By Brittany Ward
March 22, 2018
Nebraska Exposed at Cheers Shot Bar in Austin, Texas, on March 15, 2018. Photo by Kyle Gibson/KZUM.
Last week was one for the books for Nebraska Exposed down in Austin, TX. Wednesday night had a packed lineup of 10 artists performing at Cheers Shot Bar
starting at 7 p.m. and ending just before 2 a.m.. However, the showcase at Cheers was not the only thing on the agenda for a lot of the artists.
KHARI The Duo may not have slept all week. After Nebraska Exposed, the group stood in line at 5:30 a.m. to get on the “Sway in the Morning” radio show. After spitting the 16-bar verse, KHARI The Duo was dubbed a HYENA on live broadcast. (For those of you who don’t know, a HYENA is someone that can hold it down on the mic… AKA a good rapper). Check it out on Sway’s YouTube channel, skip ahead to 28:00 or on KHARI The Duo’s Facebook.
“We will definitely be back next year,” said KHARI The Duo’s Ishma Valenti “We love displaying Nebraska talent and playing with other Nebraska bands in Austin because of how much talent is in our state.”
Though The Fey, another group Valenti is part of, wasn’t part of Nebraska Exposed this year, they also had a showcase in Austin. Their weeklong tour in Austin included shows on Friday at Shangri-La and more shows on the way back home. Upon getting back to Lincoln, the group will be working on finishing up their EP entitled Strawberry Lemonade, set to be released June 22.
On the trip down to Austin, Lloyd McCarter & The Honky Tonk Revival played at two legendary honky tonks, Knuckleheads in Kansas City and Mercury Lounge in Tulsa. On their way back home, the group played a show at Roca Tavern and World of Wheels in Omaha before playing this FAC tomorrow at The Zoo Bar.
SAS was excited to join her friend, Kotomi, on stage to sing backup vocals at her official showcases at The Sidewinder and Cheer Up Charlies. She was also anxiously anticipating a veggie burger from Arlo’s. SAS, who is also working on her next album, Through The Keyhole. has quite a few things up her sleeve. Catch her performance this week at KZUM’s final Soup and Songs of the season
This year was the first time The Dilla Kids came down to SXSW as a unit. After their time at SXSW, the group will be working on some new projects both as a group and solo. The album Like is available for download as well as Not High Enough.
This year wrapped up HAKIM’s second year at SXSW. He plans on setting up a tour for this year as well as releasing a surprise tape for his fans to follow his recently released single, “Young Drifter II.” HAKIM will be headlining at The Bourbon’s Rye Room on April 7, in a show entitled “Young Drifter II.”
Better Friend hit the road before Austin playing a show in Kansas City and another in Oklahoma City with A Different Breed. On their return home, both bands played another show together in Hutchinson, KS. The band released their second album last year and always have something fun in the works.
A Different Breed performs at Nebraska Exposed on the rooftop of Cheers Shot Bar in Austin, Texas, on March 15, 2018. Photo by Kyle Gibson/KZUM.
A Different Breed went on a short tour before Austin as well, with a stop in Wichita before meeting up with Better Friend in Oklahoma City. The group gave a sneak peak from their upcoming record as they played a new single Wednesday night.
Both Better Friend and A Different Breed joined 10-year SXSW veterans, Laughing Falcon, for another showcase at Latchkey. The Lincoln rock band played a show at Spider House before they went on at Nebraska Exposed. Laughing Falcon has two upcoming shows, plus a tour in April. After that they plan on finishing their second full-length album, which is to come later this year.
Orion Walsh, travelling folk artist and six-time SXSW veteran, played many shows last week. Along with Nebraska Exposed, he performed on the rooftop of Westin Hotel, Chive TV House and a house show with his friend, Nate Allen.
“I had a wonderful time hanging out with Nebraska friends and the comradery we have in our music scene,” Walsh said. “My favorite part was when the FEY guys and Laughing Falcon joined me playing the washboard, shakers and kazoo. Good times!”
Walsh has two upcoming shows, this Friday at Barley Street in Omaha and Crescent Moon on Saturday with Will Hutchinson.
SXSW first timers, State Disco, played two other unofficial showcases at Unbarlievable and Touché. The group has recently released their long-anticipated album, “Going to Sleep is Giving Up,” and have an upcoming release party on April 21.
Check back for more updates from SXSW and Nebraska Exposed soon, including video footage from the showcase.
Brittany Ward is an editorial intern with KZUM.
