Hear Grand Island evening concert series returns this summer

After attracting nearly 10,000 concertgoers for live, local music throughout its inaugural run, Hear Grand Island is coming back.

The evening summer concert series returns for a second year, staging free Friday night concerts each week from June 2 to August 4 at downtown Railside Plaza. Hear GI will feature Nebraska artists from the tri-cities area as well as Lincoln and Omaha.

The local music showcase exceeded expectations in its first year, drawing nearly 1,000 attendees per concert throughout its 10-week run. With noontime series Hear Lincoln and Hear Omaha as inspiration, Hear GI moved its start time to the evening, which seemed to drive attendance.

The Grand Island Independent reported yesterday on HN’s Tuesday meeting with the Grand Island Rotary Club, during which executive director Andrew Norman and series co-sponsors Brent Lindner and Sharena Anson laid out the plans for this year’s series. Read the article here.

Bands with ties to Grand Island and the surrounding area who are interested in playing the 2017 Hear Grand Island series, please reach out to info@hearnebraska.org.

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Lincoln Exposed shares full schedule, starts next week

The 12th-annual Lincoln Exposed is less than a week away, and concertgoers can start planning their attack.

Festival organizers have released the full four-day schedule, featuring 111 Lincoln-based bands in five downtown Lincoln venues. Prairie Psycho kicks things off at Zoo Bar at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb 8, with music running from the early evening to bar close until Bogusman concludes the festival at Bodega’s Alley early Sunday morning.

The addition of 1867 Bar allows for the largest number of bands ever to play the all-Lincoln festival. It also makes this the second year in a row Lincoln Exposed has grown into a new space, after Bodega’s Alley hopped on board with founding venues Zoo Bar, The Bourbon and Duffy’s Tavern in 2016.

Advanced weekend passes are now on-sale for $20 at Zoo Bar and The Bourbon box office. That jumps to $25 on Wednesday. Day passes are $8 Wednesday and Thursday and $10 Friday and Saturday.

View the full schedule below and RSVP here.

Wednesday

The Zoo Bar
6-6:40 Prairie Psycho
7-7:40 Tupelo Springfield
8-8:40 Jadyn Keller
9-9:40 Risky Clique
10-10:40 Phip Phippa
11-11:40 blet

Duffy’s Tavern
8:40-9:20 The Renfields
9:40-10:20 Stonebelly
10:40-11:20 Once A Pawn
11:40-12:20 Salt Creek

Bourbon Theatre
8:20-9 King Thumper
9:20-10 Producers of The Word
10:20-11 Root Marm Chicken Farm
11:20-12 23rd Vibration

Bodega’s Alley
8-8:40 Cornerstone Dub
9-9:40 IchibanHashface
10-10:40 Mike & The Likes
11-11:40 Pure Brown

1867
8:40-9:20 Warbonnet
9:40-10:20 Ozark Hutch
10:40-11:20 The Dancing Dead
11:40-12:20 Lulay

Thursday

Zoo Bar
6-6:40 Whiskey Drinkers Union
7-7:40 Swing Fever
8-8:40 Kellison Acoustic Duo
9-9:40 Abby Nicole
10-10:40 Brazen Throats
11-11:40 Cynge
12-12:40 A Ferocious Jungle Cat

Duffy’s Tavern
8:40-9:20 The Grand Poobah
9:40-10:20 MrMc$
10:40-11:20 Rift
11:40-12:20 Powerful Science
12:40-1:20 Primal Waters

Bourbon Theatre
7:20-8:40 The Way Out
8:20-9 The WIldwoods
9:20-10 The Wondermonds
10:20-11 Hangin’ Cowboys
11:20-12 Hakim
12:20-1 Mad Dog & The 20/20s

Bodega’s Alley
8-8:40 Andrea Von Kampen
9-9:40 Magma Melodier
10-10:40 Tie These Hands
11-11:40 Emmett Bower Band
12-12:40 Manslaughterer

1867
8:40-9:20 Tim Budig Band
9:40-10:20 Ro Hempel Band
10:40-11:20 Halfsies On A Bastard
11:40-12:20 Evan Bartels & The Stoney Lonesomes

