It’s Monday and that means add day for HN Radio, the music app you see at the top of this and every page on the Hear Nebraska website. Matt Cox and Red Cities both premiere a song with us this week, plus three never-before-heard Simon Joyner from the Live at O’Leaver’s series. Underwater Dream Machine, All Young Girls are Machine Guns and Millions of Boys help to round out the playlist. Expect write-ups for the premieres either today or tomorrow.
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In an instance of Nebraska music on a giant national stage, Conor Oberst appears on Late Show with David Letterman tonight. Oberst, who helped bring Saddle Creek Records and the Omaha music scene to national prominence with a slew of Bright Eyes releases in the early to mid-’00s, is currently on tour promoting his latest solo album, Upside Down Mountain. Tonight will be Oberst’s return to Letterman’s show after appearing with Mystic Valley Band in 2009.
In more recent television appearances, Oberst appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to perform “Zigzagging Toward the Light” with the help of Dawes, his backing band on the current tour. Later in May, he appeared on CBS This Morning to perform “Hundreds of Ways” and “You are Your Mother’s Child.”
Yesterday, Oberst helped close out the final day of Newport Folk Festival’s 55th year. On May’s Upside Down Mountain, Oberst explores musical roots both personal and cultural, from the return to intimate Americana to a Paul Simon-esque hopscotch between personal growth and socio-political circumstance.
I missed the Omaha Hip Hop Awards results, awarded in early July and posted online last week, but a quick rundown shows quite a few categories with nearly as many nominees in groups like “Best Mixtape” and “Best DJ.” The public and the awards organizers determine nominees throughout the winter and spring. During July, winners are determined by a public vote. Each category garnered around 2,000 votes.
Congratulations to all the winners, including King Kliff for “Best Song” with “Product of Poison,” (192 votes) Nz Tante for “Best Album” with Unexpected (443), Big Wade for “Best Producer” (473), Latin Threat for “Best Latin Artist” (743), Murk for “Best New Artist” (431). Shannon Marie took home “Best Female Artist” (535) and “Best Mixtape” (255). Nz Tante also finished first in “Best Regional Artist” (597), first and fifth in “Best Music Video,” second and seventh in “Best Song” for “Call it Jordan” and “The Struggle” second for “Best New Artist” And apparently Scru Face Jean took home “Best Lincoln Artist,” though I can’t currently find those results on the awards page.
Organizers give a percentage of income generated through the awards to organizations dedicated to stopping violence in Omaha.
It’s no secret many of the artist names here may be unfamiliar to regular Hear Nebraska readers, and we want to work hard in the coming months to provide exposure for the specific segment of Nebraska hip-hop that turned out for these awards.
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Just announced, Shakey Graves hits the Waiting Room on Dec. 9. The Austin solo artist spins ragged, minimal folk tunes that, drawn on paper, might look like a polygraph reading. On Oct. 7, Shakey Graves releases And the War Came on Dualtone Music. The album follows up 2011’s Roll the Bones.
Released today, a new trailer for Sin City: A Dame to Kill For features the doom-pop Icky Blossoms’ track “Babes,” remixed by Omaha’s Enso. The forthcoming movie is a follow-up to 2005’s Sin City, based on the graphic novel series by Frank Miller.
Stay tuned for info on a hefty collection of shows coming up this week.
As always, send me any tips, concerns, ink-dot drawings and kimchi recipes.