by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Tickets for the Maha Festival go on sale this morning at 10 a.m. The pricing for the one-day event Aug. 2 at Heartland of America Park/RiverFront, according to the etix website:

• – General Admission: $79
• – VIP: $139

What do you get for the VIP? Access to the following “exclusive amenities”:  

• – AC Restrooms
• – Upgraded Food Options
• – Private Bar
• – Exclusive Viewing Area

In my personal experience, the VIP tickets are worth the additional $40, especially if you dig the line-up and intend to be there all day. Unlike past Maha Festivals, this 6-band bill will bring people to the park early and keep them all day.

Read more about the line-up in yesterday’s blog post, and get yer tickets at mahafestival.com. 

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If you missed out on tickets to that long sold-out Riley Kiley show slated for Sept. 17 at The Astro, you’re in luck. Mammoth Productions announced this morning that they’re moving the show to the larger Astro Amphitheater. Purchased General Admission tickets from indoors will now be honored for General Admission Lawn Access outdoors. Reserved seats from indoors will be relocated to seats in Sections 101-107 outdoors.  Hope it doesn’t rain. 

As a result, tickets are again on sale for this show. 

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This will be a quick weekend look ahead as only one show is on my radar. Two Chicago-based post-metal instrumental bands are playing at Slowdown tonight. 

The trio Russian Circles has been at it since 2004 and made a big splash with their 2008 album Station (Suicide Squeeze) that kinda/sorta defined a high-energy post-rock style more driving and less cinematic than, say, a band like Mogwai. They carry on guitar-fueled noise rock on their latest album, Gnosis (2022, Sargent House). Head-waggin’ metal instrumentals, too smart and fast for the doomies out there.  

Chicago brethren Pelican is more of the same – buzzing metal instrumentals, though from my casual listening seems to have more variety and “wandering” in their compositions. As such, they’ve been thrown into every loud category, from post-metal to stoner to doom. The two tracks from their new album, Flickering Resonance (out this May on Run for Cover Records), actually have a post-grunge vibe. Lots o’ “post-s” with these bands. 

Both bands with have room to roam on Slowdown’s main room stage. 8 p.m. $34.50. 

And that’s all I got. Pretty quiet around here these days. Things are looking up in April, though. 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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The line-up for the 2025 Maha Festival was announced late yesterday afternoon and it may be their best line-up ever: Pixies, Waxahatchee, Band of Horses, Magdalena Bay, Silversun Pickups and local heroes Little Brazil. 

There have been accusations that I had inside knowledge of the line-up prior to the announcement, based upon my Feb. 24 predictions, but nothing could be further from the truth. It was simply a matter of deduction. Pixies have always been a favorite of the folks who ran the now-defunct Outlandia Festival — all of whom are now involved in Maha. Pixies’ tour schedule also had a nice hole on Aug. 2, which happens to be Maha’s date. 

Formed in 1986 but active throughout most of the 2000s, many (including myself) have argued Pixies was the most important post-punk band of the ‘80s whose sound heavily influenced Nirvana and spawned the grunge era, pulling indie rock out of the underground and onto the pop charts. 

Three of the band’s original members remain: Black Francis, Joey Santiago and David Lovering, with Emma Richardson taking over the bass chores from Kim Deal. The band’s latest, The Night the Zombies Came, was released last October on BMG. 

The last time Pixies was scheduled to play Omaha was an oudoor gig at The Waiting Room, Sept. 16, 2021 – a show that was cancelled along with the rest of the band’s tour that year, likely due to COVID issues. Prior to that, you have to go all the way back to September 2010 when the band played The Orpheum Theatre. So, their return is a long time coming. 

My prediction that Waxahatchee could be at this’ year’s festival was more of a wish. The band – one of my favorites – has avoided Omaha since the pandemic. The last time they played Nebraska was Lincoln Calling back in 2018. Prior to that, they played The Waiting Room way back in 2014. Their latest album, Tigers Blood, came out in March 2024 on Anti- and their due for a new LP, hopefully this year. 

Band of Horses played the inaugural Outlandia Festival back in 2022. Their 2006 album, Everything All the Time (Sub Pop), contains the indie hit “The Funeral,” which has almost half a billion plays on Spotify. Their latest LP, Things Are Great (2024, BMG), continues along their dreamy, indie-jangle path. 

Electro-pop duo Magdalena Bay just played The Waiting Room last September, supporting their then just-released Imaginal Disk (Mom+Pop Records). Some folks online have commented that this year’s Maha line-up more resembles an Outlandia festival, but Magdalena Bay definitely targets the younger audience drawn to past Maha fests. 

Silversun Pickups should be very familiar to Omaha audiences. They just played here last April at The Admiral. Before that, they played at Slowdown in 2021, Stir Cove in 2013, Sumtur Amphitheater in 2012, Sokol Auditorium (now Admiral) in 2009, and Slowdown in 2007. 

