Your guide to Lincoln Exposed

Hi,

The city's annual showcase of local music talent is almost here: Lincoln Exposed, now in its 21st year, will run Wednesday to Saturday of this week.

Last year's edition featured 122 bands, which the Journal-Star noted at the time was the biggest ever. But that record's about to be broken!

This year, the music festival will feature a staggering 134 performances from local musicians, spanning every conceivable sound from pop punk and folk to bizarre, obscure micro-genres like "medieval prog jazz metal" and "dead racoon spit metal" (two of the strangest and most interesting self-descriptions I came across while working on this preview).

As far as I can tell, there's no official online guide to all the bands except the rather bare-bones schedule. So I assigned myself the task of tracking down as many of the artists as I could and put together the following preview/guide.

A few caveats: I've tried to link to people's music where I could find it. But some of the bands and musicians don't seem to have an online profile! Also my descriptions of each band are based on a combination of what they say about themselves and my own judgement (which of course is infallible).

I also built a linktree with every Bandcamp page I could find:

Lincoln Exposed 2026 | Linktree

This is not an official event page! Created by This Week in Lincoln

Linktree

Spotify sucks, so please go buy albums from bands you like (or at least find a less bad streaming service). But I know a lot of music is still there and if you insist on using it, I put together a sampler playlist. Listen and feel guilty.

You can buy an all-access pass through the Bourbon Theatre's website for only $45. Day passes are also available for cheap. All shows will take place downtown at The Zoo Bar, Duffy's, Bourbon, Bodega's Alley, and 1867 Bar. Each band will play a 40 minute set.

Hope to see you out at the festival.

~ Ty

Day 1 — Wednesday, February 11

Zoo Bar

• 5 pm - P.O.E.
• 6 pm - OTOS - Sad boys, sad music. Listen to the She Was My Ryan EP
• 7 pm - Sleep Sinatra - Underground hip-hop artist with a long list of collaborators. Listen to his recent EP Strange Fires
• 8 pm - Ezra - Death metal band with three decades in the Nebraska scene. Listen to their track "Bury The Dead"
• 9 pm - Vibe Check - Guitarist Myles Jasnowski leads this smooth and soulful jazz-ish group. Listen to a cover of Yussef Dayes
• 10 pm - Something In The Oven
• 11 pm - Crack Mountain - Earthy, grungy dead racoon spit metal. Listen to their recent EP Meat for the Wolves

Duffy's Tavern

• 6:40 pm - Frailin' Hearts - Acoustic folk Americana, "like the soundtrack to sitting on a summer porch drinking lemonade” (The Daily Nebraskan). Listen to their EP Fickle as a Fiddle
• 7:40 pm - Cheap Death - Rock, alt and blues, a project of Blue Raven Music Studios
• 8:40 pm - Church of Blues - A supergroup of classic and traditional blues musicians. Listen to a recent performance here
• 9:40 pm - The Owls
• 10:40 pm - Pilot Light - Punk emo grunge band. Listen to their latest EP Meredeth
• 11:40 pm - Jxhnny Bliss + SteezThePilot + Alazha - Local MCs plus a soulful singer/songwriter. Listen here, here, and here

Bourbon Theatre

• 6:20 pm - Fear Of Falling - Brand new metalcore band. Listen to a recent live show here
• 7:20 pm - Silver Magnolia
• 8:20 pm - Alls - Queer punk high school emo band. Listen to their most recent album, maroon, departed
• 9:20 pm - The Zooeys - 1980s alt rock recreated and reimagined for the 2020s. Listen to their newest single "Gentle Sun"
• 10:20 pm - Jiblets - A four-piece, genre-blending band spanning metalcore, deathcore, and djent. Listen to their latest single "Rip Apart"
• 11:20 pm - Joyrager - Alt rock band made up of UNL students. Listen to their latest EP Joy To The Rage and watch their Press Play concert

