Emma Reker remembers snatching car rides at 13 years old with older teens in Fremont just to see concerts in Omaha. In the early ‘00s, she says, several all-ages venues catered to the younger concert-goers in the scene, giving them a place to grow their interest in live music.
“If it wasn’t for The Hole and The Sandbox, I don’t know where I’d be right now without those all-ages spots,” says Reker, Operation Music and Arts founder.
Today, Reker says, the scene isn’t the same. She says she sees fewer teens at shows since The Hole and The Sandbox closed earlier this decade. If kids aren’t growing up in the scene, she says, the scene will lose its excited newcomers.
“Without the kids, it’s not going to keep going,” Reker says.
According to Reker, no concert venues in Omaha ban the sale or possession of alcohol. By law, the city requires all liquor-licensed venues to collect a notarized parental permission form. This process could prevent a teenager from checking out a show, if parents don’t want them hanging out in bars.
The goal for Operation Music and Arts (O.M.A.) is creating an all-ages, “volunteer-fueled” music and arts space, banning alcohol from within its walls to offset legal issues and underage drinking.
“We want to be legit,” says Reker, who recently filed for O.M.A.’s LLC. “We’re going to have insurance. We’re going to follow all the protocols that we need to follow to not worry about cops coming.”
The Hideout is hosting a punk showcase to benefit O.M.A. Saturday at 4 p.m., featuring area hardcore bands like Varmint, Cordial Spew, Adamcore and more. View the lineup here.
photo of Cordial Spew by JP Davis
Reker has also planned a rock and metal showcase March 14 and a multi-genre show April 18, which will include rap and acoustic acts.
Reker envisions the space as more than just a venue: Detour Records, a local online record store, plans to rent out part of the building (for which no location has yet been determined). She says she also plans to display and sell art, keeping 20 percent of the sales for O.M.A.
A space near a bar, she says, could aid in eliminating temptation for those of drinking age to carry alcohol inside the venue. Reker says she hopes to find a building without a parking lot to offset “car bar,” where minors drink in their cars to avoid getting caught with alcohol inside the venue.
Reker says she started brainstorming ideas for O.M.A. in November and already has a team of volunteers, some even offering to build the stage and lend a PA. A minimum of $3000 is needed for initial startup, which Reker says will cover costs for finding and renting out a space until more shows can pay to keep the doors open.
Saturday’s punk showcase will launch the fundraising process.
“The Hideout has helped the scene so much in the past two years since there hasn’t been an all-ages venue,” says Reker, noting owner Dave Blackman’s support in hosting O.M.A.’s forthcoming benefit shows and his enthusiasm for Omaha’s music scene.
As a student with a full-time job and promoting for No Coast Booking on the side, Reker tackled founding O.M.A. with a busy schedule. It’s necessary. She says many leaders in the DIY community noticed the lack of all-ages venues and its subsequent issues with keeping a younger generation in the scene. However, she says many were hesitant to start such an organization after recent closings of similar venues like The Hole and The Sandbox due to legal and financial issues
“I just said, ‘Screw it,’” Reker says. “It’s all for the music.”