OMAHA, NE — Hear Nebraska is pleased to announce the 12 Greater Nebraska host cities and dates of the Good Living Tour storytelling and concert series project. Following the success of the inaugural tour in 2015, which featured nine communities, the 2016 Good Living Tour will again mix storytelling and live music to celebrate the unique livelihood available in Greater Nebraska. The tour route is as follows:

• Thursday, July 21: Ord

• Friday, July 22: Kearney

• Saturday, July 23: Grand Island

• Sunday, July 24: Red Cloud

• Thursday, July 28: Hastings

• Friday, July 29: Norfolk

• Saturday, July 30: Lyons

• Sunday, July 31: O’Neill

• Thursday, Aug. 4: Grant

• Friday, Aug. 5: Sidney

• Saturday, Aug. 6: Imperial

• Sunday, Aug. 7: McCook

“The work of Hear Nebraska is important to our greater collective goal of retaining our best and brightest and attracting young adults with the tremendous opportunities and great amenities we offer,” said Courtney Dentlinger, Director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, the project’s presenting sponsor. “Our younger generations hold the key to the ideas and creative problem-solving that will propel our communities, businesses and state economy forward, and music and the arts are an excellent way to connect with them.”

Hear Nebraska Executive Director Andrew Norman said the nonprofit chose cities based on the respective community’s efforts toward creating authentic, compelling opportunities for young residents.

“Loss of youth to bigger cities is a growing trend for many rural communities. We want to show young people that these communities are worth investing in, and that you can create something cool right in your own backyard,” Norman said.

An unprecedented project, The Good Living Tour features multiple components focused in each host city: a free, all-ages concert featuring a diverse mix of all-original, Nebraska bands, as well as a DJ; two feature stories highlighting music community and industry-related subjects, coordinated to publish on hearnebraska.org the day of each respective concert; an “Experience Nebraska” video featuring young professionals speaking about what makes their community a uniquely great place to live, work and play; and a music video featuring a local artist performing a song at a landmark community location.

The project’s mission is to:

• celebrate the unique livelihood available in Greater Nebraska, ultimately helping each town attract and retain young people;

• cultivate an increasingly vibrant, original, contemporary music culture and industry in Greater Nebraska — connecting and growing the state’s rural and urban communities;

• expose a young audience to new, innovative music and performance through homegrown Nebraska musicians — inspiring them to learn an instrument, host a concert or pursue a career in the arts.

• educate Nebraskans — and the world — about Greater Nebraska music venues, music-related small businesses and passionate arts supporters.

Running over nine consecutive evenings in 2015, the inaugural Good Living Tour concerts drew more than 2,200 people. Its feature stories have been viewed more than 15,000 times (including 39% outside of Nebraska and 6% international). The associated 2015 Experience Nebraska videos have been viewed more than 12,000 times.

“We’re grateful for the support of the community and statewide sponsors who have made this project possible,” Norman said. Through combinations of public and private funding, each community invested to bring the tour to its community. Statewide sponsors include presenting sponsor Nebraska Department of Economic Development, Peter Kiewit Foundation, Pinnacle Bank and Center for Rural Affairs.

The Good Living Tour’s carbon footprint is being 100% offset by Nebraska Renewable Energy Credits donated by Sandhills Wind Energy, LLC.

* Hear Nebraska plans to announce the artist lineups for the 2016 Good Living Tour on April 18, 2016.

* Learn more about the Good Living Tour, including features and videos created during the 2015 project, at goodlivingtour.com.

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Note from Caleb: LOCAL partnerships helped bring this to Ord; 8 local businesses and 11 total partners helped raise the funds locally. They include:
— Scratchtown Brewing Company
— Cornerstone Bank of North Loup
— Piskorski Dental
— Kokes Repair
— Matt Woodward/Shelter Insurance
— Sikyta Law Office
— Complete Family Dentistry
— Bruce & Marian Lammers
— The Golden Husk
— The Ord Area Chamber of Commerce & Valley County Tourism