Stages across the world remain dark, but we are turning the lights on here at Countryside for you! While in-person performing arts may not be back for a few more months, we hope that we can fill a valuable gap for Countrysiders as well as the broader community with these offerings. It is a chance for us to support local musicians. These concerts will cover a wide range of genres – from jazz and classical to Broadway, folk music, and ethnic music.
In August, we will again be bringing the Broadway stage to your doorstep, and will explore a wide variety of music: from the Andes to Africa, with a side of soul! Concert links can be found on the Countryside calendar at countrysideucc.org/calendar.
Friday August 14, 7 PM: Kusi Taki – Experience the Andean cultures of Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru and Chile through an acoustic journey and storytelling. The award-winning Lincoln-based Andean musical group Kusi Taki (Quechua for ‘Enchanting Music’) will play traditional South American instruments including the Quena (flute), Zampoñas (panpipes), Charango (10-stringed small guitar) and Bombo (goatskin drum) and sing in Spanish and Quechua to bring alive the cultures and history of the indigenous people of the Andes. Director Oscar Rios Pohirieth is a professional musician and has performed throughout Mexico, the United States and Europe.
Friday August 21, 7 PM: Spirituals, Psalms, and Songs for Social Change featuring Justin Payne – join Omaha vocalist and pianist Justin Payne for an uplifting evening featuring soul, spirituals, a new setting of Psalms that he composed.
Friday August 28, 7 PM: Dr. Kristín Jónína Taylor and the UNO Piano Studio -This concert will feature Dr. Kristín Jónína Taylor along with students from her piano studio at UNO. COVID-19 has taken away many performance opportunities for college students, so we are going to provide a performance space for them and hear masterworks played by up and coming talent.