Lincoln Calling: 9 Stages, 3 Days and So Much More

By Angel Mai
Sept. 27, 2017

The 14th annual Lincoln Calling Festival is bringing countless performers, artists and activities to downtown Lincoln on this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Jeremy Buckley, promoter and lover of Nebraska music, founded this nonprofit music festival in 2003 to give budding artists a place to perform, as well as develop a community that showcases the cultural diversity to draw people from around the country to Lincoln. The festival grew to an admirable size in the 12 years Buckley and a small group of volunteers organized it, but he wanted it to be even bigger. Thus, he asked nonprofit Hear Nebraska to take it over in 2016.

Hear Nebraska viewed this festival as an opportunity to promote Lincoln, as a cultural destination to a wide, young audience from all over the country. Once they started managing all operations and performances, Hear Nebraska worked toward building partners to help make the festival as big as possible. In their second year, Hear Nebraska has joined forces with The BAY to plan this event. After months of collaborating, Lincoln Calling is connecting with Young Professionals (YP) Week and Techstars Startup Week.

YP Week is a series of speakers, discussions, workshops and networking opportunities that exhibit the energy, insight, and talent of people in Lincoln. Topics range from cocktails, feminism and the future of media to workplace culture, telegraphs, and American Outlaws.

Along the same lines, Startup Week gathers entrepreneurs and leaders to create momentum and opportunity around the community’s unique entrepreneurial identity. Startup week is an event that occurs all over the world in places like Denver, Vancouver and Mexico City. Topics during Startup week include technology, gender, marketing and social impact. All three events are cross-promoting with one another, aiming to bring more attention to the diverse culture of Lincoln.

Aside from new collaborations, Lincoln Calling is hosting a Night Market and a skateboarding competition for the first time. The Lincoln Young Professionals Group created the free Lincoln Calling Night Market — billed as Lincoln’s biggest bazaar — on 14th Street, between O and P. The block will be open to the public 5-10 p.m.on all three days, but only people at least 21 years old will be able to enter the Jake’s beer garden. Some organizations that will have booths at the market include Madeline Sipp, Meesha Pea, Awl Jokes Aside, the Omaha Zine Fest, Triple B Screenprinting, and Voufalou. The BAY will be having different skating competitions from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. All skill levels are welcome.

KZUM is proud to sponsor Lincoln Calling’s YP Night Market Stage and support the local music scene bringing performances all three nights. Including Orion Walsh, Histrionic, Pleides and the Bear, Indigenous AK, Emily Bass and the Near Miracle, Sleep Sinatra, The Ambulanters and many more.

Workshops will be held at both the Nonprofit Hub, at 14th & P, as well as The BAY, at 20th & Y.

Kelly Krause will lead a workshop called “Leveraging Your Community” at The BAY on Saturday at 10 a.m.. Using her background as a Conference Programming Manager for the South by Southwest (SXSW) festivals, she will discuss how constant engagement in the community aids the development of new ideas, acquiring talent and staying up-to-date with trends. A panel discussion called “Finding the Right Sound in the Studio: A Conversation with the Pros” will be held at the Nonprofit Hub at 5 p.m. on Saturday, featuring Mike Mogis from ARC Studios, Charlie Johnson from Fuse Recording, Rick Carson from Make Believe Studios, Lucas Kellison from Sadson Studios, and Chris Pinkering from Dull Tools with Moderator Keith Roger from Make Believe Studios.

Performances for the Lincoln Calling Festival will be at multiple venues: The BAY, Bar 1867, Bodega’s alley, The Bourbon, Duffy’s Tavern, Zoo Bar, and the Night Market Stage. All performances in bars– Bodega’s alley, Bar 1867, Zoo Bar, and the indoor stage at Duffy’s Tavern– will only be open to people who are 21 years of age or older. Duffy’s outdoor backlot will be open to people 18 and older. The BAY, The Bourbon, and The Night Market Stage will be open to all ages.

Performers from all over the country are will be participating in the Lincoln Calling Festival. The most popular name is coming from overseas: Charli XCX from London. AT only 24 years old, Charli XCX has earned platinum, double platinum and 4x platinum, as well as ranking among the international top 10 and hot 100 number ones. She owns her own label, writes her own songs and performs with a raw energy that illuminates her mastery of pop music. After performing at the Bourbon on Saturday, she will tour through Canada for a couple of dates before the rest of the U.S. leg that will take her through Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Brooklyn until October 14.

Another big name that is coming to Lincoln Calling is rapper CupcakKe from Chicago. She began rapping at 13, starting with church poetry which evolved into sexually charged anthems by 2015. Her second musical project, Interruption, was considered one of the Best Rap Albums of 2016 by Rolling Stone in June 2016.

Other performers include Best Coast from L.A., Pup from Ontario, Palehound from Boston, Cayetana from Philadelphia, Mount Moriah from Durham, NC, Eu1ogy from Baltimore. Other acts from the Lincoln area include Screaming Plastic, Bach Mai, Jagaja, Brad Hoshaw, and Kait Berreckman from Omaha as well as Mesonjixx, Andrea Von Kampen, Plack Blague, Verse and The Vices, and The Artichoke Hearts from Lincoln. Genres include country blues, punk rock, electronic, jazz, improvisation, drag, reggae, and funk.

Hear Nebraska is extremely excited to produce this festival, a weekend of art, music, and innovation.

“This festival only happens due to the hard work of dedicated volunteers who have been planning and organizing this event as early as last October.,” said Hear Nebraska Executive Director Andrew Norman. “We wouldn’t be able to do it without them.”

Tickets are purchased through Eventbrite at lincolncalling.com.. The standard festival pass covers all three days for $59, allowing access to all shows in all venues as long as there is room. Admission is based on legal capacity and age. Every venue is subject to their capacity rules so admittance is not guaranteed. There is a festival pass specifically for individuals under the age of 18 that grants access to the venues which are open to all ages. Everyone must have a valid ID to collect the pass since 21 years of age is the minimum for most of the venues and organizers want to ensure that people who are under 18 get the correct pass.

There is also the option to get a single day pass which allow entry for the one day, costing $29 for Thursday and $34 for Friday and Saturday. Ticket and pass sales are final, meaning that there are no refunds, cancellations or exchanges. All performances are subject to change without notice so cancellations doesn’t mean there will be a refund.