The city of Omaha’s annual free “indie rock” concert has been moved forward from July or August to June 6 this year with British band Gomez booked as the headliner with locals Brad Hoshaw & the Seven Deadlies, Mal Madrigal and Sarah Benck performing as support acts.

This is the 5th year for this event with too many Omahans not taking advantage of the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful setting of Memorial Park and an evening of free live music.

The bar was set pretty high the first year due to 311 performing the inaugural event and drawing over 10,000 to the park. Since then some have criticized the talent offered in the following years not understanding that an act as big as 311 played the show as a sort-of thank you to the city taking a much lower paycheck than they usually receive.

Since then the annual concert has been in jeopardy of being renamed Rainstock due to showers either halting or delaying music or simply affecting turnout in the subsequent years. Fans got soaked to the sounds of Bright Eyes in Year 2 and waited through delays to hear Plain White T’s in Year 3 and Feist in Year 4.

I also think the mayor’s staff tried too hard to book cool, trendy new music in years three and four and ended up with acts that were no longer “hot” by the time they set up shop in Memorial Park.

That has changed this year with the inspired choice of Gomez, a British band formed in the mid-‘90s that won the coveted Mercury Prize in 1998, the British award for album of the year, for their first release, “Bring It On.” That album went platinum in Britain as well as their follow-up “Liquid Skin.” Of their nine albums, 2006’s “How We Operate” gained a lot of traction in the U.S. with the music being featured on numerous television shows like “Grey’s Anatomy,” “House” and “The Riches.” Gomez has a new release entitled “A New Tide.”

The band’s sound is rooted in a solid understanding of American Roots music and comparisons to the Band or Counting Crows are easy to make but are an oversimplification of their roots meets pop with jam-my undertones mixed in.

I think the band appeals to the adult crowd while having “cred” amongst the younger indie audience and with Hoshaw and company, Mal Madrigal and Sarah Benck opening I think the city has rounded up an eclectic mix of music; what should be a super evening of music.

If you’ve never been to any of the annual Memorial Park concerts, bring a little bug spray and sun tan lotion, a cooler with food and beverage, a blanket or tarp to spread on the ground and some chairs and then just kick back and enjoy the music and the conversation of friends.

These shows were the idea of the Fahey administration and a solid turnout for what is sure to be a super evening of music will hopefully ensure the continuance of this annual event.

Can this event be better? Sure, the city could take some lessons from Des Moines’ 80/35 Festival and work more closely with corporate sponsors to really build what could become an outstanding annual festival that is a tourist draw. But let’s take this one step at a time and first simply attend the show this year.

With the exception of Year 3 I’ve made every show so far. And I was smart enough to bring a rain poncho for year two. At first I looked like a geek when I pulled on my rain gear during Conor Oberst’s Bright Eyes set, but within about 20 minutes I saw a number of concert goers eyeing my outfit with envy mixed with some shivering.

But I plan to leave the rain gear at home this year and focus on what’s in my cooler instead. See you there.