Bodega's Alley

• 7 pm - Nebraska Jr Blues Band - A traditional and original electric Chicago blues band. Listen to their album Lonesome Feeling
• 8 pm - Till Hell - Hard rock
• 9 pm - Criminal Neglect - Punk rockers
• 10 pm - Million Dollar Veins - Supercharged Rock 'n' Roll. Listen to their debut recording Live & Lost at Sekret Studios
• 11 pm - Within Wilds - Instrumental rock guys. Listen to their EP From the Valley of the Moon
• midnight - The Credentials - Punk alt rock trio. Listen to their sophomore album Memoria

1867 Bar

• 5:40 pm - George WD-40 - Garage-punk rock plus hints of surf, classic rock, country and more
• 6:40 pm - The Fatal E's - Noise rock adjacent. Listen to their cover of Shellac's "Song Against Itself"
• 7:40 pm - Beyond Bananas - Groovy funk rockers
• 8:40 pm - The World Without Us - No-coast metalcore. Listen to their EP This Is Not How It Was Supposed To Be
• 9:40 pm - Heavier Than Air - Experimental ensemble fusing video art and live music
• 10:40 pm - Comfy - Jazz-rock fusion with performances that feel "like a jam sesh between friends" (The Daily Nebraskan)
• 11:40 pm - Perception Zero

Day 2 — Thursday, February 12

Zoo Bar

• 5 pm - Whiskey Drinker's Union - Handcrafted heartland rock jams. Listen to their debut record The Whiskey Drinkers Union LP
• 6 pm - Scott Severin & Stateleigh Holmes - A folk country duo. Listen to their album Unknown Rider
• 7 pm - Sweats - Post-punkers. Listen to their EP Splashback
• 8 pm - MMA - Prog rock. Listen to their debut release Saraha
• 9 pm - Root Marm Chicken Farm Jug Band - A folksy hodgepodge of local musicians dedicated to keeping roots music and the art of jug alive. Listen to their latest album Hokum? Damn Near Killed 'Em
• 10 pm - Josh Hoyer's Colossal 4 - Soul funk music for modern times
• 11 pm - Disrepair - Raw, aggressive, political punk. Listen to their latest album Slaughterhaüs

Duffy's Tavern

• 6:40 pm - Lonely Winters - Americana rock. Listen to their recent release "Strong Like Stone"
• 7:40 pm - The Riva Band - Blues rock. Watch their recent show at Bodega's here.
• 8:40 pm - Dean The Bible - "unhinged vibes ... with multiple songs about crystal meth" (The Daily Nebraskan)
• 9:40 pm - Swaul Pope - Eclectic indie rock project. Listen to his (appropriately named) album Lincoln Vol. 1
• 10:40 pm - FAHR - Three piece metal band. Listen to their track "Shellshock"
• 11:40 pm - Quiet2Quiet - Funky rap group. Listen to their track "Perfect"

Bourbon Theatre

• 6:20 pm - Hot Dealers - Psych folk rock
• 7:20 pm - Bogusman - Punkish alt rock. Listen to their recent album Fear of Mirrors
• 8:20 pm - Sputnik Kaputnik - Eccentric, varied and deeply strange. Listen to electropopish album Two and a Half Stars on the Golf Course
• 9:20 pm - Mono In Stereo - Power pop/pub rock. Listen to a recent show here
• 10:20 pm - Fascinus Rex - Sleez metal. Listen to their most recent track "Cursed Tree"
• 11:20 pm - The Obscurants - Emo rock. Listen to their album Forward, Nowhere!

