LINCOLN SHOWCASE
Festival Stars
Sat. July 26 // 7:30-9:30pm // Sheldon Sculpture Garden–UNL Downtown Campus
Grab your blanket, lawn chair, and favorite drink for our annual Crossroads Showcase—this year in Sheldon Museum of Art’s beautiful Sculpture Garden, the beloved and traditional home of Lincoln's iconic “Jazz in June” series. In it’s first appearance in this new venue, Crossroads and our esteemed co-presenting partner, the Lied Center, are trying something completely new. Come and see!
Enjoy an eclectic evening of music and poetry with festival headliners Dawn of Midi, Layale Chaker and Sarafand, and Kinan Azmeh performing his iconic Suite for Improvisor and Orchestra, along with poetry from the current and former Nebraska State Poet and true Cornhusker wordsmiths Jewel Rodgers and Matt Mason, food trucks, and family activities with our friends from the Asian Community and Cultural Center.
RSVP HERE!
Co-presented by:
Featuring:
Aisslinn Nosky
Aisslinn Nosky returns to Nebraska Crossroads in 2026 as a featured soloist in the award-winning La Folia Global Project
Amado Espinoza
Bolivian multi-instrumentalist Amado Espinoza joins Crossroads for his debut appearance in a collaboration with Nebraska’s own Oscar Rios
Anna Steinhoff
Baroque cellist and viola da gamba specialist Anna Steinhoff returns to the Nebraska Crossroads Music Festival for her fourth appearance, bringing expressive depth and period
Dawn of Midi
Newly reunited after a decade-long hiatus, Dawn of Midi brings their hypnotic, genre-defying minimalism to Crossroads for the first time, performing selections from their groundbreaking
Emmanuel Hovhannisyan
World renowned Duduk virtuoso Emmanuel Hovhannisyan returns to the Crossroads Music Festival for his third appearance.
Erik Higgins
Lincoln native and double bassist Erik Higgins is the founder and Artistic Director of the Nebraska Crossroads Music Festival, where his globally inspired musical vision
Gabe Shuford
Harpsichordist Gabe Shuford joins the La Folia Global Project in his Crossroads Debut during the 2026 Festival.
Gunner Jules
Rosebud Sioux Hip Hop artist Gunner Jules returns to Crossroads in 2026 as part of the Dream Warriors residency and performances.
Jewel Rodgers
Making her Crossroads debut, Jewel Rodgers brings powerful interdisciplinary artistry as Nebraska’s new State Poet. A TEDx speaker and award-nominated performer, she blends poetry, performance,
John Hadfield
John Hadfield, a Missouri-born composer and percussionist now based in France, returns to Crossroads for his fifth season, bringing a boundary-blurring musical vision shaped by
Karen Becker
Karen Becker joins the Nebraska Crossroads Festival Orchestra for a second year, highlighting the fruitful collaboration between local and visiting artists.
Kinan Azmeh
Clarinetist, composer, and improviser Kinan Azmeh—this year’s Guest Curator for the 2025 Festival—brings a genre-bending voice shaped by global collaborations and deep musical storytelling. Born
Kyle Miller
Violist Kyle Miller joins Crossroads for the first time, bringing a dynamic career that spans both historical and contemporary performance, including roles with Diderot String
Layale Chaker & Sarafand
Making their Crossroads debut, Sarafand brings the genre-defying music of composer-violinist Layale Chaker to the stage—blending jazz, Arabic maqam, and contemporary classical in a sound
Los Mariachis de la Ciudad Estrella
Los Mariachis de la Ciudad Estrella is Lincoln Public Schools’ All-City Mariachi, featuring students in grades 7–12. Directed by Brett Noser and Leila Zila, the
Matt Mason
Making his Crossroads debut, poet Matt Mason joins the festival to lead writing workshops and perform readings from his award-winning work. A former Nebraska State
Mic Jordan
Mic Jordan returns to Crossroads as part of the multi-year Dream Warriors Project, a collaboration with the Indigenous Hip-Hop collective, Dream Warriors
Mixed Harmony
The original Cuban band Mixed Harmony returns to Crossroads for a third appearance.
Olga Smola
Olga Smola is a founding artist and Executive Director of the Nebraska Crossroads Music Festival. A globally touring violinist and UNO professor, she blends classical,
Rajib Karmakar
Sitar virtuoso Rajib Karmakar returns to Crossroads for a second appearance with Tabla master Sandeep Das during the 2026 festival.
Sandeep Das
Sandeep Das returns for his third Crossroads appearance with his virtuosic and multi-faceted music-making.
Tall Paul
Anishinaabe rapper Tall Paul returns to Crossroads for another recording residency & performance with the Festival’s Dream Warriors Project.
TONE
Minnesota MC TONE returns to Crossroads for another recording residency and performance with the Dream Warriors Project
Valeri Tolstov
Valeri Tolstov returns as a guest composer to for the 2026 Nebraska Crossroads Music Festival with works featured in multiple festival performances.
Véronique Mathieu
Returning for her fourth appearance at Crossroads, violinist Véronique Mathieu brings dazzling technique and deep musicality to the 2026 Festival. A passionate advocate for contemporary