Outside the Box: 15 Bands Live, Friday May 1st

By Tom Ineck
For the Star City Blog

Thinking outside the box is that ability to shift perspective in order to gain insight and arrive at unconventional solutions.

“Outside the Box” is that and more. It also is an audacious music event featuring 15 diverse artists on three stages inside and outside of Box Awesome, an unconventional little club at 815 O St., on the edge of the Historic Haymarket District in downtown Lincoln. Scheduled from 5:30 p.m. until closing on May 1, “Outside the Box” is the brainchild of Rad Kadillac Productions and the folks at Box Awesome.

With a little luck, and good audience response, it will be the first of many such events. In fact, organizers have subtitled the inaugural affair “Spring Session, Vol.1,” implying a twice-annual bash corresponding with spring and fall semesters at the University of Nebraska and other area schools.

First and foremost, “Outside the Box” will be a showcase of local musical talent with little regard to stylistic boundaries. Justin Kadlec, president and chief booking contact for Rad Kadillac, explained the common denominator.

“The only thing that they have in common is that they’re from Nebraska. The lineup is really diverse. It’s kind of a wish list of bands that we’ve worked with previously or that we know are some of our favorites from the area. We’re giving people the option of an outdoor or indoor atmosphere, almost like a festival.”

Not coincidently, the festival is being touted as “a celebration of music, the season and all things outside the box.” Organizers shrewdly booked the event with another purpose in mind.

“We wanted to bring the community together, too,” Kadlec said. “These bands all have followings of their own. If we can let them see what other people are doing, as well, it will help build our local scene even more.”

Gates open at 5:30 p.m., with continuous music scheduled from 6 p.m. in staggered performance times that will allow listeners to wander from one stage to another.

The event’s time and place have advantages. By scheduling the performances on the first Friday of the month, organizers will undoubtedly draw from the First Friday Gallery Walk that brings hundreds of art patrons and curious onlookers to the Haymarket area. By staging the outdoor performances under the new O Street overpass, they also prevent the threat of weather delay or cancellation.

Entrances will be located on O street just east of Box Awesome and in the Haymarket south of the outdoor stage. Eighth Street will be closed.

Tickets for “Outside the Box” are $10 at the gate. It’s an 18-and-over show, but a $2 surcharge will be added for people under 21. Lincoln brewery Empyrean Ales will be the exclusive beverage vendor and Lazzarri's will sell pizza for $3 a slice.

Based in Omaha, Rad Kadillac has promoted and produced dozens of concerts since its inception three years ago. Founders Justin Kadlec and Nick Radil, both 30, met in college and shared an eclectic love of music. Kadlec worked in concert promotion in Lawrence, Kan., and at the Rococo Theatre in Lincoln before teaming up with Radil to launch his own risky business venture. 

“Almost out of a vanity project, out of the music that we liked that we didn’t see much in the area, we decided that with the connections we had we could try to make a splash on the scene with more diverse music,” Kadlec said.

Booking acts primarily at Box Awesome and Knickerbockers in Lincoln and at The Slowdown and The  Waiting Room in Omaha, Rad Kadillac also has produced shows at the Sokol Auditorium in Omaha and at Westfair in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and even a few events in Kansas City, Mo., and Lawrence. The young entrepreneurs plan to broaden their reach in Lincoln with concerts at the new Bourbon Theater, formerly known as the State Theater, and in Omaha at the Anchor Inn.

“It’s been a lot of work building it up and getting the word out there,” Kadlec said. “I think people are starting to finally come around to the idea of not having to leave the state to check out bands elsewhere, when we can just bring them to us.”

A native of Fremont, Kadlec is especially proud of bringing in artists that might not otherwise have been given a chance in Nebraska, such as the North Mississippi All-Stars, Mike Gordon of Phish fame, Buckethead, Govt. Mule, Jason Isbell, and Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk. Upcoming shows include the Charlie Hunter Duo, May 4 at the Waiting Room and reggae legends Sly and Robbie, June 11 at Slowdown.

Of course, Kadlec also is enthusiastically supportive of Nebraska’s native sons and daughters. That emphasis on local musicians is most apparent in the concept and the scheduled talent on tap at “Outside the Box.”

Schedule for “Outside the Box”:

Main Stage (Outside the Box)
Heat Machine (ska)
Son of 76 (soul/roots/blues)
Blue Martian Tribe (jam fusion)
Brad Hoshaw & the Seven Deadlies (indie/Americana)
Somasphere (live electronica)

Inside the Box (Upstairs Stage)
Triggertown (bluegrass)
The Awkwords (hip hop)
Defunct Generation (rock/metal)
Knots (indie/rock)
Andrews Ave. (jam fusion)
DJ Spence (hip-hop/trance/booty)

The BASSment Stage: DJ performances (sponsored by HighLucyNation Productions)
Bentone
Miss Knotty
Myth
The Citizens