Playing With Fire: Pre-Party Calendar

Rave Reviews: What the Fans said! What the Artists said! What the Media Said!

Read Rave Reviews about Playing With Fire. Enjoy!

What the Fans Said:

"I’m from a much bigger city and never realized that access to great Blues was not going to be an option in Omaha. I usually had to travel to KC or Chicago to get the experience. I just wanted to thank you for bringing this fabulous activity to Omaha. I have yet to miss a show! I also encourage my friends to come experience ‘real’ music. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!" - P.S.

"A big thank you to the City of Omaha, Omaha businessman Jeff Davis, the (Omaha BluesSociety) and all other people responsible for the ‘Playing With Fire’ concert series this summer.”
-- D.G., Omaha (in a letter published in the Omaha World-Herald newspaper)

"I just wanted to thank you (Jeff Davis), Tom and Bill, the stage manager. You all have everything running so efficiently and professionally - it is amazing. The tech specs were perfectly set-up! Bill was wonderful with the kids and making sure everything was perfect. I hope you all had the chance to see the kids' faces when they were done performing - it makes everything worth while for me! This is a really big deal to them and something they wll remember the rest of their lives. Your professionalism and accommodations allowed me to "step-up" the expectations of the groups and to teach them some life-long skills on how to be professional, respectful musicians. I hope you agree that they handled themselves as such. Thank you so much for allowing them the opportunity to perform in such a high-level, professional atmosphere! And I have to add a lot of fun. - K.P., BluesEd Co-Director

“Thank you so much for introducing Dawn Tyler Watson and the Campbell Brothers to Omaha. Can't believe the voice

and stage presence… Excellent performers. We had the greatest time this year. Let's keep Blues Alive
In Omaha--spreading the word every chance we get. Again, Thanks so much” -- J.D.

“I could not have enjoyed the event more than I did, because it was small, friendly, provided fabulous blues and Malford
Milligan was there. The venue was fabulous, magical...what a beautiful place. A warm evening, the Missouri
River, a historic landing, great music. There really isn't much more a person who loves the blues (and history) could ask

for! This event …reminded me a lot of a blues festival I attended for years in Northern Minnesota...the
Bayfront Blues Festival in Duluth. I was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the area was downtown. The Hilton

was wonderful, I had a great room, king sized bed. I appreciated all the help and generosity of the staff at the
Hilton. Can't complain at all about the rate…And the gathering (at the Hilton) afterwards...a blast!
– S.C. (Lawrence, KS)

“The concerts are awesome and people comment that this is the best thing going on in Omaha this summer - and they

love that the kids' bands get a chance to play! The last band Saturday was terrific. We're excited to be part of this
and to have the opportunity to increase people's awareness of The Food Bank. Lots of us just forget that there are

hungry families right here in Omaha - seems impossible! Thanks for inviting us to be a partner.”
-- Jewel Knapp, Director of Public Relations, Omaha Food Bank

“I just happened to be in Omaha for a business trip this weekend and stayed at the Hilton where I heard of the

"Playing With Fire" series. I was able to attend all three days and had a great time and really enjoyed the venue.

Thanks again for the great show and I plan on coming out again next year or any chance I get when there is
music on the banks of the Missouri River. Sincerely"-- J.C.

“I just want to tell you how much I enjoyed the Playing With Fire concert series. I just can not think of anytime that

I've enjoyed more. I made four of the concerts and had a great time. I want more, more, more. I would be willing to pay for
this. I think the location is perfect. This needs to be a national event. It is great!” --C.M.

What the Artists Said:

“I just wanted to thank you and all the great people we met at Playing with Fire. Your hospitality was greatly
appreciated and we really had a ball. We really enjoyed the band at the Hilton party too. They're great
players and I'm thankful we had the opportunity to do a little jamming. Once again, thanks to you, the crew,

the blues society, and the friendly volunteers. Playing With Fire is a great festival and I hope we can come and play
for you again sometime. --Al Lerman, FATHEAD

