Grow Omaha
Arts & Culture

Omaha Conservatory of Music’s fall classes are now open. Are you looking forward to making music with other cool students like you? Good news! Fall class registration is now open! From Rock Lab to Suzuki rep, there’s a wide variety of classes for you to choose from.

The Council Bluffs Parks and Recreation Department presents the sixth annual Comedy Night at River’s Edge, scheduled for Friday, September 19, 2025, from 7 to 9 p.m. on the patio outside River’s Edge Pavilion (4250 River’s Edge Parkway). This free event features stand-up comedy from four comedians with The Backline Comedy Theatre in Omaha.

The Omaha Symphony is taking the music of the Rocket Man to new heights!
In the first Holland Center concert of its 2025/26 Season, the Omaha Symphony will perform Elton John’s hit music with Michael Cavanaugh, the charismatic and brilliant musician Billy Joel picked to play himself on Broadway.

Performance Details:
“The Music of Elton John Starring Michael Cavanaugh”
Friday, September 19 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, September 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Holland Performing Arts Center

Opera Omaha is accepting submissions for the 2025/26 Poetry & Music Project, which connects K-12 student poets with composers to create original music and explore the connections between poetry and music. From the submitted poems, nationally renowned professional composers will select poems that move them. The composers then create original music inspired by the poem and share their work with the poet in collaborative workshops to ensure that the essence of the piece has been captured. The program then culminates in public performance of the selected poems, now songs, with the poets, their families, and community members in attendance so they can see the fruits of their labor that come from this season-long project.
Learn more and submit your poem here.

Omaha Performing Arts has added three new events to the performance calendar:

• A Live Conversation with Chevy Chase following a screening of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation comes to the Holland Center on Monday, Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $85 and go on sale Friday, Sept. 5 at 10 a.m. through ticketomaha.com.
• Date Change: Grand Funk Railroad brings The American Band Tour 2025 to Steelhouse Omaha on Sunday, March 1 at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $53.95 and are on sale now through steelhouseomaha.com. This event was previously scheduled for Friday, Aug. 29.
• Alter Bridge brings the What Lies Within Tour to Steelhouse Omaha on Saturday, May 2 at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $53.94 and go on sale Friday, Sept. 5 at 10 a.m. through steelhouseomaha.com.

Opera Omaha’s annual kick-off to the season, “Opera Outdoors,” returns on Friday, September 5th at 7:00 p.m. Spread your picnic blanket, kick off your shoes and relax as the songs of birds and opera intertwine. This FREE, family-friendly concert, which has become a community favorite, is held at Midtown Crossing’s Turner Park and includes some of opera’s greatest hits.

The Nebraska Arts Council has announced the formation of The Arts Access Collaborative of Nebraska (AACoN), a virtual space where participants can learn what organizations and artists are doing to improve arts access, hear from expert guest speakers in the field of arts access, discover access-supporting grants and funding opportunities, enhance their skills through professional development and peer-to-peer learning, connect, communicate, share ideas or just “be” with like-minded individuals. AACoN’s first meeting will take place on Tuesday, November 4th from 2:00pm to 3:30pm over Zoom.
Register here.

Film Streams invites you to join them for Night School on Monday September 8th at 6:00 p.m. It’s an opportunity to learn more about Film Streams’ growing education program by experiencing a free School to Screen event for yourself. School to Screen is a free program that invites grades 6-12 to integrate film into their curriculum. Educators and their classes visit a Film Streams theater to attend a film screening, enjoy a free lunch and engage in a critical discussion about film as an art form. Complimentary snack will be provided. While this is a free event, you can RSVP here.

The Fred Simon Gallery’s new exhibition, ‘”In the Patterns of Being,” opened last week. Ilaamen Pelshaw and Oria Simonini, the exhibition’s artists, use the work in this exhibition to evaluate what they see in everyday life, their memories into childhood, and their studies into their heritage and background. The exhibition will be featured at the Fred Simon Gallery at 1004 Farnam Street until October 22nd.

Omaha Performing Arts has added two new events to the performance calendar:

Gasolina Reggaeton Party (18+) comes to Steelhouse Omaha on Friday, Oct. 31 at 9 p.m. Tickets start at $24.40 and are on sale through steelhouseomaha.com.

bbno$ brings The Internet Explorer Tour to Steelhouse Omaha on Tuesday, March 31 at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $52.30 and go on sale Tuesday, Sept. 2 at 11 a.m. through steelhouseomaha.com.

The Omaha Community Playhouse’s production of the electrifying rock ‘n’ roll classic Grease, is opening Friday, September 12 and running through October 12, 2025 in the Hawks Mainstage Theatre. The beloved musical, which inspired the iconic movie, has been captivating audiences worldwide since its Broadway debut in 1972.

This is the first time Grease has been staged by the Omaha Community Playhouse and the first production for Vincent Orduña in his role as Artistic Director of the theatre.

Tickets for Film Streams’ Feature 9 event go on sale this Friday, August 29th, for Film Streams members. Get your tickets and get excited for an incredible event, featuring filmmaker Spike Lee! FYI, Spike Lee’s film Highest 2 Lowest is moving to the Dundee Micro on Friday, and they’ll have it for just one more week.

The public is invited to explore “Additions,” the current exhibit at the Metropolitan Community College Gallery of Art and Design, located on the Elkhorn Valley Campus.

“Additions,” featuring Omaha artists Thomas McLaughlin and Benjamin Wills, explores how two distinct artistic approaches can merge to create something entirely new. The exhibit is free and open to the public Monday through Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Friday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., now through Thursday, Oct. 2. It will conclude with a gallery talk and closing reception on Oct. 2 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. and will feature both artists.

The 13th Annual LOVAM Jazz Festival returns Saturday, August 30th, to Turner Park in Midtown Crossing, starting at 4 p.m. with FREE admission for all. The lineup features jazz legends Jazz Funk Soul (Jeff Lorber, Paul Jackson Jr. and Everett Harp), chart-topping bassist Julian Vaughn and the electrifying duo Four80East for an unforgettable evening of world-class music and community celebration.

Join PACE INTERACTIVE: Spellbound – Magic of the Arts – an evening of wonder and wizardry, on August 29th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Wander the halls of the Hoff Family Arts & Culture Center and experience spell binding performances, captivating visual art and flavorful culinary creations. This one-of-a-kind open house invites guests to celebrate the arts and the magic of community.

The Polish Heritage Society of Nebraska, Inc., and the Polish Home Omaha are holding a free concert on Wednesday, September 3, at the Belvedere Hall in Papillion. The concert celebrates Frédéric Chopin’s lesser-known art songs, revealing his deep connection to Polish poetry, folk idioms and heartfelt lyricism beyond the piano. Alongside these rarely heard vocal gems, the program offers a few beloved solo piano works that will make surprise appearances throughout the evening.

The featured vocalist is soprano Ania Helwing accompanied on piano by Dr. Damon Stevens, director of opera at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. This performance is part of their Midwest tour to present the complete songs of Frédéric Chopin (in Polish). The Belvedere Hall is located at 201 East First Street in downtown Papillion. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m., and the concert will begin at 7:00 p.m. A free-will offering will be appreciated. Refreshments (including Polish adult beverages) will be available for purchase.