Des Moines Music Coalition announces Little BIG Fest lineup
A busy year for quality regional festivals continues into fall as Hear Nebraska’s kindred spirits to the east have announced the lineup for its annual Americana festival.
Des Moines Music Coalition hosts Little Big Fest this November, an annual downtown Des Moines festival with features roots, country, singer-songwriter, bluegrass and jam acts. It’s part of a year-long programming menu that also includes 80/35 Festival and all-Iowa festival Gross Domestic Product.
Little Big Fest’s first artist announcement includes headliners in Austin, Texas rock band Greyhounds and Tennessee folk act Daphne & the Mystery Machines. Twelve acts were announced in all, and as per DMMC’s mission to support and cultivate locally, nine of them hail from Iowa and the nearby region.
The festival takes place Saturday, Nov 5 at Wooly’s, 504 E Locust St, with an after-party at Lefty’s Live Music. Tickets are on sale here for $25; door passes will be available for $30. RSVP here and see the full lineup below:
Greyhounds
Daphne & the Mystery Machines
Colter Wall
Randy Burk & the Prisoners
The Well Pennies
Crystal City
The Host Country
Patresa Hartman
Jess DeWitt & Co
Matthew James & the Rust Belt Union
Carbon Canaries (Community-Selected Artist)
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Filmstreams’ Local Filmmakers Showcase starts tomorrow
Tomorrow night, 12 filmmakers from Nebraska and surrounding states will premiere their films — in genres ranging from comedy to horror to music video to documentary — for a local audience for Filmstreams’ 2016 Local Filmmakers Showcase.
The annual event, which this year takes place Oct 20-27, features submissions from Omaha, Iowa City and Sioux Falls, S.D. Music followers may recognize a few of the returning artists, including Nik Fackler (Icky Blossoms), Tony Bonacci (Tara Vaughan, Derby Birds) and Harrison Martin (directed for UUVVWWZ, The Faint, M34n Str33t, Capgun Coup).
For the first time, the showcase created space in the program specifically for projects by primary and secondary school students. Those picks come from Omaha Northwest High School’s THRIVE Club and Omaha resident Ewan McFarland-Smith.
This year’s selectees were chosen from a pool of more than 40 submissions by a team of jurors, all staff members at The Union for Contemporary Art. They include Brigitte McQueen Shew, Paige Reitz, Holly McAdams Olson, Teal Gardner and Joey Lynch.
“It was such an honor to be a part of the jury process for this year’s Local Filmmaker’s Showcase,” McQueen, who is The Union for Contemporary Art Executive Director, said in a statement. “I was completely blown away by the diversity, technical skill and artistic merit of the submissions – from dramas to documentaries, comedies to brilliant shorts – these films highlight the incredible talent thriving within our region.”
The premiere screening takes place Thursday, Oct 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Ruth Sokolof Theater, 1340 Mike Fahey St. Find tickets and a complete list of films here.
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Concert Round-Up
Tonight, Minneapolis pop/R&B artist Caroline Smith plays Reverb Lounge, 6121 Military Ave. Smith has developed and refined her neo-soul feel in the three years since Half About Being A Woman dropped in 2013 and announced her foray into the genre from her folk days with The Good Night Sleeps. Her new single “Trying Not To Love You” possess an unmistakeable ‘90s feel; its synth sparkles, flashbulb beats pop and Smith’s soulfulness permeates everything. Los Angeles producer Callie and Omaha indie pop duo The Hottman Sisters open the show. RSVP here.
Also tonight, Dan Andriano In The Emergency Room performs at O’Leaver’s, 1322 S Saddle Creek. The longtime Alkaline Trio bassist/vocalist, Andriano has written and recorded solo material since 2011, with debut Hurricane Season and 2015 follow-up Party Adjacent. His solo work is quite a bit poppier (think Laura Stevenson) but maintains the bleeding-heart lyricism notable in his Alkaline Trio work. He also performs in The Falcon with Brendan Kelly and Neil Hennessy. Current Alkaline Trio drummer Derek Grant, Dan P of MU330 and Ted Stevens open the show. Tickets are $12, 9 p.m. show, RSVP here.
And in Lincoln, New York City act Rasputina comes to Vega, 350 Canopy St. Led by cellist/vocalist Melora Creager, Rasputina is largely centered around that instrument, with Creager and (currently) Luis Mojica and Carpella Parvo blending unconventional classical and rock elements into something darkly unique. Creager’s been at it for more than two decades, releasing her first full-length, Thanks For The Ether on Columbia Records in 1996. The band tours now on 2015 release Unknown. Philadelphia electronic pop band Vita and the Woolf support. Entry is $20, RSVP here.
Find a fuller listing of this week’s shows at our statewide events calendar here. If you do not see your show or one you plan to attend, let us know in the comments or email us at news@hearnebraska.org(where you can send all your news tips and stories ideas).