Finally, it only seems right that the Omaha band that kicked off the Maha Music Festival way back in August 2009 at Lewis & Clark Landing – Little Brazil – open this year’s festival at its new RiverFront location in Heartland of America Park. 

That’s a strong line-up for a one-day festival that many feared may not return after the 2024 event was “paused.” Among the reasons given at the time: “…the worldwide festival industry has faced an unprecedented increase in costs for talent, transportation, labor, security and insurance.” There were other issues as well, including personnel changes in the Maha organization.

And now it’s back, arguably better than ever. No word yet on ticket prices, but we’ll find out when they go on sale Friday. 

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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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I’m back from my short vacation – spring ball in Clearwater Florida. Not much to say music-wise except I experienced a plethora of music styles (primarily Latin/dance/retro hip-hop) while riding in various Ubers/Lifts in and around Tampa. Can you imagine climbing into an Uber and the driver is playing The Faint? 

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Speaking of The Faint, the band’s frontman, Todd Fink, has been doing a media tour of sorts in support of the “deluxe” rerelease of Blank-Wave Arcade and Wet From Birth (and the band’s upcoming tour). Among the articles:

• Todd lists his 5 albums he can’t live without, in SPIN. No surprises here. 
• Stereogum’s Ian Cohen says there’s no better time to assess the Faint’s legacy, and Todd weighs in. Read it here. From the article: “Todd Fink basically invented Indie Sleaze and all he got was a public nudity charge.” A fun read.
• Todd tells BrooklynVegan the 5 songs that influence Blank-Wave Arcade. Again, no surprises, except for maybe The Tear Garden. Read it here. 

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At least know The Faint won’t be playing this year’s Maha Festival (because they’re already playing a sold-out April 3 show at The Waiting Room). 

But tomorrow we find out who will be headlining the Aug. 2 event. Other disqualified bands and my guesses as to what might be announced is right here. I’ll let you what I think of the line-up…

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You can also take the following bands off any “Maha guess” list, as they’ll be riding through town in the coming months. Here’s my updated list of touring indie bands headed our way. Get yer tickets before they’re gone. 

• – The Velveteers, March 27 at The Slowdown
• – Worry Club, March 30 at Reverb
• – The Faint, April 3 at The Waiting Room -SOLD OUT
• – Marlon Funkai, April 3 at Reverb
• – Jack White, April 5 at Steelhouse – SOLD OUT
• – Lady Lamb, April 7 at Reverb
• – The Criticals, April 10 at Reverb
• – Black Ends, April 12 at The Sydney
• – Bob Mould Band, Craig Finn, April 14 at The Waiting Room 
• – MSSV, April 21 at Reverb
• – Cryogeyser, April 25 at Reverb
• – Vazum, April 25 at The Sydney
• – Ty Segall solo April 26 at Scottish Rite
• – MURS, April 26 at Reverb
• – Bright Eyes, April 27 at The Astro
• – Bad Nerves, April 27 at The Waiting Room
• – Nada Surf, April 30 at The Waiting Room
• – Husbands, May 1 at Reverb
• – Season to Risk, May 3 at The Sydney
• – Future Islands, May 7 at The Admiral
• – Julien Baker & Torres, May 12 at The Admiral
• – Being Dead, May 13 at Reverb
• – Black Country, New Road, May 14 at Slowdown
• – Spellling, May 15 at The Waiting Room
• – Friko, May 20 at Reverb
• – Florist, May 24 at Reverb
• – Southern Culture on the Skids, May 27 at Waiting Room
• – Samantha Crain, June 17 at Reverb
• – Holy Fawn, June 25 at Reverb
• – Hurray for the Riff Raff, July 15 at Slowdown
• – The Avett Brothers, July 17 at The Astro Amphitheater
• – Rilo Kiley, Sept. 17 at The Astro – SOLD OUT
• – The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Sept. 23 at Slowdown
• – Swans, Sept 28 at The Waiting Room

Whatwho am I missing? Put it in the comments section. 

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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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The announcement that early-aughts indie act Rilo Kiley has been booked to play The Astro in La Vista Sept. 17 (tickets went on sale this morning) has spurred speculation as to who will be headlining the 2025 Maha Music Festival. RK had been one of the front-runners.

The last time Maha hosted a festival back in 2023, organizers announced the line-up the last week of February. However, Outlandia Festival organizers — now part of the Maha Festival team — didn’t announce their 2024 festival until the end of March.  

So far Maha Festival organizers have only said that the one-day festival is taking place Aug. 2 at the new RiverFront Park in downtown Omaha. I was told the headliner was booked months ago, and rumors continue to float among the “indie illuminati” as to who it is.  A friend of mine who says he’s “in the know” but wouldn’t give me a name told me the headliner is a well-known band that hasn’t played here in a very long time, although several of its members have played here over the years in various side projects. That’s rather broad.

