Farnam Festival returns on Saturday, Sept. 12, rebranded after a three-year hiatus, and headlined by Digital Leather and M34N STR33T. The free Blackstone Farnam Festival also features indie rock band Oquoa, surf rock band Huge Fucking Waves and producer/DJ Kethro. Essentially a block party, the event returns at a great time, as the Blackstone district has quickly become one of Omaha’s hippest neighborhoods.
Organizers will shut down 40th Street between Farnam and Dodge for the festival, which will include beer, wine and food vendors, and booths run by the following neighborhood businesses: Dundee Bank; Farnam House; GreenSlate Development; Noli’s Pizzeria; UNMC/Midtown Clinic; Boquet Flowers; Hi-Fi House; Kleveland Clothing; Crescent Moon; and Pranam Yoga. The event is sponsored in part by Nebraska Medicine, Metro Credit Union and Dundee Bank. Music, curated by Hear Nebraska, starts at 5 p.m. RSVP here.
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Nebraska creatives looking for a catered, focused work-space need look no further than Nebraska City.
The Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts is now accepting applications for its 2016 residency program. The deadline to apply for a two to eight week residency in session one (Jan. 4 through June 17) is Sept. 1.
The KHN accommodates up to five artists at a time, serving musicians, visual artists, writers and other creatives. Those selected receive housing in a private studio apartment with shared kitchen, access to private workspaces and a $100 stipend.
Residents have come from all over the country and beyond to focus on working in a laid-back, small-town environment. Program director Elizabeth Stehling says that the cultural exchange fostered by out of town artists is beneficial to both artistic residents and Nebraska City.
“It is truly a wonderful gift to be able to award artists uninterrupted time and space to create,” Stehling says. “The productive, focused time can fuel years of projects and ideas.”
Visit the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts’s website here for more information. The program is fully-funded by the Richard P. and Laurine Kimmel Charitable Foundation based in Lincoln.
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HN intern Samuel Bennett snapped photos of long-time New Jersey rock trio Screaming Females’ performance at Sweatshop Gallery Monday, Aug. 3. The venue was tightly packed for the four-band billing, which also featured Omaha’s The Ridgeways and Gordon, as well as Cincinnati’s Vacation.
Check out the photos below:
Screaming Females
Vacation
Gordon 
The Ridgeways
photos by Samuel Bennett
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HN contributor Huy Nguyen shot Cincinnati rock band Walk The Moon playing Sumtur Amphitheater Monday, Aug. 3. The alternative rock quartet has risen meteorically to fame since lead singer Nicholas Petricca formed the band in 2008. It signed to RCA records in 2012 and released its self-titled, major label debut. Dec. 2014 LP Talking Is Hard featured the band’s biggest single yet, “Shut Up and Dance,” which charted at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped both Rocks Songs and Alternative Songs charts.
Check out the shots:
photos by Huy Nguyen
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Tonight, Oxford, Miss., folk rock trio Water Liars plays Slowdown with Omaha singer/songwriter James Maakestad. Entry to the front room show is $7. RSVP here. Since forming in 2010, Water Liars has released three full-length albums, all in an 18-month span between 2013 and 2014. Frontman Justin Kinkel-Schuster’s mournful, gravy-thick vocals drizzle over dynamic, southern-flavored folk rock.
For a fuller listing of this week’s shows, or to add to our statewide calendar, head to hearnebraska.org/events. As always, feel free to email us at news@hearnebraska.org with song submissions, story ideas and news tips.