Red Sky Festival Held in 2011

This website was created to promote the 2011 Red Sky Festival. The Red Sky Music Festival was a six-day event held outdoors at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha and on the adjacent Festival Grounds in Omaha, Nebraska. Single day, three day and six day passes for the Festival Grounds, plus tickets for the Main Stage, were available here for the 2011 & 2012 festival. The format for the festival included a headlining act closing each night with local and national acts performing on stages around the stadium during the day. The festival aimed to include many different genres of music.

If you attended the Festival in 2011 this page should bring back some great memories. I was there will a bunch of friends. We had decided to all wear variations of cool Batman sweatshirts. I wore a designer Batman sweatshirt with The Joker design on the first day we attended. I love this online store - moonatmidnight.com - where I buy all my Batman shirt styles. They have so many styles I could probably wear a different design every day for a year. The the fourth day of the festival people were calling us the Bat Gang. I must admit being identified as Batman fans was a great way to meet girls. By the last day of the festival there were lots of fans wearing Batman shirts. It was a gas seeing how we were influencing others to join the Batman gang. We had a blast at the festival and were really disappointed that there wasn't going to be another Red Sky Festival (see announcement below). True it was hot out there, but the music was great with acts like Sister Hazel, John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting, George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic, Tonic, The Charlie Daniels Band, STS9, Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers, as well as guitar greats Eric Johnson and Buddy Guy. I can't believe this was it for the Red Sky Festival. Bummer!

In the fall of 2012, MEC (Omaha's Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority) announced that there would not be another Red Sky Music Festival. Citing difficulties including scheduling artists around summer tours and the blistering July heat, they said there would still be concerts at TD Ameritrade Park, just not in festival format.

Press Release

For Immediate Release – December 15, 2010

RED SKY MUSIC FESTIVAL TO ROCK OMAHA FOR SIX CONSECUTIVE NIGHTS

Multi-Genre Annual Music Festival Debuts July 2011

Omaha, NE – The Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority and Live Nation have come together to announce the new Red Sky Music Festival bringing top entertainment and breakout artists to Omaha each July. The outdoor festival, produced by Live Nation, will feature all genres of artists, on three stages in Downtown Omaha, for six consecutive days each summer. The inaugural Red Sky Music Festival will be held on July19, 2011 through July 24th taking place in and around TD Ameritrade Park Omaha and the Qwest Center Omaha. Confirmed artists will be announced early next year.

Commenting on the event, MECA President and CEO Roger Dixon stated, “Partnering with Live Nation, the world’s largest live music company, gives us access to an incredible artistic lineup. We have been working hard to make the Red Sky Music Festival a reality, and we are intrigued with the possibilities of where this festival can go.”

“Omaha is a strong live music market making it an ideal city to create a multi-night music festival to feature the best in superstar and emerging touring talent. The success of Qwest Center Omaha has proved time and time again that Omaha music fans are some of the most passionate live music fans in the country,” said Mark Campana, Co-President, Live Nation, North American Concerts. “We are excited to work with The Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority on what we hope to be a musical highlight of the summer for Omaha.”

About Live Nation Entertainment:

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE-LYV) is the largest live entertainment company in the world: connecting 200 million fans to 100,000 events in over 40 countries which has mad ticketmaster.com the #3 eCommerce website in the world.

2011 Festival

2011 Red Sky Music Festival Showcases Schedule:

The festival will kick off each day with bands on two outdoor stages in MECA Parking Lot B, directly in front of Qwest Center in Omaha and to the south of the stadium. In addition to the bands performing in Lot B each day, there will also be food and beverage tents, sponsorship activation, corporate hospitality and other vendor activity





The music starts at noon each day, with the winners of the Battle of the Bands Showcases leading the charge. The Battle of the Bands Showcases have sparked strong interest locally and across the region, with more than a 150 bands submitting their music.

Once the sun goes down, the Red Sky Music Festival will move next door to the TD Ameritrade Park for the final big headlining concert of the night.

The schedule includes:

— MONDAY, JULY 18: Sister Hazel, 3:45 to 5 p.m., Stage C; The Fab Four: The Ultimate Tribute, 4:30 to 5:45 p,m., Stage B; Better Than Ezra, 5:30 to 7 p.m., Stage C; Five for Fighting, 6:15 to 7:15 p.m., Stage B; and Journey, with Night Ranger, 7:30 p.m., Main Stage.

—TUESDAY, JULY 19: Kids These Days, 2:20 to 3 p.m., Stage C; Big Gigantic, 3:15 to 4:15 p.m., Stage B; Cornmeal, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., Stage C; STS9, 5 to 6:45 p.m., Stage B; George Clinton, 5:15 to 6:30 p.m., Stage C; and 311 with Sublime, 6:30 p.m., Main Stage.

— WEDNESDAY, JULY 20: Tonic, 3:45 to 4:45 p.m., Stage C; Chad Lee, 4:15 to 5:15 p.m., Stage B; Soul Asylum, 5:15 to 6:45 p.m., Stage C; the Charlie Daniels Band, 5:45 to 7:15 p.m., Stage B; and Kid Rock with Jamey Johnson, 7:30 p.m., Main Stage.