Friday 

Zoo Bar
5-5:40 The Bottle Tops
6-6:40 Domestica
7-7:40 Gabe Nelson w/ Pants
8-8:40 Jack Hotel
9-9:40 Tijuana Gigolos
10-10:40 Charlie Burton & His Pals
11-11:40 Shithook
12-12:40 Gerardo Meza Band

Duffy’s Tavern
8:40-9:20 Magnetic Souls
9:40-10:20 Glo Worm
10:40-11:20 Trash Kat
11:40-12:20 Sleep Sinatra
12:40-1:20 AZP

Bourbon Theatre
9:20-10 Dirty Talker
10:20-11 Herbert’s Rainbow
11:20-12 Thirst Things First
12:20-1 Midland Band

Bodega’s Alley
8-8:40 Yesh
9-9:40 A Different Breed
10-10:40 FREAKABOUT
11-11:40 Floating Opera
12-12:40 Omni Arms

1867 Bar
6:40-7:20 Nebraska Music Academy
7:40-8:20 Commander Kilroy
8:40-9:20 Jazzocracy
9:40-10:20 Bernardus
10:40-11:20 Verse & The VIces
11:40-12:20 Emily Bass and the Near Miracle
12:40-1:20 Laughing Falcon

Saturday 

Zoo Bar
6-6:40 The Flasks
7-7:40 Mobius
8-8:40 Within Wilds
9-9:40 Golden Studio
10-10:40 Tragic Jack
11-11:40 Green Trees
12-12:40 The Inbetweens

Duffy’s Tavern
8:40 – 9:20 ANJ
9:40-10:20 Sputnik Kaputnik
10:40-11:20 SAS
11:40-12:20 Halfwit
12:40-1:20 Dudes Gone Rude

Bodega’s Alley
8-8:40 Ghost Town Radio
9-9:40 Night Push
10-10:40 Wendy & The Lost Boys
11-11:40 Jens Lehman & The Time Cops
12-12:40 M Shah
1-1:40 Bogusman

1867 Bar
8:40-9:20 Tonlode
9:40-10:20 The Mezcal Brothers
10:40-11:20 Dylan Bloom Band
11:40-12:20 Sweats
12:40-1:20 The Hanyaks

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1867 Bar hires Madison Hager as concert booker

photo by Connor Lepert

Lincoln’s newest downtown music venue has charged a new face with filling its stage.

Madison Hager is the new concert booker at 1867 Bar. Hager is a longtime Lincoln resident and music enthusiast with connections throughout the Lincoln music scene, bringing five years of professional marketing experience to the job. 

“I’m excited to work with her,” says 1867 owner Kelsey Graves. “She has a lot of energy and a positive attitude. We are excited to welcome her to our team.”

Prior to her hiring, Hager was a patron of the bar and “a fan of the venue’s amazing sound system,” she says. When she caught wind of the opening, she says she simply asked.

“There’s a saying I’ve really tried to embrace as I’ve gotten older that goes, ‘Don’t ask, don’t get,’” Hager says. “I think a lot of women, myself included, are taught that we need to wait for things to come to us, which automatically puts us in passive roles. Whether it’s at our jobs, exploring our interests, whatever—and that’s just not sustainable when you’ve got big dreams you’re interested in fulfilling.”

Hager says her marketing experience, most recently with digital agency Aradius Group, and years spent immersed in the scene have equipped her to fill the role.

“I feel really elated and excited to see what I can do because music is genuinely a passion of mine,” Hager says. “I feel grateful that I get to experience this in a community like Lincoln where there are so many talented people doing amazing things.”

1867 opened in mid-July, making it the youngest venue in town. Hager says the long-term success plan is in place and both she and Graves feel she’s ready to contribute.

“My goal is to lend myself to continuing its success and making it a space for people who need a chance to break into the scene or want a place to feel at home as a patron,” Hager says.

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Concert Round-Up

Tonight, Chicago folk act The Way Down Wanderers comes to the Slowdown’s front room. The band released its self-titled debut album in July. Recorded at Sonic Ranch in Texas and produced by The Avett Brothers’ Mike Marsh, it captures the group’s lively mix of folk and bluegrass. Local acts Ragged Company and Burkum Boys open the show. 8 p.m., $12, RSVP here.

View a fuller listing of tonight’s shows at our statewide calendar here. Submit shows via our contribute feature here or email them (and other news tips and story ideas) to news@hearnebraska.org