In this musical Night Light experience, we ask: What is a groove, exactly? How do humans find rhythm together, create harmony, and turn sound into song? What’s happening in the mind of a musician as they improvise their way through a classic tune, with one foot in tradition and one in the wild unknown? How can science inform creative practices? Join us as we turn the pages of Omaha's rich musical history while writing a new chapter – one rooted in community, creativity, and a deeper scientific understanding of what it means to live life deep in the groove. "In the Groove: Building Community Beyond the Blueprint" - Community Conversation We’ll be exploring the question of what it looks like when community and neighborhoods are built naturally and organically, rather than just following the ambitions of developers. What can we learn from Omaha’s rich cultural history to support community in a way that is “Improvised” rather than “Contrived”? In his book Moving to Higher Ground, composer Wynton Marsalis writes "Jazz shows us how to find a groove with other people, how to hold on to it, and how to develop it." How might we take inspiration from the freedom and collaboration of jazz when considering the future of our city? The conversation with have an introduction by Dana Murray of NOThe History of Jazz in North Omaha from Dana Murray of NOMA. This conversation is moderated by Paul B. Allen IV of 1st Sky Omaha Panelists include: JoAnna LeFlore-Ejike ED of Malcolm X Memorial Foundation Dr. DérNecia Phillips - Founder and Chief Executive of Identity Preparatory Academy Celeste Butler - Multi-disciplinary artist, quiltologist, and storyteller Kene Okigbo Partner | Landscape Architect at RDG Planning & Design "Learning to Play" - NOMA Music Instructor Take advantage of this unique opportunity to play music with a NOMA faculty member. They will be offering deep dives into SPD drum pads and keyboards. As one of the programs that NOMA offers under its own roof we are excited to offer here at KL for our Night Light event. Come in and learn to carry a beat or get closer to the keys A through G. North Omaha Music & Arts (NOMA) is a creative academy for the youth of the Omaha community and world-class entertainment destination. "Build Your Own Instrument" - Nebraska Public Media Guests of the Luminarium can join Nebraska Public Media to make their own musical instruments and create sounds to match provided visual displays. This hands-on activity brings to life the creativity and innovation within the history of the musical movements of jazz and improvisation.
"Mixing & Mastering Plugins" - Make Believe Studios
Guests are invited to interact with plugin technologies that have been developed by Make Believe Studios here in Omaha, Nebraska. With your own ears hear the difference plugins make during the mixing and mastering process of music production. Your understanding of music production may be changed forever after this experience. Come hear how Make Believe Studios is revolutionizing the mixing and mastering process in music production!
"RadioPoster" - Casey Fictum
Witness paper-books come to life with real-time audio soundtracks that play as you turn the pages! Come explore a completely new way to experience print media and soundscapes with Casey Fictum, Founder and CEO of Omaha’s own Radioposter.
To fight back against screen fatigue, Radioposter imagined a revolutionary new medium. They developed a patent-pending system to merge audio and ink in real-time—without adding expensive hardware to the page. By collaborating with artists to craft audio-driven analog stories—like their standout book, Forest Bathing for Punks—Radioposter is giving paper new superpowers to help it fight back against screentime.
"Electric Guitar and Signal Flow: Creating the Sounds of Rock n Roll" - Ground Floor Guitars
Ever wondered how an electrical guitar works or the science behind guitar pedals? Come join the pros from Ground Floor Guitars. Discover what happens from the string’s vibrations that induce a signal for the pickups to where that signal goes and how it can be manipulated. Learn, improvise and create your own sound with Ground Floor Guitars!
Ground Floor Guitars is a local guitar shop rooted in the community. Since 2016, they have been able to provide a comfortable space to buy your next guitar, sell your old one, or get your gear repaired or serviced.
They buy, sell, and trade new and used gear, as well as offer consignment and appraisal services. Ground Floor Guitars strives to provide, at minimum, the essentials for musicians of all skill levels in a welcoming environment.
"Do Not Attune" - Noah Trumble of the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts
Step in front of a TV and see for yourself what your actions encourage or do not encourage when listening to a song. Do you help create movement and color on the screen with your own movement and energy? Come find out what type of audience member you are with Do Not Attune!
"Audio Wasteland" - Asher Long of the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts
Audio Wasteland is an Audio-Reactive performance combining a modular synth and TouchDesigner. This performance is ten minutes long, during which a series of 5 audio reactive visualizers' cycle through one after the other. By combining hypnotic visuals and unnerving audio, The audience experiences a surreal and experimental environment. This performance will provide the audience with a unique and experimental experience, while also showing the future of live performance using software like TouchDesigner.
"Familiar Flyway" - Samantha Bendix of the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts
Every spring and fall, hundreds of thousands of Sandhill Cranes pass through a concentrated 80 mile stretch of central Nebraska’s Platte River Valley along the Central Flyway. This spectacular event draws tourists from all over the globe, but for those who grew up nearby, the cranes are simply part of the season. Outsiders travel hundreds of miles to witness it. Locals mostly just drive past. Just another layer in the rural ambience, no more important than any other sight or sound.
“Familiar Flyway” is an invitation to rediscover intention behind attention. Inviting in stillness and the willingness to let the natural world come to you. Responding to presence and movement, the world opens up and becomes alive as the viewers become still. To fully experience the world, you must not disrupt it.
Using imagery and sound from the natural and human-developed environments of rural central Nebraska, in addition to interactive generative particle systems in TouchDesigner, “Familiar Flyway” proposes that what was once remarkable rarely stays loud. Still present, but in the places we stop noticing.
