photo by Jonathon Augustine

Out on Nebraska's Highway 2 between Hyannis and Alliance, where the towns are the "blink and you miss 'em" kind, the radio doesn't offer much in the way of music.

Sure, classic rock and adult contemporary somehow make it through the Sandhills. NPR fades in and out with its servings of Schumann and Strauss. But nothing seems to complement the setting sun a westward traveler is trying to catch before it spills over the prairie, into the old tires holding down the sand dunes and then takes it all back below the horizon.

The music Nebraska's panhandle should hear is in Michigan, but it's also scattered elsewhere around the world. Ringo of the band Kill County is playing his part of the heartfelt, more-character-than-an-antique-store folk Lincoln was blessed to host for some time. The past tense of Kill County, at least for now, is due to drummer Brad Kindler's two-year commitment to the Peace Corps, which began March 5.

Now as the band's new album is recorded and going through the final stages, Ringo is keeping the live music, well, alive. He brought his guitar, banjo and voice to WCBN 88.3's Down Home Show with James Manheim, aka Tex, on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich. Here are four live tracks from the set:

Michael Todd is Hear Nebraska's managing editor. He is close to reaching 30,000 miles driven with J. Alfred, the car he met just last February. Reach Michael at michaeltodd@hearnebraska.org.