The best power-pop songs sound tossed off. When you listen to Guitar Romantic by the Exploding Hearts or any album by Big Star, it sounds like the band members stumbled across the instruments and just happened to make something great. It’s like they struck gold without having any intention of looking for it in the first place. […]
I’ve got a confession. Before last night I’d never really listened to James Taylor. That’s not to say I’d hadn’t heard him, I could hum along to “Sweet Baby James” and “Carolina in Mind,” but I never knew who it was by. He’s just one of those artists that passed me by […]
There’s nothing more enjoyable than watching a bunch of old people having fun. Elton John and his impeccable band were doing just that when they performed an emotional two-and-a-half-hour set at the CHI Health Arena as part of the English singer’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. It’s strange […]
Kurt Vile is back. Actually, Kurt Vile never left. One could argue that the 39-year-old Philadelphia songwriter and guitarist has never been better or more prolific. In the last 18 months alone, he’s done two full American tours, an international tour, and released a collaborative album with Courtney Barnett (it’s called Lotta […]
As summer fades into autumn there’s a shift in the artistic landscape. Movie studios start scaling back their popcorn releases and begin to roll out their Oscar bait, and the biggest video games are released in anticipation of the holiday season. In essence, they’re saving the best for last. While this doesn’t always translate to […]
Summer is officially over. I know, that’s kind of a bummer, but September still gave us enough great shows and a few new releases that helped us wring every ounce of enjoyment of the fleeting warm weather days. Lincoln Calling celebrated its 15th birthday in style last month with some […]
In the past few months, it’s become almost customary to start this column with news from the Saddle Creek Records camp, whether to commend the new Sam Evian and Hop Along albums, or to discuss the signing of a new artist like Tomberlin or Stef Chura. The trend won’t end this month, either, as Saddle […]
The wheels at Nebraska’s largest record label, Saddle Creek, and its first cousin, Cursive’s 15 Passenger, spun swiftly in June, with both signing new artists within the past month, and the former releasing a new record. Saddle Creek welcomed Kentucky-based singer-songwriter Sarah Beth Tomberlin, or Tomberlin for short, to the ever-growing Omaha label’s […]
The weather’s nice, school is out, and local bands are hitting the road — often with new records in tow — officially bringing us to the time of the year when there’s no shortage of Nebraska music to talk about. May’s wide-ranging local release crop deals in genres as varied as reggae-infused art rock and […]
The weather still feels like winter at this column’s deadline, but the calendar says it’s festival lineup announcement season. Nebraska’s two largest music fests came through with contenders for their most ambitious slates yet, both revealing full details within a two-day stretch in mid-April. In its 10th year, Maha Music Festival is bigger […]
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