LINCOLN — You could call it “Two Guys and a Concert Series.”

But just recently, two guys from Omaha — Dean Dobmeier and Gary Grobeck — celebrated 20 years of bringing music they love to audiences in Omaha and Lincoln.

Their act is known as the “Sunday Roadhouse” series. They have staged about 200 concerts in halls and nightclubs in Omaha and Lincoln, featuring 80 artists, since 2003.

It’s a part-time labor of love for Dobmeier, an account manager who used to book bands for the long-defunct Jones Street Brewery in Omaha, and Grobeck, a former construction contractor who now works as a building inspector for the City of Omaha.

After the brewery closed down, Dobmeier said he was enjoying a few drinks with Grobeck, his brother-in-law, after a show at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, when the conversation turned to bands they’d seen there. So many of those incredible acts, however, never make it to Nebraska, he said.

‘We can do this’

“I looked at Gary and said, ‘We should bring this stuff to Omaha. We can do this,’ ” Dobmeier said.

The pair books the bands and lines up sponsors to help support the cost of the performances, which initially included building a stage in some venues. The Sunday Roadhouse series has been held at several sites, with the nightclubs keeping the proceeds from drinks. Mostly, the series has used locales in the Benson area of Omaha, such as the Waiting Room and the smaller Reverb Lounge.

“They’re a giant part of the music scene in Omaha,” said Steve Monson, a long-time drummer for the Linoma Mashers”and other Omaha groups.

Unlike for-profit music promoters, Dobmeier and Grobeck are patrons of the arts, paying to bring bands they like that are touring near Nebraska. Each year, ticket sales have been enough to finance more shows.

“They have good taste in music, and they’re willing to do what they need to do,” Monson said. “They take the risks.”

Dobmeier, who once played in the long-gone Omaha rock band, Norman and the Rockwells, said the standard for being booked for a Sunday Roadhouse show is, “We have to like it.”

“We’re not going to waste your time or money here folks — this is going to be good,” he said.

They call them “curated” shows because they select carefully chosen performers they’ve checked out and want to bring to Nebraska.

“If they don’t knock us out, we don’t want to do it,” Grobeck said.

Americana music

They describe the style of music they present as “Americana,” a catch-all for all kinds of roots-inspired music, from blues and rock, jazz and folk, and twang and soul.

They have booked national acts such as Todd Rundgren, Dave Alvin, Lucinda Williams, James McMurtry and Ray Wiley Hubbard, best known for the country-western outlaw anthem “Redneck Mother.”

They booked Lake Street Dive, which originated in Boston, before it became famous, and they keep booking performers they feel should be better appreciated, such as California singer-songwriter Chuck Prophet.

“I think people trust our judgment,” Dobmeier said.

Johnny Iguana, the founder and keyboard player for the Chicago-based indie rock/pop band The Claudettes, said he enjoys playing the Sunday Roadhouse shows because they attract an audience of “real music heads” who are there to appreciate the music.

A real ‘listening’ crowd

“It’s nice to play in a place where there’s energy but also when you turn it down, you can hear a pin drop. It’s a real listening room,” said Iguana, who has toured with Junior Wells and Otis Rush, and played on albums that featured Mick Jagger and Johnny Winters.

The Sunday Roadhouse shows, as the name implies, are usually held on Sundays.

They typically begin early, at 5 p.m., because, Grobeck said, the pair didn’t want their shows to take away patrons “from people trying to make a living at this.”

The COVID-19 pandemic was a challenge — venues shut down, musicians stopped touring — and the series was suspended for two years. This year, the Sunday Roadhouse booked only four shows, instead of the typical 10 to 12. (The next show, on Nov. 18, features New Orleans-stalwarts “The Iguanas,” featuring Omaha native Joe Cabral.)

Similar music series in McCook ended

People and performers, Dobmeier said, still haven’t returned to going out like they did before the pandemic. 

The pandemic, and the shortage of performers still touring, was a part of the reason a similar, long-running curated music series in McCook, recently closed down.

Dale Dueland, a local farmer, and Matt Sehnert, a bakery/restaurant owner, focused on “emerging acts” they saw. But their series never returned after the pandemic, in part because Sehnert sold the venue.

Dobmeier said he and Grobeck plan to keep booking shows, though they’re now more likely to discover acts at Kansas City’s annual “Folk Alliance International Conference” or at regional venues at the recommendation of friends.

“We always have our eyes and ears open,” Dobmeier said.

Both Grobeck and Dobmeier said there’s nothing like looking out over a crowd at one of the Roadhouse shows and watching people enjoy the same music they do.

“It makes life worth living,” Dobmeier said. “It’s one of the pleasures of life, and there’s nothing else like it.”