Omaha Sound



Indie rock bands on the Saddle Creek record label out of Omaha, Nebraska, include notable artists such as Bright Eyes, The Faint, and Cursive.[23] [24] These bands are playing a significant role in the current national rock scene. The formation of the sound occurred in the mid-1990s with Commander Venus, Frontier Trust, Ritual Device, Clever, Twitch, Steve Walton and The Flash Action Band, Mouse Trap, Solid Jackson, and clubs such as the Cog Factory, and Sokol Music Hall. Many people involved in these bands and venues are currently involved with Saddle Creek.

Other related aspects of the Omaha indie music include various alternative bands. The alternative music scene has produced such popular artists as 311, Grasshopper Takeover, The Seen, The Good Life, Civicminded, Criteria, Joe Galaxy, Ladyfinger (ne), Icares, Go Crash Audio, and Tilly and the Wall. Omaha has been a temporary home base of Midwest bands such as Rilo Kiley and Azure Ray.

Tim McMahan's Lazy-i, HearNebraska.org, Omahype.com, the Worlds of Wayne podcast, and SLAM (Support Local Art & Music) Omaha and The Reader alt-weekly are among the main media outlets promoting the Omaha music scene.

Other mainstays of the music scene in Omaha include singer/songwriters such as Conor Oberst, Maria Taylor, Orenda Fink, Simon Joyner, Sarah Benck, Matt Whipkey, Chris Saub, Korey Anderson, Kris Lager, Brad Hoshaw, Tim Wildsmith, and Mitch Gettman.

An integral part of the Nebraska music scene are the two Omaha-based record labels; Saddle Creek Records and Team Love Records. Saddle Creek Records was founded in 1993 by Conor Oberst and Justin Oberst. Mike Mogis and Robb Nansel later opened Slowdown, a music venue in NoDo. Conor Oberst's Team Love Records was founded in 2004. Other significant music venues currently include The Waiting Room Lounge, The 49'r Lounge, Mick's Music Bar, The Barley Street Tavern, O'Leaver's Pub, Sokol Underground, Shea Rileys, the P.S. Collective, and Barfly.