Time and time again I hear from kids these days, “there’s never anything to do in this town ra ra ra!” Being a native lady from this great city of Omaha, NE, that statement usually boils my lobsters. After you’ve lived here long enough, I will admit that you start to run out of options.

Luckily, Omaha is progressing into a thriving urban community. Sure, we’re getting an awesome new baseball park (but I hate baseball), and the Midtown Crossing area off Farnam seems like it’s going to be spectacular (I can’t afford a movie that serves dinner with it), but none of that stuff really pulls me in and says, “Erin, come hang out with me.”

So what other alternatives does a girl like me, picky as can be, have to turn to? Music. Live music if I have my way. Now, going to concerts (or shows as I usually call them, which really confuses my mother) can get up there in prices, but if you budget enough, you can hit one or two a week and still be in the clear.

I really love that Omaha opened The Slowdown. That area just a few blocks east of Creighton is really starting to thrive. I usually hit up their events page once a week to see what’s coming up. This page can be found here

But one of my very favorite Omaha venues is this little joint in Benson called The Waiting Room . I love this place because it’s a nice in between from the luxurious Slowdown to the dinghy Sokol Underground (which let’s face it, hasn’t changed much since the 80s). Not only does The Waiting Room host shows for traveling and local bands, they also hold GUNK dance parties, and have free movie nights.

So to the show kid who once loved The Cog Factory, and shook angry fists at Walmart when they turned The Ranchbowl into a parking lot, one can flock to Benson for good times and new musical memories.