DeVotchKa
In a serendipitous moment on “Morning Becomes Eclectic,” the radio station KCRW in Santa Monica changed the trajectory of both indie cinema and one of Denver’s most distinctive musical voices. When filmmakers Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris heard DeVotchKa’s evocative sound drifting through the airwaves, they knew they’d found the emotional heartbeat for their film “Little Miss Sunshine.” That instinct proved prophetic. DeVotchKa’s soundtrack and score for the 2006 film became inseparable from its story. The bittersweet orchestration to the Hoover family’s cross-country journey, captured the themes of hope, resilience, and beautifully imperfect dreams. The band’s signature sound gave the film its unmistakable soul, turning moments like young Olive’s final dance into cultural touchstones. The work earned DeVotchKa a Grammy nomination for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album and the film won two Oscars. Introducing the world to the band’s cinematic, lush orchestral sound, songs like “Til the End of Time” and “How It Ends” transcended the screen to become anthems. Now, two decades later, DeVotchKa will be celebrating this landmark collaboration with a special 20th anniversary tour, “A Tribute to the Music of Little Miss Sunshine.” The performance honors not just the music that helped define a generation of independent film, but the unlikely journey that began with a radio station, a perfect song at the perfect moment, and a story about never giving up on what makes you different. Join DeVotchKa as they revisit the soundtrack and score that launched them into the cultural conversation – a reminder that sometimes the most beautiful twists of fate create the most lasting art.
Josh Meloy
From the plains of Oklahoma, Josh Meloy has built his career brick by brick. A storyteller at heart, Meloy will capture your imagination with every song. From wearing out the dive bars of Oklahoma to more recently playing the historic Ryman Auditorium, Meloy has finally captured a national audience. With a brand new album “Where You Came From” released in June of 2024, he shows no signs of slowing down.
The Impulsive
Nick Hexum
“Zoom in and obsess. Zoom out and observe. We get to choose.” Rick Rubin, The Creative Act You probably already know Nick Hexum, the crooner-voiced, laid-back California guy who has long been the lead singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist in 311. But do you? His three EP trilogy, Waxing Nostalgic, Full Memories, and Waning Time (yes, they are named in honor of the phases of the moon), features a Midwestern man from Nebraska who plays mandolin and pedal steel, and has many memories from the past he’d like to share. “I’m a person who pretends like stuff doesn’t bother me. So, I knew going into writing this record that it would be cathartic for me,” Hexum says. “I think Covid made me realize just how limited our time really is – it motivated me to create as much as possible,” Hexum said with a laugh. “Is it too late for a midlife crisis?” There is something about reaching not an age, but a stage of life, that forces everyone to slow down and inspires us to look around at what we’ve accomplished, who we’ve become, and what we’re leaving behind. For Hexum, that meant turning to a different style of songwriting. The songs on these EPs are influenced by his foray into Americana, both in instrumentation and songwriting. Reading Saved by a Song by Mary Gauthier and The Creative Act by Rick Rubin pushed him to explore writing far more personal songs inspired by his life. Listening to Americana artists like Sierra Ferrell, Faye Webster, k.d. lang, Patsy Cline, and Madeleine Peyroux was part of Hexum’s path to making these EPs. The idea to release his first solo albums came after starting SKP, a tech company that allows artists to release albums outside the major label system and retain the rights to their work. Realizing that system, and the distribution it offered, were at his fingertips, was all he needed to release these songs after giving himself permission to become more vulnerable in his songwriting. “I don’t have to wait for other people to say when I can release music,” he says. From Waxing Nostalgic, the slow dance opener that saw Hexum making his debut as a mandolin player, is “Cosmic Connection.” It’s a little more akin to a waltz, with a very ‘60s message about tapping into the universal and letting go of a tribal mentality of ‘us versus them.’ “We’re so much more connected and there is more harmony than feels apparent right now,” he says. “I choose to reflect on that, even if we feel more out of sync as a species than we have at other times.” Making a list of traumatic moments that Hexum felt he needed to explore in songs led to writing “I’m Open” on Waning Time about the time before his brother Patrick passed away following an overdose. Hexum, who is sober, discusses painful moments in the song, like offering to discuss sobriety with his sibling, giving him a guitar that he pawned, and accepting that all anyone can do is offer help. The EPs also contain a pair of covers, Chapppell Roan’s “California” on Full Memories and Billie Holiday’s “Solitude” on Waning Time. Both tap into his crooner-style voice, with Roan’s song speaking to a near-universal experience of Midwesterners who move to the coast, East or West, in search of a bigger life. It’s a crisis of confidence explored through the delivery of someone who has lived a whole life in California, and reckoned with the decisions made throughout that life.
AFI
Carly Cosgrove
The OG’s & WannaBe’s of Comedy & Music
One of Omaha’s most popular local shows returns to The Waiting Room with: “The OG’s & WannaBe’s of Comedy & Music!” on Sunday, Dec 21, with doors at 5pm and show at 6pm. The show features some of Omaha’s best comics and musicians along with some of the up-and-comers in the area. This unique show has sold out The Funny Bone and packed Bushwhackers and the German-American Club. The comedy side will feature BARRY BARGER, an Omaha native living in Los Angeles and working in the entertainment industry as an actor and comedian. Also, performing will be STEVEN NELSON (yes, the boxer) with Host JIM SHEIL. Other comics to be added, please check the Host’s social media for updates. The bands include NEON SAINTS, a newer alternative rock cover band with some original music. Next up is MCM MAXX, an Omaha indie folk group on the local scene. Also, on the bill is NEXT WEDNESDAY, a newer band playing a wide spectrum of rock covers. Rounding out the music will be THE MEMPHIS PROJECT, a group of younger musicians focused on the blues. They are the recent winner of the Nebraska Blues Challenge and will represent Nebraska this winter in Memphis at the International Blues Challenge.
The Album Party
-formerly Rock & Roll Suicide- The Album Party is a band out of Omaha NE focused on covering albums in their entirety.
The Mary Ellen Carter
Vertical Mattress & Friends
Featuring Mary Margaret Bausch, Keith Navratil, Brent Beller, Clarence Nichols, Tom Brantley, Tyler Owen, Mark Ehrhart, Vic Padios, Aaron Filipi, TJ Twit, Cy Harrison, and Henry Wiedrich