Hear Grand Island performance lineups announced; ‘Undercover Boss’ awards Jocelyn; Tim Kasher photos; FiFi NoNo tape release tonight

Hear Grand Island performance lineups announced

A live concert series will once again give Grand Island residents a reason to arrive railside this summer, and now the bands are in place.

The Hear Grand Island performance lineups have been announced for the Friday night series’ second straight year. Freakabout, Mitch Gettman, Laughing Falcon and Clarence Tilton are among 10 concert headliners and a total of 30 Nebraska bands that will play throughout the series, which runs June 2-August 4.

Created in the model of HN’s Hear Lincoln and Hear Omaha series, Hear Grand Island launched last year to positive response, drawing hundreds to Railside Plaza each Friday during its 10-week run. It gets bigger this year, with three acts per billing and a DJ set, which we’ll announce as acts are finalized.

The 2017 lineup features something for everyone, with a mix of genres by performers from Lincoln, Omaha, Grand Island and the surrounding areas. Nine of them contain members who are also Grand Island natives, including Whiskey Bent, Briner, Minor Movements and Skyloft. The shows themselves — free and open to all ages — will start a little later in the evening, at 7 p.m., and feature a beer garden.

View the full lineup in the poster below and follow Hear Grand Island on Facebook here.

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‘Undercover Boss’ awards Jocelyn for musical talent

We knew last week that Omaha singer/songwriter Jocelyn would be received by a national television audience via Undercover Boss. At episode’s end, the show’s host had a tangible surprise for her as well.

After hosting an open mic night in Austin, Texas, with the help of aspiring songwriter “Jackie Middleton” — an in-makeup Darius Rucker — Jocelyn received $10,000 from the Hootie & the Blowfish frontman-turned country music star as a means to jumpstart her career. In addition, he offered to facilitate a face-to-face with a major record company.

In their conversation after Rucker’s big reveal, which aired Friday evening on CBS, the recording artist told Jocelyn he was “blown away” by her performance at the open mic concert and would “personally walk you into the president of Universal Music Group.” Jocelyn was overcome.

“This is beautiful, man,” she laughed through tears.

Jocelyn was one of three acts included in the episode, part of a special edition of the series that embeds high-level management into everyday jobs in their respective companies. Austin duo Treble Soul received new equipment and a music academy scholarship, while solo busker Damiyr scored funds to make a record.

While the show brings a fair amount of cheese, its outcome for Jocelyn is no joke. The money and the opportunity for an in-person meet with a major record label are potentially career changing. While she writes in preparation for that meeting, we’re excited to see what comes of it.

View the episode in full here and its culmination below.

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Photo coverage: Tim Kasher, Allison Weiss at The Waiting Room

HN multimedia intern Connor Lepert went to The Waiting Room Friday night to catch Tim Kasher, on tour in support of his latest solo album No Resolution. The album, which dropped on March 3 via Cursive’s new label 15 Passenger, is perhaps Kasher’s most sonically ambitious album yet, and definitely one of his most emotionally trying. In case you missed it, dive in with our On The Record review podcast team here. Los Angeles indie pop songwriter Allison Weiss and Jess Price, of Chicago band Campdogzz, opened the show. See Lepert’s photos below:

Tim Kasher

Allison Weiss

Campdogzz

Photos by Connor Lepert

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Concert Round-Up

We just added more than 200 new events to our statewide calendar; plan your week with it here.

There are always great shows happening, and since it was only two of us on the task (thanks to HN intern Lauren Farris), we need your help. Did you know you can add your own events? The Contribute feature lives here; simply drop the Facebook event link into the top right-hand box or fill out the info manually and smash that “Do It” button. I’ll give it the once-over and post it to the website. You can also email event listings and schedules (with touring and other music news) to news@hearnebraska.org. Whatever you have to say, we want to hear from you.

Here’s a look at the next couple of days.

Monday

Digital Leather, Xetas, FiFi NoNo at Brothers Lounge – New Omaha band FiFi NoNo releases its debut cassette Songs For The Anxious tonight at Brothers Lounge with Digital Leather and Austin, Texas band Xetas. FiFi NoNO is a psychedelic punk band which features members from projects such as DWNR, Hussies, Shrinks, and Relentless Approach. The band played it’s first show on May 5. 9 p.m., $5, RSVP here.

Tuesday

Red Cities, Unmanned, Bogusman at Duffy’s Tavern – Tomorrow night, a trio of Lincoln’s loudest play Duffy’s Tavern. It’s $1 beer night, which means no cover, so divert those savings into the donation jar. 9 p.m., 21-plus, RSVP here.

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