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February 4, 2005
2005 Riverfront Playing With Fire concert series
By NANCY NEUROHR
ast
year's FREE concert series on Omaha's riverfront proved to be very
successful. It was so well-received in fact, that many of you have
already inquired about the line-up for this year's shows.The
promoters for the 2nd Annual Playing with Fire concerts promise
you won't be disappointed.
They have added two more shows than last year (a total of seven).
Six Saturday shows and one 
Sunday show will once again be held at
Lewis and Clark Landing on the riverfront. In addition, there will
be four Friday shows held on the banks of the Heartland of America
Park, located just east of 10th and Farnam.
Admission is FREE to all shows. No coolers, food or dogs will be allowed in. You're welcome to bring lawn chairs or blankets. Reasonably priced concessions will be provided.
Here is the line-up for the 2005
Playing with Fire concerts. You may want to print this
information for future reference. Start times for each concert
will be announced at a later date and will appear on
OmahaRiverFront.com's Event Calendar.
| ~ C O N C E R T S C H E D U L E ~ |
| Friday, May
20th Renee Austin: A Blind Pig recording artist that can put a searing hot modern blues vocal sure to cure what ails ya! |
| Saturday,
May 21st Sonny Landreth: Critically recognized Louisiana slide guitar player that can sizzle with the best of 'em. Landreth's most current release, a live album, is 'Grant Street' Albert Cummings: A new twang bar king on the national scene that has wow'd local audiences with his relentless performances. Johnsen Bros: A local band with good songs that also appear on the recently re-named Blues Society of Omaha 5th anniversary CD, ' Deep Blue' |
| Friday,
June 3rd Joanna Connor: Unable to capture her grit on vinyl, or CD I guess these days, Connor's live shows are legendary. |
| Saturday,
June 4th Bernard Allison: Son of the late local favorite and highly touted Alligator artist Luther Allison, Bernard hit the road fresh out of high school and never looked back. His show last year was rained out but bring you dancing shoes because no one leaves this show without sweat on their brow! Melvin Taylor: Probably one of America's premier creative talents on the guitar Taylor has successfully mixed the jazz styling of George Benson with the Texas shuffles of Stevie Ray Vaughan. Hot & cold performances have hampered Taylor in the past but expect the gauntlet to be thrown down as Taylor comes to town - a man on a mission! Blues Messengers: A Lincoln based band featuring the son of Nebraska's newest blues transplant Magic Slim. |
| Friday,
July 15th Eric Sardinas: Something special for the ladies, Sardinas melds Johnny Winter's prowess on the electric slide with the pyrotechnics and a leather clad Chippendale dancer physic. The music's good and watching the ladies watch Sardinas is an added bonus. |
| Saturday,
July 16th Curtis Salgado: A noted soul singer with heavy blues overtones Salgado can deliver an evening of entertainment with rich vocals and well written tunes. Having toured with Santana, Salgado hailed from Portland and is close friends with Robert Cray. A nice summer highlight. John Mays and Fathead: One of a few relatively here-to-fore unknown acts brought in by PWF Promoter Jeff Davis. Jeff's got a bend for red hot six-stringers so chances are this band will be running a few notes up the fretboard to see how they fly. Walter Trout: Back for more after headlining last year Trout is no limp fish when it comes to pounding the floor boards. |
| Friday,
August 12th Ana Popovic: One of five artists that were on the bill last year and back again this year, Popovic hails from the war torn former nation of Yugoslavia. A strong singer and player Popovic is young, sexy, and able to 'lay down' with the best of'em. This promises to be our most popular Friday evening performance. |
| Saturday,
August 13th Joe Bonamassa: A Star rising quickly on the national stage Bonamassa is a powerhouse guitar player well schooled in rock, blues, and amazingly classical guitar licks. Able to move from deep Yes tracks into Howling Wolf and back into Jethro Tull, Bonamassa has a tasty archival knowledge of the electric guitar. A local favorite that has embraced Omaha, Joemaha is an artist that will define his place within the realm of recorded music. Dave Hole: A slide man from down-under Australia way, Alligator recording artist Dave Hole's albums have failed to capture the raw emotion and excitement that cascades from the stage when performing live. There is no hole in Dave's ability to rock the house! Tres Equis: A local cover band with three adept players, members of Tres Equis have toured the globe in support of national recording artists. With a tempo spiked on FAST Tres Equis will demand that Hole and Bonamassa rise to the occasion. |
| Friday,
September 9th - An Evening
of TEXAS BLUES! Texas has it's own stake in the blues with greats like Johnny Winter, T-Bone Walker, and Stevie Ray Vaughan developing that scene. Wear your boots and hat and ya'all come down for an evening that is anything but hick featuring. Malford Milligan: Sang with Storyville which featured Double Trouble's Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton as well as Charlie Sexton and Eric-Clapton-boy-toy Doyle 'If it's too loud I must be good' Bramhall Jr. Tony Vega Band Dave Nevling |
| Saturday,
September 10th - Ladies
Sing The Blues Sue Foley: Has got to be one of the most promising figures on the national blues stage under the age of 70. She's talented, she writes excellent songs, she's been critically raved about her entire career and she plays an especially mean, rootsy guitar. Foley has played Omaha numerous times in the past including opening for Johnny Winter at the Ranch Bowl, at the original Howard Street Tavern, and bringing a breath of fresh air to the 5th annual Indigenous Jam. Dawn Tyler Blues Project: Like Foley, Dawn Tyler hails from North of the border and actually pairs up on stage with Foley frequently. Tyler is a relatively unknown south of Lake Superior but if Jeff likes it, well, it must be good! Sarah Benck and the Robbers: The local act frequently given the 'next most likely to get signed local band' Benck is proof positive that good things come in small packages because Sarah can wail her tail off with the best of'em. Once again this promises to be an exciting event of friendly competition that pushes each artist to exceed their norm. |
| Saturday,
September 11th - A Gospel Sunday Afternoon The Campbell Brothers: When Robert Randolph & the Family Band reported smoked Eric Clapton at the Qwest Center it was the first exposure for many listeners to the wonder of the Pedal Lap Steel Guitar. Clearly Randolph has managed the transition from the Lap Steel's original roots in the Gospel Music of the Black Christian churches to pop music. So who could have 'schooled' Randolph? Yes, the legendary Campbell Brothers. Come with low expectations cause they are going to rock you, roll you, and make you love God before the end of their set. These guys are the real deal. Dawn Tyler Blues Project: (see Saturday, September 10th) Heidi Joy: Operatically trained vocalist Heidi Joy has proven time and again that the world is her pearl. Hardly known within the confines of her hometown, Joy's promising future is rolling out like a red carpet. Joy indeed! |
See ya'll there!
