Nashville singer-songwriter Nordista Freeze is attempting to play concerts in 50 states in 30 days, a feat that would set a world record.
On Monday night, Freeze played a Lincoln show at Duffy’s Tavern. It was his second performance that day; the first was at noon in Davenport, Iowa. The shows marked states 24 and 25 in his journey.
“I feel good, but I definitely feel like the hardest part is still in front of us,” Freeze said. “I don't feel like I'm cruising, you know, I feel like I just gotta keep taking it day by day.”
Members of Omaha band Uh Oh, Joe Champion and Mari Crisler, joined Monday’s lineup and played an opening set. The two later returned to the stage for Freeze’s encore: a cover of “With a Little Help From My Friends” by The Beatles.
Even during the rain on a Monday night, a small crowd made it to Duffy’s for the performance.
“That's been the biggest overarching narrative of the tour is that I'm sincerely blown away by, like, how well it's going and how supportive everyone's been, and it's just amazing to get to see your friends who live all across the country. It's overwhelming to be honest with you, so it is like so overwhelmingly sweet,” Freeze said.
This wasn’t Freeze’s first time performing in Nebraska. He played at The Sydney in Omaha a couple of years ago, he said. During the venue-booking process for this tour, Freeze said he posted on social media looking for locations, and Duffy’s Tavern came as a recommendation in multiple direct messages.
“I just follow the intuition of trusting the people who clearly know more than me and know the culture of a town I've never been to,” he said.
Freeze said he would return to Nebraska in the future.
“This is the kind of thing I'm into, is like playing everywhere, and kind of going places where people think, oh, people don't normally come here," he said.
The tour is set to finish on May 31 in Kauai, Hawaii. Freeze has performances every day, with some dates ranging from one to three performances, each in a new state.
If he can pull off the feat, Freeze will break the current record of 50 states in 35 days, which he said is held by Irish band The Black Donnellys.
“I will never take a break,” Freeze said. “I'm gonna be in Hawaii for like three days, but then I'm gonna hit the road again, actually like immediately following that.”