Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Friday October 16, 2026 - Kearney, NE

Road Blog
October 16, 2026
Kearney, Nebraska

We checked out of our motel at 11am and headed over to the Havelock neighborhood in Lincoln to have breakfast at this joint the Engine House Cafe, which was a 1900’s horse-and-buggy-era fire station. The food was awesome, and beat the hell out of the crappy buffet at the motel. Spirits were relatively high despite the rough show the night before, and we decided to hit a couple record stores. I wandered into Sower Books and met the nice folks there and bought a couple stickers and a patch, then we hit Lefty's Records where we met the owner Elizabeth who was extra chatty and friendly as can be. They’re carrying our records now so stop in and support them!

We headed west towards Kearney, stopping for gas at a Love's Travel Stops (the greatest of all truck stops) where JakeE and I got chocolate shakes at Arby’s (because this is not the “Eating Healthy” tour anymore) and Troy got a couple more torpedo rolls. We listened to UmmaGumma by Pink Floyd after JakeE Jacob pulled a fast one on Thursday and tried to skip it. It wasn’t great. We’re all looking forward to the band finding its sound as we work our way through their discography chronologically.

We checked into our motel in Kearney and had a couple hours of downtime before grabbing some dinner at The Crafty Dog, which was slammed busy, but we got in and out and the food was super. From there we loaded in to Joe's Honky-Tonk, met our sound engineer Mark, and did an extensive soundcheck. It’s a great room – big and long, all wood, with a huge stage and super-pro sound. Mark got us all dialed in and we tried running through a song and my voice was completely gone. It was like, worse than Vince Neil, drunk in 2005 gone. I was basically croaking my way through. One of the bouncers brought me a glass of some hideous fruity whiskey which helped a little bit, bit I was scared – I didn’t know what to do or how long it would last. That’s never happened to me before.

We finished up soundcheck and I restrung my guitar in the green room and was breaking in the strings and trying my voice and seemed to be slowly coming back. I was pounding water and the whiskey helped a little, though I kept it in moderation. A nice couple named Kellen and Tara asked security if they could come back and meet us, and we were like um yeah, of course! They saw we were playing, checked us out on Spotify, and decided to bring a crew out. We had a really nice visit and I was very thankful that they were there, especially after the debacle in Lincoln. At the bar I met Chad Connely, Nebraska State Rodeo Association’s Ranch Bronc Riding champion. He’s a character and a half and we had a nice chat. Sounds like he’s at the tail-end of his career, opting to get out “while I can still walk” rather than competing against guys nearly half his age. I looked at my amps on the stage and heard the ringing in my ears and thought “Me too, pal. Me too.” Super nice guy, and never a dull moment out here. (I know playing these songs on the dive bar circuit ain't the same as riding broncs in the rodeo, but there was a moment there...)

We went on around 9:45 to a pretty decent crowd. It’s a huge room and it was far from full, but there were plenty of people and they were engaged and hollering along. We’re a bit more rock than they’re used to there, so we twanged it up a bit but we didn’t hold back on the rock stuff either. My voice was slowly coming back, and near the end of the first set I was at around 70%, which was WAY better than soundcheck. We played a second set, said our goodbyes, loaded out and went back to the motel where I called TrooperGirl22 (very late back in Michigan) and lights out around 2am.

Big thanks to everyone at Joe’s, including the owner Heath, who’s a big Replacements and REM fan, Mark the sound guy, and the entire staff. It was a super fun night!

I'm up at 6:30am with >4 hours of shitty sleep and we're heading west again. Today we’re off to Boulder, Colorado for an afternoon set at Upslope Brewing Company (Flatirons location). We’re on from 3-6, so come hang and let’s keep it rolling!