Mic, a slightly sensationalist, often list-based online publication, published a list yesterday of “11 Cities for Young Musicians That Aren’t New York or Los Angeles” and Omaha made the cut.
Among cities like Athens, GA, Palm Desert, CA, Provo, UT and Denton, TX, Omaha is noted foremost for pioneering the “Omaha Sound,” that tricky adjective that lurks in the shadows of every local show, that threatens to invite prejudice on any local musician that gains traction outside of Omaha.
All the keywords are there: “country-flavored,” “Bright Eyes,” “Saddle Creek Records.”
While it’s true that Omaha hasn’t had a success like Bright Eyes since 2005, the year of I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning/Digital Ash in a Digital Urn and probably the last Bright Eyes records for which we could call it an Omaha band without reaching, that was nearly 10 years ago.
If Mic is right and that’s mostly what’s worth knowing about the music scene, then it should have been 10 cities long, not 11. Of course Omaha deserves a spot on the list, but its not for the reason Mic seems to think.
While the boom of local bands on Saddle Creek surely spawned a ripple-effect of creativity in the city, it’s not nearly so homogenized as an “Omaha Sound” today. What about the vibrant hip hop scene? Or garage punk? EDM? R&B? Just last month hip hop duo Both and indie rockers The Seen struck out on tour together — neither of them trying to be Conor Oberst.
It’s nice to get the attention, but it’d be even nicer if it weren’t based on an archaic view of the scene.
Due shoutout, though, for the article recognizing Omaha’s African-American jazz roots in the ‘30s.
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Blues artist Hector Anchondo is taking donations on his website to help fund recording a new album. According to his Facebook, he opted against Kickstarter, which only distributes pledges if the campaign’s financial goal is met. On the flipside, donors are not being offered rewards for contributing to the project.
Anchondo recently won the Nebraska Blues Challenge finals. In January, he and his band will head to Memphis to represent Nebraska in the International Blues Challenge.
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Skrillex in the Streets is tonight in downtown Lincoln at 13 and N. The Grammy-winning dubstep artist will play with Waka Flocka Flam, GTA, Alesia and Buckhunter. The all ages show begins at 5 p.m. Tickets are $45, available here.
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Sofar Sounds is coming to Omaha. Sofar, a program that puts on secret house shows in cities around the world, will host their first Omaha show on Nov. 13.
The location of the show will remain secret until the day before. You can sign up for show announcements here.
While Sofar has a few performers in mind for the November show, the location hasn’t been determined. If you’d like to volunteer a space, e-mail them at omahasofar@gmail.com.
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Lincoln Americana rock outfit Sons of ‘76 are reuniting for a show tonight at The Zoo Bar. Guitarist Werner Althaus’s family is visiting from Germany, the band wanted to play a show for them.
Sons of ‘76 have only played twice in the last year and even longer before that. Frontman Josh Hoyer mostly plays with his band Josh Hoyer and the Shadowboxers these days, though he did say Sons of ‘76 will play shows as long as there’s a demand.
RSVP here.
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The Talbott Brothers, who recently returned from a western U.S. tour, play Reverb Lounge tonight.
The show starts at 9 p.m. Brothers Nick and Tyler Talbott will open with an acoustic set, followed by a full-band performance.
The show is $8. RSVP here.
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Sondre Lerche plays Vega tonight with Teen and Skypiper.
The Norwegian pop-rock singer-songwriter released his latest album Please in September.
RSVP here.