Feel that buzz in the air? That low hum of anticipation? That’s not your imagination – it’s the sound of Playing with Fire 2025 waking up from its winter nap. You can practically hear it if you lean in close enough: fresh strings being stretched, foot pedals getting test-driven, sharpies scratching out new setlists.

And all roads – musical and otherwise – are leading to one place: Omaha, Nebraska. Why?

Because Playing with Fire is about to ignite the summer soundtrack you didn’t know you were waiting for.

Weekend No. 1 hits Friday, July 25 and Saturday, July 26, and for the first time ever, we’re moving the party indoors (yes, Jeff got the Fire Marshal’s blessing) to one of Omaha’s most iconic listening rooms: The Slowdown. New digs, same electricity. Still free. Still fierce. And if you’re the planning type, we’ve got an option to guarantee your spot admission – more on that in a minute.

Friday, July 25

• Jared William Gottberg – This Omaha native opens the night with a stripped-down, soul-baring set of songs that sound like midnight confessions and Sunday morning recoveries. Imagine a campfire jam with singer-songwriters swapping stories — raw, real, and reverent.
• Harry Manx, the “Mysticssippi Blues Man” – a seven-time Maple Blues Awards winner with six Juno nominations and a Canadian Folk Music Award. Harry returns to Omaha for the first time in 25 years. If Ry Cooder and Ravi Shankar had a musical baby, it’d sound something like this. Manx plays the mohan veena – a 20-string instrument that looks like a sitar fell in love with a dobro. With guest guitarist Kevin Breit (yes, that Kevin Breit, a collaborator on Norah Jones’ “Come Away With Me”), expect a genre-bending set full of spiritual slide guitar, swampy grooves, and blues that levitates.
• The Cinelli Brothers – HEADLINING the night are 2024’s UK Blues Band of the Year, and they’re not here to sip tea. They’re bringing their soul-soaked, harmony-heavy, London-by-way-of-Memphis blues revival to Omaha’s doorstep. Think early Rolling Stones – those tight grooves and sizzling guitar work. This is blues with a British twist, an Italian flair, and a vintage heart.

Saturday, July 26

• Marcus Trummer – This is what happens when Gen Z discovers vinyl. Marcus Trummer’s music, which will open the night, is all velvet guitar tones, introspective lyrics, and grooves you swear you heard in your older cousin’s muscle car in 1977 (you know the one – that gas-guzzling animal that looked like it just ate a can of spinach). Trummer is the winner of the Telluride Blues Challenge and a Maple Blues Award nominee, one of Canada’s brightest young artists; he’s got fire in his frets.
• Alice Armstrong – 2025’s European Blues Challenge Winner and a two-time UK Contemporary Blues Artist of the Year (2024 and 2025). Let that sink in … Yep, Alice Armstrong is a one-woman hurricane of heartbreak, hilarity, and jaw-dropping vocal power, she’s equal parts torch singer and stand-up comic – belting ballads one minute and roasting herself the next. Her set is a rollercoaster of feelings you didn’t know you needed. And her band? A funk-blues freight train with no brakes.
• Danielle Nicole – HEADLINING the night is this Grammy-nominated, bass-wielding siren of Kansas City. Nicole has won multiple Blues Music Awards, including Instrumentalist/Bass and Contemporary Blues Female Artist. With a voice that can stop traffic, her basslines groove like they’ve got unfinished business – gotta get out of the way! And her band – including guitar master Brandon Miller — will take you to church and back again. If you like your blues served with smoke, sweat, and maybe a dash of redemption, this one’s for you.

Free Music, Guaranteed Vibes (And Optional Guaranteed Admission)

As always, admission to Playing with Fire is free. Doors open at 5 p.m.; music begins at 6:30 p.m. This year, with the move indoors and a limited capacity, concertgoers have the option to purchase guaranteed admission, with a limited number of tickets available for $25 – inclusive of sales tax and processing fees. Once indoors, seating is first-come, first-served. Proceeds help support part of PwF’s nonprofit mission: bringing world-class blues to Omaha, free for ALL.

Slowdown offers a $25 admission option per show, inclusive of sales tax and processing fees. Proceeds help support

Playing with Fire’s mission and your sanity.

·     Doors open at 5 p.m. Music starts at 6:30 p.m.

·     Click here: Slowdown’s guaranteed admission tickets

·     Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis for all attendees.

Stay Loud, Sleep Local – Special Hotel Rates at Moxy Omaha

Coming from out of town (or want to turn this hot July weekend into a staycation)? Our partner hotel, Moxy Omaha Downtown, is offering rooms for just $139/night (plus taxes). Boutique charm. Beds are like backstage lounges. Record players in the lobby. Plus, a late-night lounge to groove, chill and reminisce on the concerts with fellow fans and artists. And it’s just blocks from The Slowdown.

·     Fan rate: $139/night

·     Availability to Book Your Moxy Stay

·     July 23–28

·     August 13–18

See you at The Slowdown!

– Jeff and Vanessa 

ABOUT PLAYING WITH FIRE – Since 2004, Playing with Fire has been Omaha’s free summer concert lifeline, spotlighting global blues, soul, funk and roots music while fueling local nonprofits. Guided by Jeff Davis and his co-producer Vanessa Marie, two nomads in pursuit of musical brilliance – and supported by the Douglas County Visitors Improvement Fund, in-kind support and public donations. PwF has hosted 1,000-plus musicians and welcomed 750,000 fans, all with an impeccable safety record, deep respect for the music, and boundless community goodwill.