Bodega's Alley

• 7 pm - All Star City Blues Band - Blue collar blues
• 8 pm - Echo - Rock band
• 9 pm - Nancy Raygun - Three piece hard core
• 10 pm - Domestica - Alt punk group featuring former members of the legendary Mercy Rule and Sideshow. Listen to their album Domestica 3
• 11 pm - Leaves Brown - Experimental artistic ensemble. Listen to their album am i good
• midnight - Blondo - Pop punk/emo/alternative band. Listen to their album heritage

1867 Bar

• 5:40 pm - Jet Set - Gunk punk. Listen to their self-titled EP
• 6:40 pm - Mothawk - Power pop rock group. Listen to their debut self-titled album
• 7:40 pm - Taylor Carnell - Versatile artist who's been writing indie folk songs recently. Listen to his recent album only when i'm ready
• 8:40 pm - Keenan Serrano
• 9:40 pm - The Breakroom - Groovy alt rock. Listen to their newest EP Just Think
• 10:40 pm - Phuzz - Stoner rock born of basement jam sessions. Listen to their EP I feel PHUZZY
• 11:40 pm - Everybody's Friend - Post-hardcore. Listen to their self-titled EP

Day 3 — Friday, February 13

Zoo Bar

• 5 pm - Scallywags
• 6 pm - The NitroBats - Rockabilly boogie beats
• 7 pm - Corson Branch Buzzard Club - Based five piece old timey Americana string band. Stream their newest track "All You Fascists Bound to Lose"
• 8 pm - A Ferocious Jungle Cat - Psychedelic funk rock. Listen to their recent recording Nebraskan Thunderfunk EP
• 9 pm - Big Daddy Caleb and the Chargers - Blues, soul, rock n roll. Watch their show at ZooFest
• 10 pm - Ro Hempel Band - Mix of reggae, rock, ska and funk. Listen to their most recent EP Early Bird
• 11 pm - Verse and the Vices - Lo-fi indierock. Listen to their self-titled album
• midnight - Vera Devorah - Bedroom rock. Listen to their self-titled album, a record that was "written through a dark night of the soul"

Duffy's Tavern

• 6:40 pm - Her Flyaway Manner - Math emo rock. Listen to their album An Ethology Of Me
• 7:40 pm - Powerful Science - Out-there electro pop. Listen to their album Crumpled Cans on the Beach
• 8:40 pm - The Allendales - Longstanding alt rock band. Listen to their album Toma Toda
• 9:40 pm - Thirst Things First - New wavey electro punk. Listen to their banger of an album ROILTY
• 10:40 pm - The Machete Archive - Instrumental progressive rock. Listen to their album Tempus Omnia Vorat
• 11:40 pm - The Killigans - Midwest folk dad punk. Listen to their new track "Long Way Home"
• 12:40 am - Cuddlebone - Heavy space rock. Listen to their album swell.

Bourbon Theatre

• 6:20 pm - Iced Wrist - Five piece hardcore/slam band. Listen to their debut album Neanderthal
• 7:20 pm - NudiBrunch - Eclectic rock n roll band. Listen to their single "Still Reeling"
• 8:20 pm - Your Own Knife - Post-hardcore punk. Listen to their album People Die Here All the Time
• 9:20 pm - Underbite - Prog/math/fusion power trio. Listen to their improv jam compilation Exploratory Surgery (Volume 1)
• 10:20 pm - Dip Tet - Post-grunge skunk rock. Listen to their self-titled album
• 11:20 pm - Jdreams the Alien + Friends - Hip hop. Listen to their new album Fragments and watch their Press Play appearance

Bodega's Alley

• 7 pm - The Midnight Wanderers - Five piece folk and bluegrass band. Watch their performance of "Salty dog blues"
• 8 pm - Witherpoint - Alt rock
• 9 pm - Dirty Talker - Alt pop. Listen to their self-titled album
• 10 pm - SILO
• 11 pm - Head Change - Funk rock. Listen to their album Walking on Water
• midnight - Leighton - Hard rock. Listen to their single "Spark"

1867 Bar

• 5:40 pm - KJ Teder - Indie pop singer/songwriter. Listen to her latest single "Blue is the Night"
• 6:40 pm - The Said Mantics - Upbeat alt rock. Listen to their new single "Monsters"
• 7:40 pm - Hansen Airship - Americana trio
• 8:40 pm - Whip Sigils - Medieval prog jazz metal. Listen to their self-titled album
• 9:40 pm - Ris - R&B/soul. Listen to her debut album Lover Girl
• 10:40 pm - After Arizona - Pop punk. Listen to their (appropriately titled) single "Pop-Punk Anthem"
• 11:40 pm - Emily Bass & The Near Miracle - Blues/gospel/singer-songwriter. Listen to Emily's song "Love, Our Home"
• 12:40 am - Hold Your Breath - Pop punk. Listen to their single "A Way To Get By"

