if they’ll try to perform the mash-up when the two bands play April 27 at The Astro. I think if they do, it should happen during Cursive’s set, as of the two tracks, “The Recluse” has the upper hand with around 16 million plays in Spotify vs. “Lover’s” 12 million. And besides, all Conor would have to do is walk out and sing it.  By the way, you may want to buy your tickets to that one now before it also sells out…

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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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Two rock shows are on my radar this weekend. 

Saturday night Mike Saklar and his band Sun-less Trio are opening for Radical Sabbatical at fabulous O’Leaver’s. Saklar is easily one of the most innovative guitarists in town. Also on the bill is a band called So It Goes, who I’ve never heard. Hey, why not take a chance, the show is FREE. And any night at O’Leaver’s can become an adventure (if you want it to be). Showtime is 9 p.m. 

Sunday night, Chicago act Worry Club, a.k.a. singer/songwriter Chase Walsh, headlines at Reverb Lounge. It’s shy-guy indie-pop that kind of reminded me of Cavetown (but not nearly as fey). Carver Jones and the American Dreamers – fresh off a show last night at O’Leaver’s – opens this one at 8 p.m. $24. 

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.  

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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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I haven’t been on vacation. There just hasn’t been anything to write about lately from an indie music perspective. 

It’s been woefully quiet the past few weeks around here, with little happening for the balance of the month except for tonight’s Velveteers show at The Slowdown and Worry Club at Reverb Sunday. Things are looking up in April, however, where I count 14 touring indie bands coming through town. 

In retrospect, last March Omaha hosted shows by Sun June/Wild Pink, Color Green, Willy Mason and Jenny Lewis – not exactly a beehive of touring indie activity. So, it’s a slow month. The good news is there is a shit-ton of great new indie albums that have dropped or are about to. The music pipeline is as robust as ever, we just need to convince the hot new bands (and the local promoters) to book shows here. 

Tonight’s show by The Velveteers is a return engagement by the Boulder, Colroado, alt-rock band who played at Slowdown last April. This time they’re supporting a brand new album, A Million Knives, released this past February by Easy Eye Sound/Concord. Like their previous album, 2021’s Nightmare Daydream, the new record was produced by Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach and continues to sport a similar glammy, Garbage, alt-rock vibe. In fact, the album’s first single, “Go Fly Away,” was written by Auerbach and BK partner Patrick Carney. 

Tour mates Girl Tones is the Bowling Green, Kentucky, duo of sisters Kenzie and Laila Crowe playing a fuzzy, White Stripes-style of alt rock. They worked with Kentucky pals Cage the Elephant on their debut single, “Fade Away.”  

Omaha’s Magū, fronted by singer/songwriter David McInnis, opens tonight’s show in Slowdown’s front room at 8 p.m. $20. 

If alt-rock ain’t your thing, swing by fabulous O’Leaver’s tonight for The Club’s debut of Carver Jones. I recapped Jones’ rising trajectory (including working with a number of big-name producers) in a Lazy-i feature story that ran last November, right here, where-in I wondered if Carver will be the next big thing to escape from Omaha. His latest single is “Problems” – still no idea if he’s found that illusive record label he was searching for.

Jones is the opener for Butte, Montana, R&B/retro dance couple Desperate Electric, whose latest LP is 2024’s Don’t Fall in Love. It’s bound to turn O’Leaver’s into the disco dance club it was always destined to be. This one is free and starts at 8 p.m.

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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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Tickets for the Maha Festival go on sale this morning at 10 a.m. The pricing for the one-day event Aug. 2 at Heartland of America Park/RiverFront, according to the etix website:

• – General Admission: $79
• – VIP: $139

What do you get for the VIP? Access to the following “exclusive amenities”:  

• – AC Restrooms
• – Upgraded Food Options
• – Private Bar
• – Exclusive Viewing Area

In my personal experience, the VIP tickets are worth the additional $40, especially if you dig the line-up and intend to be there all day. Unlike past Maha Festivals, this 6-band bill will bring people to the park early and keep them all day.

Read more about the line-up in yesterday’s blog post, and get yer tickets at mahafestival.com. 

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If you missed out on tickets to that long sold-out Riley Kiley show slated for Sept. 17 at The Astro, you’re in luck. Mammoth Productions announced this morning that they’re moving the show to the larger Astro Amphitheater. Purchased General Admission tickets from indoors will now be honored for General Admission Lawn Access outdoors. Reserved seats from indoors will be relocated to seats in Sections 101-107 outdoors.  Hope it doesn’t rain. 

As a result, tickets are again on sale for this show. 

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This will be a quick weekend look ahead as only one show is on my radar. Two Chicago-based post-metal instrumental bands are playing at Slowdown tonight. 

The trio Russian Circles has been at it since 2004 and made a big splash with their 2008 album Station (Suicide Squeeze) that kinda/sorta defined a high-energy post-rock style more driving and less cinematic than, say, a band like Mogwai. They carry on guitar-fueled noise rock on their latest album, Gnosis (2022, Sargent House). Head-waggin’ metal instrumentals, too smart and fast for the doomies out there.  

Chicago brethren Pelican is more of the same – buzzing metal instrumentals, though from my casual listening seems to have more variety and “wandering” in their compositions. As such, they’ve been thrown into every loud category, from post-metal to stoner to doom. The two tracks from their new album, Flickering Resonance (out this May on Run for Cover Records), actually have a post-grunge vibe. Lots o’ “post-s” with these bands. 

Both bands with have room to roam on Slowdown’s main room stage. 8 p.m. $34.50. 

And that’s all I got. Pretty quiet around here these days. Things are looking up in April, though. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend. 

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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.