Getting ready for the weekend, remember acclaimed young Americana-folk blues guitarist and songwriter Jack Barksdale is at The B. Bar Friday, June 5, 7:30 p.m. This is a Sunday Roadhouse concert series event. At 18 years old, Twangville writes “It’s hard to escape the impressive maturity of his musicianship and songwriting.” American Songwriter said, “Jack Barksdale has insights and awareness far beyond people twice his age, and he’s able to put them into songs that touch listeners.” And NPR.org observed “Jack Barksdale is special.”
Ending the weekend in Lincoln, Devon Allman’s Blues Summit is set for Lincoln’s Bourbon Theatre Sunday, June 7, 7 p.m. This multi-artist show features The Devon Allman Project with guitarist Larry McCray, vocalist Jimmy Hall who has performed with Wet Willie and Jeff Beck, and St. Louis soul/R&B and blues vocalist Laka Soul. I have not seen a lot of press on this, so I want to make sure you have it on your music radar, it sounds like a cool show. Advance tickets are available from TicketWeb here with pricing for General Admission standing room and also table seating options.
Blues Society of Omaha Shows
The Blues Society of Omaha (BSO) is focusing on their In the Market for Blues (ITMFB) festival happening Aug. 1. The event includes a VIP pre-party Friday, July 31 with the Nick Moss Band at the Jewell on Capitol. VIPs also receive admission to a VIP Blues Bruch featuring Hudspeth & Taylor Sunday, Aug. 2, at Nosh Restaurant & Wine Lounge in the Capitol District.
The main attraction is the multi-venue, multi-band event Saturday, Aug. 1, in The Old Market and the Capitol District. One wristband gets you into all the Saturday venues with over 30 bands at 11 venues.
Acts include local, regional and national artists. The headliners are The Texas Headhunters, a Texas blues-rock super-group. Ian Moore, a longtime local favorite, joined up with fellow Texas guitar slingers Jesse Dayton and Johnny Moeller to create this band. All cut their teeth on the Texas blues scene and were mentored by Austin blues icon Clifford Antone in their early days. This is the sort of tasty, high-octane Texas blues guitar sound centered around the skills of three hot guitarists that local fans love. Powerful stuff. Get a taste of their sound in this YouTube video and find more cuts on their YouTube page. ITMFB founder Héctor Anchondo will open for The Texas Headhunters on the main stage.
Acts performing throughout the day on various stages include Hadden Sayers, Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, Gary Hoey, Alastair Greene, Brandon Santini, Polly O’Keary and more. International Blues Challenge 2023 winner for Band and Best Guitarist, Mathias Lattin is also set to perform. A highlight will be the Kansas City-Omaha Kings of the Blues set featuring Nick Schnebelen, Héctor Anchondo, Kris Lager, Brandon Hudspeth and Sebastian Lane. Find the full 40-band artist line up at omahablues.com/in-the-market-for-blues-artist-lineup.
Through June 30, get discounted pricing on wristband tickets for this great full day of music. Find details and purchase advance tickets or the VIP package at omahablues.com/in-the-market-for-blues.
The Zoo Bar Celebrates 53 Years
This summer, Lincoln’s historic Zoo Bar celebrates 53 years as one of the nation’s most respected blues venues. Highlights of the June schedule include The Blues Beatles Thursday, June 11, 6-9 p.m. and two nights of Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials Friday and Saturday, June 19-20, 5 p.m. Mato Nanji and Indigenous hit the stage Wednesday, June 24, 6-9 p.m. Catch the full schedule at zoobar.com and any late-breaking changes at facebook.com/ZooBarBlues.
