Tedeschi Trucks Band Debuts Location-Appropriate Waylon Jennings Cover In Nebraska

Tedeschi Trucks Band brought their Deuces Wild Tour to The Astro Amphitheater in La Vista, Nebraska last night. The band led by Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks paid tribute to the area where the show was held by premiering a cover of the Billy Joe Shaver-penned, Waylon Jennings-popularized “Omaha” early in the evening.

La Vista is a suburb of Omaha located a short drive away from the most populous city in Nebraska. While it took the TTB a long time to perform in Nebraska for the first time, the show on Monday marked their third annual visit to the Cornhusker State.

Waylon Jennings originally released “Omaha” on his 1973 studio album, Honky Tonk Heroes. Billy Joe Shaver wrote all but one of the songs featured on the record and co-authored “Omaha” with Hillman Hall. The song is an ode to the Nebraska city sung from the point-of-view of a person who has left the state for California and realized the grass was indeed greener in “Omaha” and is ready to go home.

Mike Mattison sang the TTB’s version of “Omaha,” which fell into the five-slot last night. Mattison’s fellow backing vocalist in the band, Alecia Chakour, provided harmonies.

The rest of the show featured a mix of fan-favorites, material from the 2022 album cycle I Am The Moon and other choice covers. I Am The Moon was represented in the setlist by the “Hear My Dear” opener as well as “Ain’t That Something,” “Last Night In The Rain” and “Fall In.” Classics played in Omaha included “I Want More,” “It’s So Heavy,” “Midnight In Harlem” and “The Storm.”

After a run of originals, the “Omaha” cover debut and “Last Night In The Rain,” the Tedeschi Trucks Band honored Derek And The Dominos by performing the one-two punch of “Bell Bottom Blues” and “Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?” Next came the group’s recently premiered Led Zeppelin-inspired take on Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Bring It On Home.” The evening’s other covers surrounded “The Storm” at the end of the set as “How Blue Can You Get” preceded Made Up Mind standout.

“The Storm” gave way to a full “Whipping Post” to close out the main set. The band returned to the stage for a cover of Billy Taylor’s “I Wish I Knew” as the encore. Stream an audience recording of last night’s show taped by Jeff Jansen of Texasdragonfly Productions below: