by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The above headline is like tossing a lit grenade in the room full of indie kids. I have no idea what Maha Music Festival’s current status is. The rumors are that Maha is over, done, won’t be back next year. I’m not so sure, though, and see no reason why it would end except that the Maha folks have yet to provide any updates on the festival’s status for 2025. 

But if Maha is over, Grrrl Camp could easily slide in and take its place. In many ways, it reminded me of Maha – its lineup, the vendors/festival atmosphere, the laidback feel of the crowd, even the location, which brings me to Falconwood Park in Bellevue.

This was my first time inside the confines of the Falconwood compound, having skipped the last couple years of Outlandia, partially out of concerns about the facilities and access. Though it’s only a quick 25-minute drive via the Interstate, there’s always been a “do-I-really-want-to-drive-all-the-way-out-there?” sort of feel about it. All the photos I’d seen made it look like Falconwood is an empty field near the banks of the Platte River – muddy, mosquitos, parking in a grass field, etc. 

Well, I’m here to tell you, Falconwood was worth the trip. They have a pretty amazing set-up. Getting there is easy via a two-lane county road off the interstate that takes you to a very narrow access road (easy, but I wonder how easy if, say, 8,000 people headed to the concert). Signage makes it hard to miss, though we did go in through the camping entrance by mistake. Parking was, indeed, in a grassy field near the campgrounds but was only a few yards from the concert area. 

One of the first buildings you encounter is the facilities’ west lodge, a very cool structure with a stage, a full bar and probably a kitchen (though they weren’t serving food), with bathrooms and booths along one wall. I asked one of the organizers what would happen if there was a heavy rain during the concert, and she told me they’d take it into the lodge, but the structure’s capacity could be more than a few hundred. 

Beyond that was the festival area, with more vendors than I’ve seen at any other local music festival. There must have been 100 vendor tents, most selling clothing, jewelry, art and tchotchkes (I saw one selling shoes!). Food trucks were set up along the back – maybe a half-dozen of the usual suspects (the El Churro Spot had the longest lines).  

More vendor tents and picnic tables ran along the edges leading up to the stage area, and, just eye-balling it, I’d guess that the footprint for this section of Falconwood is smaller than Stinson Park at Aksarben Village (but this is just a fraction of Falconwood – more on that later). 

Maybe it was the fantastic weather, maybe it was the bands, maybe it was the size of the crowd, but the whole thing felt very chill and fun. We got there on Saturday afternoon right before Girl Ray took the stage, found a spot about 30 yards from the stage, and dropped our folding chairs complete with a Modelo tallboy in hand (alas, I didn’t see any Rolling Rock in their coolers).  

I’d guestimate the crowd was around 200 not including the army of vendors. Organizers say Grrrl Camp attracted 1,000 people over the course of the weekend (again, not including vendors), which is much less than your typical Maha festival. That said, for its second year (and first with national touring bands), it’s a good start. 

Leeds, England, band Girl Ray played tunes off their latest LP, Prestige (2023, Moshi Moshi), which were fun, un-cheesy disco rock songs. I don’t think they play many U.S. festivals, and said they were surprised to get the call for Grrrl Camp. With the weird CrowdStrike outage impacting airports earlier, they had to take a series of overnight flights from LA to make it to the festival, but seemed happy they did.

This stage at Falconwood is a permanent structure and is really all they need for this portion of the park. The sound was fantastic, especially with this band. The young, fashionably hipster crowd happily bounced to the beat. Yeah, it was mostly women in the audience, but there were plenty of dudes, too.  There also was a small army of people slinging SLR cameras taking photos everywhere – there must be a shit-ton of aspiring rock photographers in Omaha. 

After a quick switch-out and some bumping DJ action, Nashville’s Annie DiRusso and her band were next. Their sound is more akin to modern indie rock, reminiscent of Blondshell and other artists who were clearly influenced by Liz Phair. She played most of the songs off her 2023 EP, God, I Hate This Place, as well as new songs from her upcoming debut full-length (which I think she said drops next month). 

Their mix was much heavier and louder (in went my earplugs), which made things sound chunkier and less refined than her recordings. These folks apparently drove from Seattle to make this festival, which in itself was impressive. 

In case you didn’t know, Charlie XCX’s new album, brat, has been deemed the album of summer 2024. DiRusso invented the term “NeBratska” in its honor, which she rolled out when introducing her band’s unique, rocked-out cover of “Apple” from that album – a highlight. 

After DiRusso’s set, the fine folks at Falconwood gave me a quick tour of the entire facility (via golf cart), including where the upcoming Outlandia Festival will be held on the opposite side of the park. That concert space is immense, surrounded by old cabins that have been renovated for camping (or glamping). There is little doubt that Outlandia will be a completely different concert experience than Grrrl Camp (both are booked by 1% Productions) and more akin to the mammoth machine that was the Maha Music Festival. 

The Outlandia Festival, by the way, is in just a few weeks – Aug. 9 and 10 – and will feature headliners The Flaming Lips, The Head and the Heart and The Revivalists, along with a fetching (and, in my opinion, more interesting) undercard that includes The Faint, Dinosaur Jr., Buffalo Tom (yes, that Buffalo Tom), Devotchka, Flipturn and more. 

The story behind Falconwood is kind of inspiring and something I hope to pursue at a later date.

Hurray for the Riff Raff were on stage when we got back to the Grrrl Camp area. Their folk-tinged rock was the perfect compliment for a beautiful evening outdoors. No doubt the medical tent was kept busy doling out mosquito repellant (I certainly got my share). 

We left before Indigo de Souza, whose music I love but who I’ve seen before. Because of our timing, getting out of Falconwood was simple, but like I said, I’m not so sure how it all works when you have a few thousand people leaving at once. 

The moral of this rather long-winded review is to not be afraid of Falconwood Park. The facilities are awesome. The location – while nowhere near as convenient as Stinson Park – is easily accessible from Omaha (though the jury is still out regarding traffic during a big event), and holds far more potential than what Aksarben Village could provide. 

Hopefully Grrrl Camp will return next year, building on the buzz generated this year. I was trepidatious about the name, but I get it now. As long as that name doesn’t hold back organizers from booking bands that don’t have at least one female member, I could see this festival growing to Maha proportions. 

Ah, Maha, what has become of thee?

* * *

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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.