Day 4 — Saturday, February 14

Zoo Bar

• 5 pm - Slow, Pioneers!
• 6 pm - Orion Walsh & The Ramblin' Hearts - Indie folk music. Listen to Orion's most recent album Walking Through the Forest
• 7 pm - The Hangin' Cowboys - High voltage country rock. Listen to their album The Hangin' Cowboys THC 3
• 8 pm - Lee Bowes and the Jupiter Rings
• 9 pm - Cheesy Bandito - Surf-room pop in the middle of the heartland. Listen to their recent single "The Right Words"
• 10 pm - Head Of Femur - Psychedelic orchestral pop project. Listen to their most recent release Metro Birding Area with Curve That Byrd
• 11 pm - Estrogen Projection - Surf punk rock mixed with a dash of country. Listen to their new single "Seasick"
• midnight - Bolzen Beer Band - Party punk polka band, not your grandma's polka. Listen to their debut album Sex Drugs Polka

Duffy's Tavern

• 6:40 pm - Birthday Girl
• 7:40 pm - The Ulcer Twins - Noise punk. Listen to their demo track "Plastic Iceberg"
• 8:40 pm - All Knowing McGill - Country/Americana. Listen to their album Broken Down Dreams
• 9:40 pm - No Drinking on Grounds - Four piece rock n roll band. Listen to their EP Better Things To Do
• 10:40 pm - Vempire - Moody horrorsynth project. Listen to their recent album The New Invincible
• 11:40 pm - Romantic Hardware
• 12:40 am - Das Dat - R&B/funk. Watch a recent performance here

Bourbon Theatre

• 6:20 pm - Tupelo Springfield - Folk rockers. Listen to their album Love Lies West
• 7:20 pm - The Hanyaks - Indie rock. Listen to their album Social Candy
• 8:20 pm - Ivory Daze - Shoegaze. Goes hard. Listen to their album Chlorine
• 9:20 pm - LaPerm - Eclectic funk rock. Listen to their genre-spanning album Cat Lady
• 10:20 pm - Face - Punk/metal
• 11:20 pm - High Ruler - Stoner metal. Listen to their self-titled EP

Bodega's Alley

• 7 pm - Jack Hotel - Folk, "another goddamn acoustic band." Listen to their new single "Killing the Blues"
• 8 pm - M.A.N. - Raw grindcore. Listen to their recent EP Deterioration//Mass Annihilation Now Split
• 9 pm - The Jericho Strays - Rock n roll band.
• 10 pm - happy John. - Indie folk singer-songwriter. Listen to his album Neon Cardinal
• 11 pm - Mr. McMoney (MRMC$) - Blend of funk, jazz, and progressive rock. Listen to their debut EP Through The Dark
• midnight - Social Cinema - DIY alternative band. Listen to their recent album Don't Get Lost
• 1 am - Dark Oceanz Live

1867 Bar

• 5:40 pm - Floating Opera - Chamber pop/power pop. Listen to their album Pop Song on the Elevator Down
• 6:40 pm - Body Corrosion - Nebraska dirt metal. Listen to their recent EP Body Corrosion III
• 7:40 pm - Wagon - Rock band featuring songs penned by local musician Pat Bradley
• 8:40 pm - Phantom - Metal. Listen to their single "Corsus"
• 9:40 pm - John Voyage - Indie rock. Listen to his newest album It's Only Fair
• 10:40 pm - Mystery School
• 11:40 pm - Smoke In The Sunlight - Indie rock. "The official band of sexual frustration." Listen to their EP Recess Demos