The lineup for the summer ZooFest street festival has been announced and tickets are on sale now. The event takes place on Lincoln’s 14th Street between O and P streets. Friday, July 10, performers are The Bel Airs (5 p.m.), New Orleans’ The Iguanas (7 p.m.) multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Vanessa Collier (9 p.m.) and The Midland Band (11 p.m.) Saturday, July 11, Cheap Death, a Blue Raven Project, perform at 1 p.m., followed by Church of Blues (3 p.m.), the Texas Blues Guitar Summit featuring Anson Funderburgh, Mike Morgan and Shawn Pittman (5 p.m), The Mezcal Brothers with special guest Dave Gonzalez on guitar (7 p.m.), the fantastic soul and shwomanship of Sugaray Rayford (9 p.m.) and Groove Lagoon (11 p.m.) Tickets are $35 per night or $60 for a weekend pass. Get advance tickets at the bar or at ticketweb.com.
Mezcal Brothers’ Final Record
In 2024, The Mezcal Brothers lost their longtime lead guitarist and collaborator, Benjamin Kushner after a long battle with cancer. The band had recorded a CD before his passing. They are releasing it this summer with several shows scheduled in tribute to Kushner where Paladins’ lead guitarist Dave Gonzalez will sit in as the band’s lead guitarist. Bassist Charlie Johnson shared on Facebook “After 27 years together, The Mezcal Brothers will release our final album on July 4th. This record was deeply personal to Benjie, and more than anything, he wanted the world to hear it. Sharing it now is our way of honoring that wish and celebrating everything this music meant to him.”
Check out the title track, “Bing Bang Boom,” on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube.
See The Mezcal Brothers featuring Dave Gonzalez Thursday, July 9, 7 p.m. at Waiting Room in Omaha with opener The Mercurys. Or see the special tribute at ZooFest Saturday night, July 11, 7 p.m.
The Astro Inside and Out
Looking at The Astro Theater’s dates – let’s bring this one to your immediate attention: the legendary Judy Collins performs Tuesday, Sept. 8, 7 p.m., with Canadian musical icon Bruce Cockburn opening. Now 87, reviews say Collins is still delivering both vocal prowess and wisdom. A writer for the Cultural Voice of North Carolina, C.C. Lilford, said on May 19, 2026, of a Wilmington performance with Collins and their local symphony orchestra: “Collins’ career spans over six decades at this point, and not only is she aware of that, but she also wants us to be aware of it…Collins’ set was designed to make us aware of time: to think about how much of it we have, how we’ve used it, and how we’re going to use what we have left…Collins maintains a mastery of vocal technique, while also using any moments she may falter as opportunities for a more affective singing style, one in which technical perfection is sacrificed to heighten the emotional delivery of the singing. Collins sounds as good as ever, but has allowed nature to add character to her voice in a truly beautiful way.”
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band celebrates “60 years of Dirt” on their current tour, which stops in Omaha at The Astro Theater in La Vista Saturday, June 6, 7:30 p.m. Brit Taylor opens. Also at The Astro Theater, Little River Band plays Saturday, June 20, 7 p.m. with Ozark Mountain Daredevils opening. Looking ahead to July, mark your calendar for Monday, July 20, when The Black Keys hit The Astro Amphitheater. Eddie 9V, a popular artist with local audiences, is opening for The Black Keys on this gig and their July and August dates around the country.
Shows designated for The Astro Theater are indoors. Shows at The Astro Amphitheater use the outdoor space. See theastrotheater.com for info on all these shows.
Pinewood Bowl
Lincoln’s Pinewood Bowl presents Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas Friday, June 19, 7:30 p.m. Krauss is a 27-time Grammy Award winner and is back to performing music with her own core band after working with Robert Plant on Raising Sand and Raise the Roof and touring behind those records. On her website, Krauss says of the new music, “This is where I live and come from, and now I get to bring my experiences with Robert back to Union Station, just like all of the guys do with recording, producing and performing outside of the band.”
Looking ahead at Pinewood Bowl’s schedule The Black Crowes are scheduled Tuesday, Aug. 4, 7:30 p.m. with a stop on their Southern Hospitality Tour. Blues-rock guitar star Joe Bonamassa and Gov’t Mule share a dynamic double-bill Sunday, Aug. 16, 7 p.m. For details and ticket info check out pinewoodbowltheater.com.