“I play a lot of shows around the country and I must say that was one of the nicest shows I have been a

part of. The organization of the event was top notch and the entertainers you had on the bill throughout

the year were also top notch. To think that shows of that caliber are free to the public really takes the cake. From an artist’s point of view, it is always nice to be a part of a community event that tries very hard to bring national
talent to their town.Most venues…The artists are usually trucked in and are not treated with the same kind of
kindness that I experienced while playing the PWF series. Every person that was working the show was eager

to help and they all seemed to have the same goal of creating something special for their community. Many

events like this are lucky if they can get a couple of thousand people to attend. The PWF series really had a

huge number of supporters which can mean serious exposure to the sponsors that are involved. I hope that I may be a part in next year's event and I’ll recommend it to acts that I run into on the road all the time. Thanks,”
-- Albert Cummings

"Walter Trout and the Radicals performed at the 2004 and 2005 "Playing with Fire" concert series. Both times the band, our
crew and our entire organization have been treated with great professional care…this indeed is one of our
favorite events to play worldwide. The people of Omaha, who come out in droves for the event, the venue,

the lights, sound, and the backstage organization - everything is top notch, which make our visit to Omaha

one that is anticipated by our entire group. We mention this event wherever we go, and find that the PWF

is getting a reputation among musicians and fans as an event not to miss. This event is sure to spread
goodwill for any organization that is associated with it." --Walter Trout’s wife, Marie

"Playing with Fire Omaha 2005 - what a great experience! Never having been to Nebraska none of us had any idea what to expect--what a pleasant surprise. Omaha has much more to offer than we imagined. We were especially impressed with the cleanliness of the city, great restaurants, and incredibly nice people. Being on the road traveling from city to city, venue to venue; it is a great experience to arrive to a town and everything is organized and ready to go. Every minute from arrival to departure for this show was well planned out and very organized with first class treatment. We were very impressed with the professionalism of all parties involved. T he stage was first class, sound system and techs were a great help. T he Hilton accommodations are a prime location for everything in the city, helping to make it very easy to get anywhere with their shuttle system. Organizing a show of this magnitude all summer long is quite a task and it is some feat to have everything in order and executed so perfectly as the Playing with Fire people have. We hope to be invited back every year and look forward to playing for the people of Omaha again and again. Many Thanks," --

The Tony Vega Band, Houston , TX

What the Media Said:

June 2006, Newsletter, Greater Omaha Convention & Visitors Bureau

Spotlight

Who ever said water and fire don't mix? This year marks the third annual free blues concert series on the Riverfront, "Playing With Fire." The series features five concerts held in May through August with performances by both local and international blues bands. Each concert is held at the Lewis & Clark Landing with free parking and plenty of food and beverage vendors.

Now in its third year, Playing With Fire was created by businessman and blues enthusiast Jeff Davis. He first approached the City of Omaha in 2004 with the idea and received its full support. He then found several sponsors and put the first series together. "The fans all loved it, and attendance increased at each show," Davis said. "Last year we had about 10,000 people attend our July show."

Davis spends half the year working out the details of the series, including the selection of the bands for each show. "I listen to about 300 CDs, go to musical events such as the Maple Blues awards in Toronto, and then make recommendations to our committee," Davis said. "It's not difficult to get the bands to agree to play in the series. Omaha has a great music scene and an excellent reputation."

Following each show, the bands join The Blues Society of Omaha All-Stars band at the Hilton's Liberty Tavern Lounge for a jam session, which fans can also attend. "The word is out on the concert series," Davis said. "We have bands calling us every day who want to play in the series. They really appreciate our effort."

Advertising for the concert is done through Playing With Fire's media sponsors, which include City Weekly, CD 105.9, the River and WOWT. The operations of the concert also rely on sponsorship. "We have some amazing sponsors this year and we're really making headway, but we're not quite there yet," Davis said. "So this year we're asking for a donation at the
gate to help assist the series, and 25% of our donations will go to The Food Bank."

Davis said he hopes Playing With Fire will become one of the top 10 music series within the next five years. "We're already one of the larger free blues festival series, and we think Omaha can be the music center of the Midwest, if not the country," he said. "All of the components are here to do it, and we already get people who fly in for our show from across the
country."

Davis emphasized that the concert series is a perfect family event and wants to encourage people to make it part of a family entertainment weekend. "We think our show dovetails really well with other events in the city," he said. "We'd love families to make a day of it and visit the zoo or other attraction in the morning and then attend the concert at night. It's one more component of a great entertainment scene in Omaha."