Austin Lucas plays tonight at The Waiting Room.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Back in the ’90s and early ’00s, when asked about “alt country” a lot of people identified the genre with acts like KD Lang or Uncle Tupelo/Wilco. For me, Centro-matic was my alt-country go-to. I’ve listened to the band’s 2000 album All the Falsest Hearts Can Try (Idol Records) a few hundred times. Will Johnson’s scratchy voice is as distinctive as anyone’s in indie.

Bloomington’s Austin Lucas, who plays tonight at The Waiting Room, reminds me of Johnson. Lucas’ style is more country than alt, and leans even more toward folk, especially on his 2018 album Immortal Americans (Cornelius Chapel Records). The album was co-produced by Lucas and Will Johnson and recorded/engineered by the legendary Steve Albini. Really good stuff.

Lucas is joined by Gerald Lee, Jr., who you know from Filter Kings and a dozen other great bands. Lee will be doing an acoustic set that should fit well next to Austin’s music. 8 p.m., $12.

Speaking of Will Johnson, he’s playing a living room show April 8 here in Omaha, and 20 tickets are still available. More info, including tickets, here.

It’s a busy Wednesday.

The fine folks at fabulous O’Leaver’s are hosting Ft. Collins indie band Slow Caves, who just released their debut, Falling, on Old Flame Records. Ojai and Orca Welles open at 9 p.m. $7.

Finally, Charleston, SC, band The Artisanals are playing at Reverb Lounge tonight. They have kind of a ’70s Laurel Canyon folk rock sound. B. Baldwin opens at 8 p.m. $5.

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.