Steelhouse Omaha
Meanwhile at Steelhouse Omaha, shows on tap include The Wallflowers June 20, 8 p.m. and Charley Crockett Sunday, June 28, 7:30 p.m. Tickets are sold through Tickemaster, which still shows tickets in plenty of seating sections for The Wallflowers. Remaining Charley Crockett tickets at this writing are affordable tickets but ones that are in the General Admission (standing) area on the main floor. The venue also hosts Old Crow Medicine Show Sunday, July 26, 7:30 p.m. There are some other interesting shows scheduled through the late summer and early fall. The website at steelhouseomaha.com has more details and links to purchase tickets.
“Son of Jolene”
Former Omaha artist Belles (Kelli Belles) returns to Omaha to play the Reverb on the heels of a couple of big career accomplishments. She plays Reverb Lounge Thursday, June 11, 8 p.m. After spending time since 2018 in Nashville building her music and career, Belles announced on her socials on May 29 that she’s signed with WME (William Morris Endeavor) for worldwide representation. WME is one of America’s core of heavy-hitter agencies, representing many, many A-list music, film and TV artists. Belles has recently released a version of a song she wrote, inspired by the classic song “Jolene.” Belles imagining of the next chapter, “Son of Jolene,” features Dolly Parton who gave her blessing to the song. Find out more of the backstory on CountryNow.
Check out their real-life duet on the song on YouTube. Belles is scheduled to make her Grand Ole Opry debut on July 30 according to musicrow.com.
Hot Notes
Indigenous is back for a couple of local shows, catch guitar star Mato Nanji and his band Wednesday, June 24, 6 p.m. at Lincoln’s Zoo Bar and Thursday, June 25, 8 p.m. at Waiting Room.
The Omaha Arts Fair at Stinson Park June 12-14 leans into local blues and roots music with a headlining appearance Friday, June 12, 7:30 p.m. by international sensation from Brazil, The Blues Beatles. Other artists on the schedule include Blue House with the Rent-to-Own Horns, Josh Hoyer’s Colossal 4, Kris Lager Band, Matt Cox and Héctor Anchondo. Admission to the entire art fair is free with over 160 artists showcasing their work for sale, with food trucks and a beer garden on site. Scope out the music schedule at omahaartfair.com/2026/music.
Lincoln’s free Jazz in June concerts on the UNL grounds of the Sheldon Art Museum happen every Tuesday evening in June. Food trucks are on site starting at 5 p.m. Music begins at 7 p.m. See jazzinjune.com for the full schedule.
Longtime frontman of The 9s, Jason Birnstihl, is releasing a new solo CD, “Strike,” on June 26 at the Jewell on Capitol, 7:30-10:30. See one of Birnstihl’s social posts on the event here. This is a ticketed event. See the whole June lineup and get advance tickets at jewellomaha.com/livemusic.
The Sunday Roadhouse series has a second June show Wednesday, June 24, 7:30 p.m. at Reverb with The Lowest Pair. Their latest CD “Always As Young As We’ll Ever Be,” is their first studio album in six years, it was produced by Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, My Morning Jacket, Neko Case). MOJO says “The most addictive thing is their unique vocals, how they both jibe and (in a good way) jar, [vocalist] Winter somehow sounding like a young Exene and even younger Dolly Parton.” Find out more at thelowestpair.com and https://www.sundayroadhouse.com/schedule-1.
Don’t forget the three-night August Playing With Fire concerts happen Thursday, Aug. 13 – Saturday, Aug. 15, in the air-conditioned comfort of Slowdown. The international blues music love fest features scheduled performers including King King from Scotland, Meena Cryle & Chris Filmore from Austria, Rozedale from France and American artists Anne Harris‘ and Markus James‘ amazing project Halo Rider. There’ll be more to come on this event in future columns. Find all the details at playingwithfireomaha.net.