Don’t ask me, I’m out of the loop, but I can make some educated guesses based on a few factors: 

1. As mentioned, Maha “combined forces” with the Outlandia Festival after Outlandia’s demise in 2024. That mean’s Maha’s original four founders – Mike App, Tre Breshear, Tyler Owen and Mike Toohey – are back in some capacity. What that “capacity” is, I’m not certain. These guys are all Gen X’ers and love legacy indie acts. 
2. The production company that worked with Maha in the past and that used to produce the Outlandia Festival – 1% Productions – also will be back to produce this year’s Maha Festival. For you younger readers, 1% is a big reason Omaha became nationally known for its indie music scene in the early part of this century. And while they’ve expanded their booking focus to more mainstream pop, R&B and C&W acts for their venues (which include The Waiting Room, Reverb Lounge, The Astro and The Admiral theaters), 1% still has an immense network of indie music contacts.
3. Before making any guess, eliminate acts that are either already booked for Nebraska shows, nearby festivals or have played here in the past year. So strike a line through festival favorites Jack White, Future Islands, Rilo Kiley, Bright Eyes, The Faint, Gregory Alan Isakov, Bob Mould, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Bob Dylan, Mannequin Pussy, Lord Huron, Real Estate, Cursive, Black Country, New Road, Indigo Girls, MJ Lenderman, Fontaines, D.C., Of Montreal, Orville Peck, Flaming Lips, The Head and the Heart , The Lumineers and Lana Del Rey. 
4. Also eliminate bands that are either not touring or are already playing gigs Aug. 2. This tougher list includes Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arcade Fire, Beck, Wet Leg, Nation of Language, Phoebe Bridgers, Jamie XX, Adrianne Lenker, Nine Inch Nails, GBV and Wilco.

So who does that leave? 

• – Well, on top of my list is The Pixies, who are playing the Palace Theater July 31 and Aug. 1 in Minneapolis and have the next day off on their tour. The band would be quite a get for the first Maha Fest down at the much larger RiverFront Park, and I know the Outlandia guys love them some Pixies.

• – Next on the list: St. Vincent. She’s played a number of sold-out Omaha shows in the past and has an Aug. 30 date at Chicago’s Soldier Field.

• – The Black Keys, who cancelled a national tour a year or so ago, are back and are playing a spring/summer U.S. Tour followed by a European tour that wraps up in mid-July, followed by an Atlanta festival in mid September. For some reason, they’re an Omaha favorite.

• – And then there’s our old pals Spoon. The band reportedly has a new album coming out this year and begins a national tour at the end of August that so far doesn’t include Nebraska. This Maha Festival veteran would be a great draw.

Here are a few additional guesses that are more like wishes:

• – LCD Soundsystem – The band that keeps touring despite having broken up a few years ago is playing gigs throughout the spring and early summer, but are likely out of Maha’s price range. 

• – The Hard Quartet, the new band from Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus with Matt Sweeney, Jim White and Emmett Kelly. Their debut album came out last year on Matador and they’re touring the US and Europe throughout the spring and summer.

• – Waxahatchee – The indie folk act has managed to avoid Nebraska on all its tours, including their next U.S. tour, which kicks off in March and continues through September. 

• – Perfume Genius – They’ve got a hot new album coming out on Matador Records and their June tour skips Omaha. 

• – Sharon Van Etten – She also has a red-hot album out now on Jagjaguwar, but her early summer tour skips Omaha. 

• – Horsegirl – Too small to headline a festival, the band played Outlandia two years ago, but their new album is a critical smash and could make them this year’s Wet Leg. 

Also-run possibilities: Japanese Breakfast, the ever-present Father John Misty, Youth Lagoon.

One last clue about Maha’s festival line-up: I’ve been told by a couple organizers that “I’ll like some of the bands but not like others.” So what else is new? Isn’t that the way with any festival?

Who do you think Maha’s headliner will be? For now, we wait…

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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.

By Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

A week after the news broke in Lazy-i, the folks at the Maha Music Festival today made it official: The Maha Festival returns Aug. 2, 2025, to RiverFront Park in downtown Omaha. 

With the headline: Maha Festival Returning in 2025, Combining Forces with Outlandia, the press release also announced Maha’s original four founders are once again involved in the festival — Mike App, Tre Brashear, Tyler Owen and Mike Toohey. And as reported earlier, 1% Productions is both booking and producing the show. 

“As Maha grew and found new leadership, the foursome worked with Omaha-based 1% Productions to start another music festival, Outlandia, in 2022,” said the press release. “They have decided to end Outlandia and recombine efforts with Maha.”

Also back for the 2025 festival is former Maha executive director Emily Cox. And let’s not forget MECA, the organization who oversees The RiverFront, who no doubt will also be playing a key role. 

Maha Festival Board President TJ Twit said expect announcements on performers and other details about Maha 2025 in the coming months. I’m told they already booked the headliners. 

In a time when we seem to hear almost daily of a long-running music festival either being postponed or cancelled (I’m looking at you, Chicago’s Pitchforkfest), it’s great to see Omaha’s keynote music festival is alive and well and will be back, hopefully bigger and better than ever….

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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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.