by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Aaaaaand…. we’re back. Again.

If you believe all the hype, the pandemic is over and it’s smooth sailing from here on out. Right, we’ve all heard that one before. Even if it’s just a reprieve, I’ll take it.

Tour announcements have been hitting my email box hot and heavy. Unfortunately, the NOmaha trend continues, with so many acts bypassing our friendly (and numerous) stages. I guess we should be thankful for anything we get these days. Can’t say I blame the promoters for being gun-shy toward booking indie shows. Times have, indeed, changed. But while indie music is more popular than ever outside of our fair city, the jury’s out as to whether it’ll continue to draw crowds like it it did leading up to the pandemic.

And then there’s the question of how many concertgoers were lost after two years of COVID. Folks who went to shows before the pandemic have seen their lives change — older, new commitments, new family members, the list goes on and on. A changing of the guard is about to happen at Omaha’s music venues, a new audience will either augment or replace the old one. No doubt I’ll be seeing a lot of new faces at the clubs, and will miss seeing a lot of the old ones.

Moving on.

Atlanta singer/songwriter Faye Webster became one of indie’s frontrunners with the release of 2019’s Atlanta Millionaires Club on Secretly Canadian. She’s got a laid-back, swinging, rural style layered with plenty of pedal steel and her twanging, nasal vocals that remind me of Natalie Prass.

Faye and her band are hitting up The Slowdown Saturday night in support of her latest, I Know I’m Funny haha (again on Secretly Canadian). I believe this show was originally slated for the small room and was moved to the big stage weeks ago.

Opening for Webster is Richmond, VA’s Kate Bollinger, whose records are pressed by Ghostly International, and who has a more straight-forward indie rock sound in the Belle & Sebastian vein. $18, 8 p.m. This is a No Vax No Entry show, so bring your evidence. You may also want to have your mask at the ready. I think Douglas County dropped the mandate, but Slowdown might have different ideas.

THIS SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELLED!

Also Saturday night, Eric in Outerspace is headlining at The Sydney in Benson. Joining them are Sweet Streak along with Emma Lyness and the Legumes. There’s almost no details on this show. I suggest showing up around 10 and expect a $10 cover, more or less.

Hey, before all that happens, Nebraska’s own singing leather bondage geek, Plack Blague, is playing at Reverb tonight (Friday) with Gore-TXT. You want weird? You got it. $12, 9 p.m.

Finally, Sunday night Pageturners is hosting shows again, this time with Specter Poetics (Jack McLaughlin), Bellhead and David Schock. This free show starts at 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 © 2022 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.