by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

From an indie-music perspective, there are zero shows happening this weekend – national or local. 

The closest thing to an indie concert is ‘90s MTV band Cake at The Astro Amphitheater on Sunday. The band’s ’96 breakout album, Fashion Nugget, was released on Capricorn Records. It includes the classic single, “The Distance,” which has a quarter-billion plays on Spotify. Cake would eventually jump to Columbia Records. 

I always thought Cake songs had fun bass lines. They would have been an interesting “get” for the Memorial Park Concert. Instead, we “got” Ringo Starr. Oh well. Tickets are $55; show starts at 8 p.m. with no opener.

Rock shows return next weekend with the Leafblower album release show at Reverb and the big V.V. Volume I show at Slowdown; the following weekend Head of Femur plays Reverb. The next touring indie show is Panchiko at Slowdown June 8. 

Below is the updated list of touring indie shows on my radar.  What am I missing?

• – 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
• – Mikaela Davis, June 29 at Reverb
• – 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 Slowdown
• – The Head and the Heart, Aug. 10 at Astro Amphitheater
• – Mal Blum, Aug. 12 at Slowdown
• – Clan of Xymox, Aug. 15 at Reverb
• – Gregory Alan Isakov, Aug. 18 at The Astro
• – Brooks Nielsen (of Growlers), Sept. 8 at The Waiting Room
• – DEHD, Sept. 15 at Slowdown
• – Rilo Kiley, Sept. 17 at The Astro Amphitheater 
• – The Damned, Sept. 17 at Slowdown
• – Nilüfer Yanya, Sept. 19 at The Waiting Room
• – The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Sept. 23 at Slowdown
• – Swans, Sept 28 at The Waiting Room
• – Samia, Sept. 29 at The Waiting Room
• – Nation of Language, Sept. 29 at Slowdown
• – Father John Misty, Sept. 30 at Astro Theater
• – Gary Numan, Oct. 2 at The Admiral
• – French Police, Oct. 4 at Reverb
• – Franz Ferdinand, Oct. 7 at The Admiral
• – Elvis Costello & The Imposter, Oct. 22 at Steelhouse Omaha
• – Pixel Grip, Oct. 22 at Reverb Lounge

. 0 0 0 .

Today, Alan Sparhawk of the band Low released a new album with fellow Duluth musicians Trampled by Turtles. This is not the first album Sparhawk has released since the 2022 death of his wife and partner in Low, Mimi Parker, but it is a return to the same voice and songcraft we’ve come to know him for.

Why Trampled by Turtles? From the one-sheet:

As friends and mentees of Low’s, taken under Sparhawk and Parker’s wing from their earliest days as a bar band—Trampled by Turtles have performed with Sparhawk countless times over the years. The Duluth ties run deep: “There’s a certain vibe that has to do with underdog syndrome, coming from a small town,” Sparhawk muses. “Some of it is the weird grind and slackness that being at the mercy of Mother Nature puts in you. It humbles you.”

Among the new songs on this collection, “Too High,” “Princess Road Surgery,” and “Not Broken” were all tracks Parker and Sparhawk had conceptualized and had been working on in the last few years. 

Maybe someone somewhere could book an Omaha show forAlan Sparhawk and Trampled by Turtles? Just sayin… I’d go.

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.