This video was created as part of the Good Living Tour Live Performance video series, thanks to presenting sponsor the Nebraska Department of Economic Development with generous support from Peter Kiewit Foundation, Nebraska Community Foundation, Humanities Nebraska, Nebraska Cultural Endowment, Pinnacle Bank, Nebraska Loves Public Schools, Union Pacific, The Center for Rural Affairs, and the Nebraska Arts Council.

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Among the greatest joys of the Good Living Tour is finding hidden gems in places one might never expect. In northeast Nebraska, that has meant stumbling upon a contingent of original songwriters and stumbling into small cultural strongholds like Cosmic Film Studios, near the western end of Lyons’ main drag.

Inside this modest yet devout temple to cinema history, singer/songwriters Ted & Alice Miller performed “River.” The rollicking acoustic song simply charts the progression of natural processes; with the changing seasons, birds migrate, the night sky evolves and the river rises and recedes. Implicit is the notion that all of this happens regardless of one’s successes or troubles. Life is ever-changing, even if we recognize its core elements.

Yet there is still whimsy and delight, found in the duo’s charging harmonies and in their surroundings — a backlit jungle, a flying saucer, a cowboy robot. Watch the Millers perform “River” inside Cosmic Films Studio one August afternoon during the Good Living Tour.

Video by Lauren Farris, Andrew Norman
Audio mixing by Mark Wolberg
Edit by Lauren Farris