MUSIC 
Full Steam Ahead
In 1945, Bill Monroe brought banjo expert Earl Scruggs into his Blue Grass Boys backing band (which also featured guitarist Lester Flatt) and in essence created the musical genre which would become known as Bluegrass. Through the 25 or so years that followed, Bluegrass was primarily played by old men wearing matching hats and suits who all stuck to a strict definition of what it meant to play the...
entered on 03/23/11 at 03:25 PM | read more »
A Booking Wishlist
With such a sprawling event, it can be truly difficult to summarize South By Southwest in a neat and tidy way. The Austin, Texas music festival, conference and weeklong binge of beer, BBQ and bands has become unwieldy for those who, like me, don't want to miss a thing. In years past, I've issued a report card, going through each band, saying what my ears deciphered from the band's sound and...
entered on 03/23/11 at 01:03 PM | read more »
Hear This, Nebraska
BY ANDREW NORMAN Watching the grass turn from tan to yellow to green through the car's window — and feeling the air warm at stops — during the 14-hour trip to Austin, Texas, is enough reason to attend the SXSW Music Festival every year in March. After a Nebraska winter, the climate change provides a nice reminder that spring really will come. And then there are the bands. Almost 2,000 of...
entered on 03/23/11 at 12:57 PM | read more »
Send and Receive
As we do every year, The Reader sent a contingent of music experts (and music lovers) down to Austin, Texas, for the annual South by Southwest Music Festival. More than 2,000 bands participated in 2011, including Nebraska's Bright Eyes, Satchel Grande, Orion Walsh, Midwest Dilemma and Daniel Christiansan. This year, our group included Reader Music Editor Chris Aponick, HearNebraska.org's founder...
entered on 03/23/11 at 12:40 PM | read more »
SXSW Days 3 and 4
It's Monday and I'm in Oklahoma on my way back. The road trip's ugly cousin — car problems — has reared its head, but I'm on my way back to Omaha. Consider this a recap of what happened Friday and Saturday, the highlight of which I didn't get to catch. A semi-secret Death From Above 1979 reunion show was easy for badgeholders to get into around 9:30 p.m. but impossible an hour later. After...
entered on 03/21/11 at 10:28 AM | read more »
Thursday Notes
Thursday was the first chance I had to check out what amounts to SXSW's headliners stage — the Auditorium Shores at Lady Bird Lake. The Strokes played what amounted to a trip through their first two records dotted by a few new cuts from their forthcoming album, Angles. The band has become really polished, but on the way, it has changed the band's sound. It still sounds like them, but greater...
entered on 03/18/11 at 01:38 PM | read more »
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 ... more »
Maha reveals full line-up
by Chris Aponick
* The Maha Music Festival revealed its main stage line-up, scoring a headline performance by Oklahoma psych-pop icons the Flaming ... more »
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 ... more »
Zoo Bar Turns 40
by B.J. Huchtemann
Lincoln’s Zoo Bar celebrates 40 years as a live roots music mecca this year. The official 40th Anniversary events are July 1-6, with ... more »
Remembering Dave
by Tim McMahan
It began in November 1992. I was a few years out of college at UNO, already working full time at Union Pacific, but still writing ... more »
Totally Crushing on Millions of Boys
by Tim McMahan
Omaha power-pop punk band Millions of Boys’ new 10-inch record, Competing for Your Love, is a 180-gram slab of vinyl complete with ... more »
Future Tense: 2012 Music Predictions, Pt. 2
by Tim McMahan
And now, the conclusion of my annual music predictions columns, where I gaze into the glossy black finish of a Fender Squier and see ... more »
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