COVID-19 is making this year’s Lincoln Calling festival a virtual affair. The organization today announced the 2020 full line-up, performing on “three virtual stages” over three days, Oct. 1-3.

“Even though we can’t hang out and celebrate in person this year, we are dedicated to bring you the concerts, education panels, and art installations you have become accustomed to each and every year at Lincoln Calling,” said the press release. “Join us across three digital stages, as we broadcast live on YouTube, Facebook, and LincolnCalling.com.”

The line-up includes Oshun, Mykki Blanco, Black Belt Eagle Scout, Adult., Madame Gandhi and Kississippi, as well as locals Domestica, And How, Bach Mai and more. The full line-up is at lincolncalling.com.

While the event is technically free over streaming platforms, the organization is accepting “pay what you can” tickets with all proceeds going to support “Nebraska’s arts and culture, with a percentage of the proceeds being donated directly to our Lincoln Calling music venues, who are facing difficult times due to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

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Remember how I said there should be more outdoor live events with proper social distancing? Well the Bemis Center is doing just that tonight outside at Low End, which I guess means outside the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts.

The line-up for the show, titled Low End on the Bricks, is Omaha R&B artist Mesonjixx, electronic instrumentalist / local legend Dereck Higgins, and synth performer teetah. While the good news is the show is free; the bad news is the limited-attendance event has been been SOLD OUT for weeks.

Still, you can watch the performances virtually from home via twitch.tv/bemiscenter or the Bemis Facebook page from 6 to 10 p.m.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily (if there’s news) 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 © 2020 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Thick Paint at Slowdown Jr., March 30, 2018. The open for Ian Sweet and Young Jesus Sunday at O’Leaver’s.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Looks like Simon Joyner no longer is leading the Bemis’s new Sound Art and Experimental Music Residency Program mentioned here a couple days ago.

From the Bemis Center Facebook page:

Simon Joyner will not be leading the program. We will soon be opening a national job posting to find the best candidate to lead this program. Additional decisions about the program will be made after a reevaluation of the needs is complete. These changes and decisions take time.

It also appears, via Facebook, that producer Ben Brodin never was permanently involved in the project, but merely assisted early in offering some ideas about the space.

Joyner being named to the position last week sparked concern targeted at The Bemis Center. As Kevin Coffey reported yesterday in the GO Section of Omaha World-Herald, the Bemis organization fielded a number of e-mails, text messages and posts on social media. “The responses that we received were either supporting Simon or asking the Bemis to reconsider him as someone that would manage this new program, which we’re obviously thrilled to be launching next year,” said Bemis Executive Director Chris Cook in the OWH article.

Concerns about Joyner stemmed from his use of the N-word in a song he wrote that targeted racists and racism in America, released in 2017. Reporting on the controversy appeared in The Reader last November as well as in Lazy-i, which included a Q&A with Joyner about the topic.

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BTW, tonight’s Bemis benefit concert featuring Azure Ray / Destroyer (solo) is sold out.

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It’s the unofficial Halloween weekend at the clubs, which means krazy kostumes and very few live shows. Boo! (pun intended).

There’s a fundraiser tonight at fabulous O’Leaver’s for Kara Eastman. DJ Tyrone Storm (a.k.a. Roger Lewis), Dirt House, Sean Pratt and Stephen Bartolomei are all slated to perform. The show runs 8 to 11 p.m. and suggested donation is $10.

And here’s a walk on the wild side: Jason Steady and the Soft Ponies are playing a free gig at Burrito Envy in Benson tonight. Bradley Unit also is on the bill that starts at 9 p.m.

And there’s a real hum-dinger of a show going on at O’Leaver’s Sunday in the early evening featuring Ian Sweet, Young Jesus and Thick Paint. Sweet’s new album Crush Crusher came out today on Hardly Art. Young Jesus, the latest addition to the Saddle Creek Records roster, released their new LP, The Whole Thing Is There, last week. And Thick Paint is one of Omaha’s hottest properties. All three bands for just $7. Starts at 6 p.m. Get your tickets online here.

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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.