Music of Nebraska

The Music of Nebraska has included a variety of country, jazz, blues, ragtime, rock, and alternative rock musicians. Though many cities and towns across the state have active musical scenes, artists from Omaha and Lincoln have a particularly important musical legacy.

Artists on the label Saddle Creek Records in Omaha, such as Bright Eyes, The Faint, and Cursive, are nationally renowned. The formation of the sound occurred in the mid-1990s with Commander Venus, Frontier Trust, Weak, and Matchbook Shannon, and clubs such as the Cog Factory, and Sokol Music Hall. The 2000s saw a rise in popularity of Saddle Creek Records. The label went on to build a music venue called Slowdown. The Waiting Room also opened in March 2007.

The alternative music scene has produced such popular artists as 311, Beaver & the Hottage Cutch, Betsy Wells and Grasshopper Takeover, and Omaha has been a temporary home base of Midwest bands such as Tilly and the Wall, Rilo Kiley, The Urge, Pomeroy, and Blue October. Tim McMahan's Lazy-i and SLAMOmaha.com are the main media outlets promoting Saddle Creek and other Omaha bands.

In Omaha, a mainstay of the music scene is Nils Anders Erickson. The studio houses modern equipment and has recorded with artists with local connections such as 311, but what makes the studio famous is its collection of vintage equipment. On addition to the studio, Nils heads local jam band Paddy O'Furniture. Other mainstays of the music scene in Omaha include folk artists such as Simon Joyner, Kyle Knapp, and his son, Saddle Creek artist Joe Knapp, Joe Watson, Mike Murphy, Kevin Quinn, and electronic artists Peter None and Chip Davis.

Notable jazz musicians include jazz guitarist Dave Stryker and drummer Victor Lewis.

Omaha also has many heavier rock and metal acts. In the mid to late 1990s the bands Secret Skin, Clever, and Twitch dominated the scene with their highly rhythmic and guitar-driven sound. Since the turn of the millennium, it has been a strong spot for Metalcore bands. A good amount have gone on to be National acts, such as Analog, Paria, System Failure, and I Am Legend. Also, the Power Metal band Cellador hails from Omaha. It also draws many other heavy musical acts, including many Screamo artists, including Eyes of Verotika, Caught in the Fall, and Robots Don't Cry. Other notable groups include Noah's Ark was a Spaceship, Back When, and Father.

Blues advocates including Terry O'Halloran and the Omaha Blues Society have brought world class blues to Omaha. Local artists like Satchel Grande, Kris Lager Band, and Funk Trek are examples of popular local blues artists. Their predecessors Electric Soul Method and Polydypsia helped set the stage for this music to grow in Omaha.

From the 1920s through the early 1960s North Omaha boasted a vibrant entertainment district featuring African American music. The main artery of North 24th Street was the heart of the city's African-American cultural and business community with a thriving jazz and rhythm and blues scene that attracted top-flight swing, blues and jazz bands from across the country.