The More Shows Coming

The final act for the MAHA Festival was picked this past weekend during the Omaha Entertainment & Arts Awards Summer Showcase.  Around 60 bands and artists performed at five venues in Benson during the event. The band that ended up with the most public votes was the Big Deep. The Big Deep is a newer band with an Americana influence. They have performed at most of the usual spots around Omaha and will now start off the day that will also see Cursive, Reverend Horton Heat, Matisyahu, Guided By Voices, J. Mascis, Envy Corps, Noah’s Ark Was A Spaceship, Machete Archive, So-So Sailors, and Somasphere on stage. The MAHA Festival takes place on Saturday August 13 at Stinson Park at Aksarben Village.

The Second Annual Farnam Festival has announced its lineup for 2011. The festival, which celebrates and promotes the businesses and neighborhoods in the 40th and Farnam streets corridor, has announced that it will feature Little Brazil, All Young Girls Are Machine Guns, Blue Bird, Kyle Harvery, and So So Sailors. The outdoor festival last year also featured a lot of solid raffle items, a large beer garden, and multiple food options. The area is home to Sullivan’s Bar, Black Squirrel tattoo, Oxide Design Co. and ICON Studio for Hair.

The big festival this week is of course Playing With Fire happening this Saturday, July 16 at Stinson Park located at Aksarben Village. This is one of the most anticipated and talked about shows of the year, as it features Sharon Jones & the Dap–Kings who is one of the most pure current soul and funk singers around today. Also on the bill is Malford Milligan, a Texas blues and soul singer whom was once a member of Atlantic Records recording artists Storyville. Opening the show will be Blues ED band Crimson Dawn followed by Omaha’s own soul singer Brad Cordle who will be performing with his band. Gates for this event open at 4 p.m. and the entire show is free of charge.

A slew of shows for late summer and fall have started to come out.  The Cold War Kids will return to the Slowdown for a show on Halloween. EDM artist Pretty Lights will take their big production to Pershing Auditorium on Oct. 27. Tickets for this show will go on sale on Friday and should sell out well before the show date. Wisconsin duo Peter Wolf Crier is headed to the Waiting Room on Oct. 25.  The indie pop band is out on tour for their second album “Garden of Arms.”
Premier jam band Widespread Panic will be playing “Omaha City” on Oct. 18 at the Orpheum Theater. Experimental Japanese band Boris, who blew the crowd away at their last show in Omaha, will return to the Waiting Room on Oct. 16 with Tera Melos & Coliseum.
Fresh off her first new album in eight years, “The Harrow & The Harvest”, Gillian Welch with David Rawlings comes to Lincoln on Oct. 13 for a show at the Rococo Theater.  Another experimental Japanese band, Melt Banana, will be at the Waiting Room on Oct. 10.
After opening for the sold out Iron & Wine show earlier this year, the Head and the Heart are coming back on Oct. 9. This time they will be headlining a show at the Waiting Room that includes Thao with the Get Down Stay Down & The Devil Whale.
The Album Leaf will be performing on the big stage at The Bourbon Theater on Oct. 4. On Sept. 29, New Orleans band the Iguanas will take the stage at the 21st Saloon (aka Murphy’s Lounge).
UK rock band, and one of ex-Mayor Mike Fahey’s hipster concerts in the park choices, Gomez, will be playing the Waiting Room on Sept. 21. Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers make a stop at the Waiting Room on Sept. 11.