Jim Pipher
A versatile, all-around artist, Jim is not only one of Nebraska's most recognized voices. He also plays bass and guitar. Jim Pipher has been performing in Nebraska and throughout the USA for decades, in bands covering musical styles from the jazz standards of the 1930s to bluegrass, retro country, Americana, traditional gospel, and Motown/Stax soul. Jim has two solo recordings: THE LAST TALL TREE and A TORMENTED GENIUS. Jim’s original songs carry listeners to places of stark beauty, creating a musical portrait of the Great Plains and the joys and sorrows of love, family and life on our dear planet. Jim is perhaps most in his element on stage and he can be seen performing regularly with Nebaska Performing Arts Hall of Fame members, The Lightning Bugs (a Mill Brothers inspired trio specializing in “Moonbeam Swing”), The Toasted Ponies (award winning traditional and contemporary bluegrass), The Fab-Tones (Rocking R & B), The Shucks Brothers (sweet harmonies and serious string tickling), The Melody Wranglers (old school country that would make Hank Williams proud) and The Tidball-Barger Band (Americana plus). Jim is a three-time Hall of Fame member in various bands.
Stories They Bring to Life
The Ward House
It looks like an ordinary home on a quiet Lincoln street. But in January 1958, three people were murdered inside, victims of Charles Starkweather’s infamous killing spree. Nearly seventy years later, new owners, new furniture and fresh coats of paint haven’t erased what happened here. People inside the Ward House have described sudden cold, footsteps in empty rooms and the unnerving sensation of someone standing just behind them. Some refuse to remain inside alone. And if you look toward the windows as you pass tonight…you may get the disturbing feeling that someone inside is looking back.
Whitehall Mansion
Whitehall Mansion was once one of Lincoln’s grandest homes. Later, its elegant rooms became home to generations of children with nowhere else to go. Today, the children are gone—but some say the house never became completely quiet. After dark, people have reported slow footsteps in empty hallways, doors opening by themselves, unexplained cold spots and fleeting figures upstairs. But there’s one sound that’s particularly difficult to explain. Sometimes, when Whitehall is empty, you can still hear the children laughing.
Hear Jim and the rest of Lincoln's voices on the tour.