Name - Old Man Band

Lee— ”In 2015 Tony, Doug, and I were helping out with the student pep band at IMS one evening and when the principal saw Tony carrying in his guitar he said ‘Oh good, the old man band’ is playing tonight.” And it just kinda stuck 😊

Venues

We play twelve to twenty shows per year, from smaller private events to larger town festivals. Any setting can be the right setting, open air or intimate spaces. Well, semi-intimate. With six people on stage, we do enough room to stretch our legs.

We play public events like the Kalona Fall Festival and the Wellman 4th of July, public venues in and around Iowa City and Cedar Rapids. We'll travel a couple hours for the chance to share music with people.

Music Style

We are primarily a cover band and especially love it when crowds recognize songs that are pulled from just a little bit further away from playlists that might be getting slightly worn. "Oh yeah....I love that song!"

We play classic rock, classic country, pop, 80's. With Allison, we've started to edge a little closer to jazz and old-time swing standards. We love to add new favorites. If you've got a suggestion for a song, we'd be glad to hear it!

Practice

OMB practices on average once a week in their drummer’s house on Highway One.

Gil—“I enjoy the camaraderie and the fun we have, the banter we have back and forth and how we all just enjoy playing music together.”

Strengths and Improvements

Lee—“One of our strengths would be our vocals, our ability to harmonize together, our ability to blend our voices, and doing songs that are crowd favorites and familiar.”

A big jump forward is when we got Nate involved a few years ago to assist with upgrading our system to include in-ear monitors and new mics. Soon after, Nate started coming regularly to provide tech support and mixing sound for our performances. Crowds notice the difference when Nate isn’t able to help.

Steve—“The new system allows us to really dial in on how we sound. It raised our level quite a bit and Nate’s got incredible technical expertise.”

Last Gig of 2026

Our last gig will be at the historic What Cheer Opera House on Saturday, Nov 14 at 7:00, our third year playing at this iconic venue.  Over the years performers at the opera house have included Glenn Miller, Hank Williams Jr., Kitty Wells, and John Phillip Sousa. If you've never taken a drive to What Cheer to see a show, we highly recommend it! 

Tony—“I’m just excited to be playing in a historic building where a lot of different types of entertainers have played.  It’s nice to see something with that history that’s not torn down.”

“I’ve seen Old Man Band play many times. Those guys are amazing. Every time I see them they just keep getting better and better. You guys are always so much fun!  We definitely want you back next year!  Put it on your calendar!”

Jackie Bailey, Kalona resident and retired Mid-Prairie teacher

“Old Man Band has quite the following, but not just locally. They draw attendees from cities like Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, and beyond. They play classic hits that everyone loves, but folks also stick around to hear their originals that Kalona locals can particularly relate to. The band members are always upbeat with great communication, flexible with playlists, location or schedules. They simply want everyone to have a good time, and you can’t go wrong with that. We would definitely recommend them to others for both private events and public.”

Tonia Poole, Kalona Chamber of Commerce

“I love Old Man Band because of all the great “older generation” songs that they play. They have a way to get the crowd involved and everyone enjoys hearing them. I have brought them in for Fall Festival the last three years because they bring a good crowd in on Friday night. I recently was at a tourism show and our table at lunch was talking about different performers and I recommended them to everyone.”

Nancy Roth, Kalona Historical Village

“They are very easy to work with. They are all local, so a lot of folks know them on a personal level. They interact with the crowd during the entire show. They interject a lot of fun in their shows, and they always attract large crowds. They have even written a song about the people who live in Kalona using their last names.”

Mark Robe, Mayor of Kalona