Sullivan King

Steel and Static

Jul 04, 2025

Original Custom song based off event links:
Youtube: Steel and Static
Spotify: Steel and Static

The Steelhouse Omaha, the final destination of the delayed-due-to-weather Sullivan King show, held an impressive, heavy-hitting show on my birthday eve. I wasn’t sure what to expect, to be honest. It was my first time at the Steelhouse.

A short three months after the original show date, fans finally packed into the newish two-year-old Steelworks-style venue, and what unfolded was less a concert and more a holy union of metal, EDM, and unhinged crustacean cosplay.

Yes, you read that right. We’ll get to the Lobster Guy. But first some more about this unique venue.

Steelhouse Omaha

Owned by Omaha Performing Arts, the Steelhouse is what you get when the Orpheum Theatre has a metalhead baby with the Holland Performing Arts and engineered for eargasms, this place is easily Omaha’s best-sounding venue for bass-hungry heads. Their KSL Series DnB rig with delay speakers, honeycomb light panels, and steel-structured acoustics backed by professional grade soundproofing makes it a dream for both headbangers and headphone snobs alike.

It is a cashless venue but don’t worry, they offer reloadable debit cards at your convenience that you can spend anywhere, just in case you have a little too much fun and forget to spend every last penny.

They have a really simple, quick entry. No bag, no problem, the entry is almost seamless. However, if you need something to carry all your rave goodies in, their clear bag policy makes entry into this venue one of the more preferable out of the venues you may venture to.

They have bars on both sides of the GA floor, very large bathrooms just outside the auditorium space on the west side, and if you’re lucky enough — or you simply have between 20-40 dollars — you can upgrade to Club Access which gives you entry to the second floor of the venue. This space is noteworthy, as the club offers a private bar, private bathrooms, a non-smoking balcony that faces south overlooking the city, and mezzanine seating giving you a grand view of the crowd below. When you buy into their annual club access passes, it also comes with one free drink ticket when you attend!

Food was also available at the bars on both sides of the GA floor, which is quite uncommon for venues like this. Although, I don’t recall a single person eating anything other than… well… let’s not go there.

Openers

Darkwood opened with an impressive half-set of originals — slow, vibey, deep-bass stuff with a rhythm-driven evolution into a metallic grimecore, somewhere between Lumasi and a lost Metallica mixtape. It was like someone spilled diesel on your lo-fi playlist. He was arguably the better of the three openers, which made enjoying his set much easier with a smaller crowd early on in the night.

Then came RZRKT, who name-dropped DJ Diesel (aka Shaq), and we could feel the big man’s shadow in every screechy, stompy, riddim-soaked drop. Sadly, the visuals didn’t match the energy—looped graphics that could’ve been made in MS Paint during a blackout.

BENDA brought the chaos. Think mosh-pits, spilled drinks, a near-elbow incident. The music rode a pendulum—thunderous bass with glimmers of playful levity. Lots of eyes and zigzag visuals, strobes for days, and an unapologetic EDM-metal crossover.

INTERMISSION: THE LOBSTER

At the rail, a man fully decked out in lobster claws and a tail stood tall. When asked if he was Zoidberg, he nodded solemnly and said, “Yes. I’m also the Powerpuff Girls villain. Honestly, I just want to be a lobster.”

He then gifted me a tiny lobster charm, which now lives forever on my press badge. Absolute legend.

The King Himself: Sullivan

Baggy sweatpants. Blinding lights. Shredding guitar.

When Sullivan King took the stage, the whole room lost its mind—and most of its ability to photograph anything. The lights were aggressively anti-candid, but Sullivan didn’t care about your Instagram feed. He came to perform.

What sets him apart? He does everything. Live vocals, live guitar, heavy drops, breakdowns, chill-downs, and more than a few WTF moments—like dropping a funk-infused Free Bird remix mid-set that literally made me walk backwards to the rail like I was rewinding my brain.

He doesn’t just throw bangers. He curates a journey—balancing relentless energy with emotional dips and unexpected melodic breaks. From Zeds Dead fans to GRiZ fans, metalheads to REZZ junkies, he had them all screaming.

The Vibe: Lincoln Gets It!

I spoke with some locals who frequent Lincoln which may be known as a laid-back, artsy town, but its EDM community clearly came ready to rage. From mulleted metal bros to sparkle-drenched festi queens, the crowd was diverse, respectful, and fully charged.

A quick shoutout from the locals and our entertainment writer confirmed:

The Bourbon is decent for mid-tier genre acts, but not an ideal EDM venue.

Royal Grove? Solid option. Worth exploring. When they aren’t overselling and making people wait outside for Shaq AKA: DJ Diesel

Conclusion

Sullivan King didn’t just play Omaha — he owned it. The venue slapped, the sound hit like a brick wall with a rhythm section, and the lobster man lives rent-free in our minds forever.

If you missed this one, you missed a night where EDM met metal, screamed into a mic, and hugged a crustacean.

We suggest you don’t miss the next one.