“Omaha, NE—This Thursday, July 20, Omaha Performing Arts’ Jazz on the Green series will host The Sugar Thieves.

The Phoenix based band started as a duo between Meredith Moore, originally from Omaha, and guitarist Mike Lander in 2006. They gained notoriety after playing blues competitions in Phoenix and eventually Memphis, Tennessee, and since then their music has achieved international appeal, Moore said.

“We’ve traveled all over the world together, we’ve been on two European tours and have had some amazing musical experiences together,” Moore said. “The band is a five piece group with upright bass, saxophone, keys, drums, guitar and two vocals, and everybody in the band carries their own influences, so it kind of comes together as a melting pot of American music.”

And in the ingredients to that pot?

“You have folk, you have blues, gospel, jazz, rock n’ roll and country all in one show, so it’s truly something for everyone. It’s something any age demographic can enjoy. So that’s really what The Sugar Thieves bring to the table. On Thursday at Jazz on the Green, you’re going to hear a lot of blues and jazz, some really great original stuff and then a mix of great old covers. We love to bring back these songs from the ‘30s and the ‘40s that aren’t getting a lot of radio play and kind of give them new life—a Sugar Thieves twists we like to call it. So you’re going to hear some great old blues tunes like Robert Johnson phonograph blues with that sugar you twist on it it’s a lot of fun.”

The Sugar Thieves have released five albums. Their music takes on the diverse backgrounds of their members, but the song writing comes from a simple place.

“I think that every album that we put out, the music is coming from experiences that we’ve had and kind of where we’re at in our life. Myself and the guitar player were married and had a baby two years ago, and so that happening in our life has really influenced our music, and in fact on our new album that we just released a couple of weeks ago—It’s a dual album called Two Cups of Sugar—there’s a song called the “Lily Song.” That’s about our little girl, and so each album has a great mix a lot of different musical influences, but also there’s a story behind the music, and so that plays into it it’s well.

The band is a fixture of Phoenix at this point, but Moore doesn’t doubt a return to Omaha.

“You know, honestly I miss the Midwest so much, and so I wish that the day would come when we can move back and still tour and be a successful group and kind of live wherever we want to. For now, we’re doing some great things in this part of the U.S., so we’re going to stay, but man I must admit, especially right now, I think it’s about one hundred twenty degrees in Phoenix. I sure miss the Midwest.”

The Sugar Thieves will perform at Turner Park in Midtown Crossing this Thursday, July 20. The park opens at 5:00pm and there’s a pre-show from youth blues band Far & Wide at 6:30. The Sugar Thieves play at 7:30. For more information, visit omahaperformingarts.org“

–KVNO News, Omaha NE