—THURSDAY, JULY 21: Michael Williams Band, 3 to 3:45 p.m., Stage B; 10,000 Maniacs, 3:45 to 4:45 p.m., Stage C; Eric Johnson, 4:15 to 5 p.m., Stage B; Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers, 5:15 to 6:30 p.m., Stage C; Buddy Gunn with Quinn Sullivan, 5:30 to 6:45 p.m., Stage B; and the Zac Brown Band, with Blackberry Smoke and Sonia Leigh, 6:30 p.m., Main Stage.

— FRIDAY, JULY 22: The Dirt Drifters, 3:45 to 4:45 p.m., Stage C; Ingram Hill, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., Stage B; the Randy Rogers Band, 5:15 to 6:45 p.m., Stage C; Cowboy Mouth, 6 to 7:15 p.m., Stage B; and Jason Aldean, with Chris Young and Thompson Square, 7:30 p.m., Main Stage.



—SATURDAY, JULY 23: Showcase Bands, noon to close, Stages B and C.

Festival grounds tickets are $15 for a single-day pass, $30 for a three-day pass and $60 for a six-day pass. All passes include admission to Stages B and C only. Entry to Main Stage in TD Ameritrade Park Omaha is not included. The festival grounds gates will open at 11 a.m each day, with the music starting at noon. Wristbands to leave and re-enter the festival grounds are available at all gate areas daily. Re-entry wristbands will be valid for a single, same day re-entry



Each Main Stage ticket purchase includes admission to the festival grounds (Stages B & C). Main Stage tickets range from $25 to $125 (includes fees) for Journey; $25 and $35 for 311 and Sublime; $33 to $55.50 for Kid Rock; $34 to $55 for the Zac Brown Band; and $29.75 to $54.75 for Jason Aldean.

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Battle of the Local Bands 2011 Schedule

The Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority (MECA) of Omaha and Live Nation are pleased to present the first ever Red Sky Music Festival in and around TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. Omaha's original alternative newsweekly, The Reader, is leading the battle. They will select a variety of local bands/artists, then hold a month long music showcase at local venues where bands can compete for a performance slot at the festival.

June 10 - The Slowdown

Avaricious Band, Finest Hour, Session 7

Avaricious Band, Finest Hour, Session 7 June 11 - Parliament West

Velvet Crush, Take Me To Vegas, Moon Juice, Straight Out of Junior High, The Bishops, Vago, Twitch

Velvet Crush, Take Me To Vegas, Moon Juice, Straight Out of Junior High, The Bishops, Vago, Twitch June 16 - Rednecks

Crossfire, Jaymie Jones, Shelia Greenland, The Willards

Crossfire, Jaymie Jones, Shelia Greenland, The Willards June 19 - The Waiting Room

Satchel Grande, We Be Lions, Lonely Estates, Midwest Dilemma

Satchel Grande, We Be Lions, Lonely Estates, Midwest Dilemma June 24 - Pat & Mike's

Rock Paper Dynamite, The Answer Team, Voodoo Method, Mint Wad Willy

Rock Paper Dynamite, The Answer Team, Voodoo Method, Mint Wad Willy June 25 - The 21st Saloon

Bad Country, Blue Bird, Sidecar 69

Bad Country, Blue Bird, Sidecar 69 June 26 - Pizza Shoppe

Rhythm Collective, Chris Saub, Marcos y Sabor, Mojo Bag

Rhythm Collective, Chris Saub, Marcos y Sabor, Mojo Bag June 30 - Lava Jay's

Hookshot, After the Fall, Mitch Gettman Band, Mr. Hand

Hookshot, After the Fall, Mitch Gettman Band, Mr. Hand July 1 - Chrome Lounge

Byleth, Broken Crown, Paisty Jenny, Vulsafire

Byleth, Broken Crown, Paisty Jenny, Vulsafire July 9 - Duece's

Confidentials, Steve Villamonte, Cleo's Apartment, Matt Gagne

HOW TO SUBMIT: Bands will be invited to showcase in a series of performances currently being scheduled in June and July. If selected, bands will have the opportunity to perform at the Red Sky Music Festival held on July 18-23, 2011, on one of the 3 festival stages. Several selected bands will perform at the festival per day.Please know that we intend for bands to be paid for any performance, the final details for the showcases will be determined by venue. To streamline this process and collect pertinent information, we're inviting bands to sign up through Sonicbids, the industry leader in helping bands get gigs.

GO TO - www.sonicbids.com/redskyfestival (Deadline - May 18, 2011)

Artists selected for the showcase will be compensated, based on draw.

All artists selected for the showcase will get a complimentary 3-day pass to the festival for band members, good for entry to the B and C stages.

Professional sound and lights, as well as a sound engineer, will be provided at each showcase.

The artists who are selected to play at the festival will be compensated.





RedSkyFestival.com