Sharon Jones, Vintage Trouble

by B.J. Huchtemann

Get ready for a dance party as Playing With Fire hosts a special free show at Council Bluffs’ River’s Edge Park as part of the park’s grand opening events. The Playing With Fire show happens on Memorial day, Monday, May 27, gates at 3:30 p.m. and music at 4 p.m.  Hugely popular national artists Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings make their second appearance on a Playing With Fire stage. Jones’...

New Thermals video hits the internet

by Chris Aponick

* The Thermals unleashed a new video for "The Sunset" on the website Noisey.Vice.com. The song is on the Portland band's latest album Desperate Ground, which came out earlier this year on locally-based Saddle Creek Records. The video,  co-directed by Portland filmmaker Jeffrey Rowles and The Thermals, stars bassist Kathy Foster as a boxer in a series of training scenes and then in the ring. The...

Local & National Winners

by B.J. Huchtemann

The national Blues Music Awards were announced Thursday, May 9, in Memphis, Tenn. Awarded annually based on votes by Blues Foundation members, the event honors excellence in blues music. Oregon’s Curtis Salgado, a local favorite with many ties to Omaha, took home the prestigious B.B. King Entertainer of the Year Award. Salgado also received the Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year award and the...

Lincoln Calling accepting band applications

by Chris Aponick

* Lincoln Calling, a multi-night music festival held at several downtown Lincoln bars, is now taking applications for bands wanting to participate in the festival's 10th anniversary run. Bands can apply online at lincolncalling.com. This year's event will be held from October 15 through October 19th.

* Snake Island have released a new song, Apple Tel Aviv, which is set to be on their...

Morlix Plays Roadhouse

by B.J. Huchtemann

The Sunday Roadhouse ramps up with a bunch of excellent shows in quick succession, beginning with iconic Americana songwriter-singer-guitarist Gurf Morlix Tuesday, May 14, 7:30 p.m., at the Side Door Lounge. The Austin-based Morlix is an in-demand producer as well as a solo artist in his own right. In his early years he was guitarist, bandleader and producer for Lucinda Williams. In more recent...

Simon Joyner to release new LP

by Chris Aponick

* Simon Joyner has teamed up with Dennis Callaci to release a collaborative LP New Secrets on Callaci's label, Shrimper. The two first recorded together several years ago, releasing a one-sided vinyl LP Stranger Blues. They returned to Callaci's home studio for this album, recording 11 songs that were produced and mixed by Woods' member Jarvis Taveniere over the course of three days. Joyner's...