Josh Hoyer and the Shadowboxers will be celebrating their CD release Saturday night at The Slowdown.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Junkfest #20, brought to you by Unread Records (read all about the label and its founder, Chris Fischer, right here), is tonight and tomorrow at the Sweatshop Gallery in Benson. Yesterday, Simon Joyner published a new schedule for the event:

Friday

Nathan Ma & the Rosettes (9-9:30)
Razors (9:45-10:15)
I am the Lake of Fire (10:20-10:45)
Joe Kile (10:50-11:30)
Chauchat (11:35-12:20)
Church of Gravitron (12:30-end)

Saturday

Restaurnaut (9-9:30)
Plundershop (9:40-10:10)
Mean Spirited Robots (10:15-10:45)
L Eugene Methe (11:00-11:30)
Simon Joyner & the Ghosts (11:40-12:20)
Ramon Speed (12:30-end)

It’s $8 per night or $13 for both nights. And there’s a large art show going on in the gallery as well, just in time for Benson First Friday.

Also tonight (and part of BFF) Millions of Boys plays at the Parlour 1887 salon with LA’s Allison Weiss (No Sleep Records). Music starts at 8, and this one’s free.

Not part of BFF, Travelling Mercies headlines tonight at fabulous O’Leaver’s. Also on the bill is Kait Berreckman Band and Michael Wunder. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Also tonight, Mitch Gettmann opens for Texas singer/songwriter Israel Nash. $10, 9 p.m. at Reverb.

Saturday night is the big Josh Hoyer and the Shadowboxers CD release show at The Slowdown. My comments about Hoyer’s new record, from this column in The Reader:

Josh Hoyer and the Shadowboxers, Living by the Minute (Silver Street) — As I told Hoyer in a gush email, I don’t know anything about this genre of blues/funk other than what I learned from Sharon Jones + the Dap Kings, but he and his band do it as well or better than most of the bands in this category. Why he hasn’t been “discovered” yet is a mystery, though I’m told word is getting out about this Lincoln combo.

Opening is Funk Trek, Paa Know’s By All Means Band. $8, 9 p.m.

Finally Sunday night, Shreveport badasses Ghost Foot headline at O’Leaver’s. Opening is Omaha’s newest stoner/sludge rock combo Nightbird and Ted Stevens Unknown Project. $5, 9:30 p.m.

That’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a good 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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Junkfest #20 is Nov. 7-8.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Eclectic tape/record label Unread Records, owned and operated by Nebraska ex-pat Chris Fischer, yesterday announced its “annual festival of grand musics and art,” Junkfest #20.

The epic two-day festival takes place at Sweatshop Gallery Nov. 7 and 8 and includes performances by Simon Joyner, Church of Gravitron, Lonnie Methe, Ramon Speed and lots more. In addition there will be art by Dennis Callaci, Charlie McAlister and others along with “large amounts of pickled eggs and BBQ and hot dogs and shit like that just cause,” Fischer announced. More info as it’s provided. This cotillion has become the must-not-miss social event of the fall…

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Everyone’s favorite audio chaos vendors Pro-Magnum just dropped a new self-titled LP on Bandcamp.  The album was recorded by Ben Brodin at ARC Studio. Says P-M frontman John Vredenburg, “We’re currently in the process of shopping labels and getting ready to press our records.” But you don’t have to wait for some label exec, simply download the LP now right here from Bandcamp.

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New Lungs also dropped a new single yesterday via Bandcamp. The release includes two versions of new song “You Look Lost” — a studio version recorded at Matt Carroll’s Little Machine Studio (and tape mastered by Mike Saklar), and a live version recorded at O’Leaver’s by engineer Ian Aeillo.

In other New Lungs news, the band recently welcomed new drummer Tab Tworek, as Corey Broman now is shifting to keyboards. Of course the band is fronted by Danny Maxwell and rounded out by bassist Craig Fort.

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Tonight at Reverb Sub Pop band Avi Buffalo takes center stage. The band’s recent album, At Best Cuckold (2014, Sub Pop) got a big ol’ 7.2 on the Pitchfork meter. Something about the band’s upbeat indie sound and Avi Zahner-Isenberg’s voice reminds me of super-early Built to Spill or some other PNW band from that era. Staffers opens. $12, 9 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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.