Jasnowski returning to play for Bands on the Bricks finale

A familiar face in both the Lincoln music scene and in Aurora will be playing with the soul funk band Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal at the final Bands on the Bricks concert of the season this Friday. Lincoln-based guitarist Myles Jasnowski will help perform new songs that will be featured on the band’s latest album set for release early next year as well as a new song called “Sticky Situations.” The Aurora grad said he is excited to return home and spend time with his family and friends.
“It’s always a great time and it’s nice to catch up with people that I haven’t seen for a while and reconnect with people I grew up with, and family and friends as well,” Jasnowski said.
Jasnowski credits his love for music to his parents, noting his father, John’s own musical talents as a singer and guitar player. 
“When I was a freshman in high school, I really was looking for something else and the guitar really spoke to me,” Jasnowski said. “My parents played a lot of great music and bands from the 60s and 70s and that was an era where guitar was more of a featured instrument with bands and artists like Eric Clapton, Steely Dan, Edgar Winter, Bonnie Raitt, the Eagles and Parliament Funkadelic – a whole mix of stuff. I was lucky that I was exposed to that era.”
Having grown up in Aurora listening to the “golden era for music”, Jasnowski said he is capable of adapting to different styles of music.
“I’m influenced by a lot of different kinds of – a wide variety of music,” he said. “I’m super thankful for that, because I think it’s lent itself to my own musical ability and having the ability to be a chameleon and adapt to many different musical situations, genres and styles.”
During his high school years, Jasnowski performed with a country classic rock band called “Slingshot,” which was based in Hastings and also formed a band with different community members from Aurora.
“That was a formative time in terms of playing on stage and playing to a crowd and playing with other musicians in a band,” he said. “I also briefly had a band with a couple of Aurorans. It was Bill Whitney, who still lives there, on guitar, Jeff Gustafson who plays drums and Brent Meyer who plays bass. We played a few events over the years, but it was those two things that shaped me early on.”
After his graduation from Aurora High School in 2011, Jasnowski moved to New York City, where he jumped into the wide world of music.
“When I moved to New York, it was definitely just to expose myself to a bigger world and just see what was out there and put myself out there and see what I could do in arguably the biggest market there is for musicians,” he said. 
After a couple of years in New York City, Jasnowski returned to Nebraska, where he performed with numerous artists from Lincoln and Omaha, such as Mesonjixx. Since 2022 he has performed with Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal.
“There’s a really cool arts and music scene that happens here because there’s not a lot of other things going on, so there’s a lot of room for that kind of stuff to take place,” he said. “People here really support live music. There are times when it feels good to be a part of this community, because of the community, the fellowship, the friendship and strong relationships.”
In 2018, Jasnowski released his first solo EP, “Mylestones”, where he showcased his most-streamed songs, including “Virgra” and “Reeal Niiice.”
“That little EP has done well for me and there’s a song on it that has over a million streams,” he said. “There’s another one that’s on it that’s reaching a million streams, which is pretty surprising to me, as it is an instrumental sort of guitar EP. It’s cool to see that it resonated with that community of people who were following me. I’m very proud of it, because I made it all myself in my bedroom.” 
Performing as an independent artist, Jasnowski shared the fun yet challenging work of making his own music.
“Being in control of everything is liberating, but it’s also daunting, because if you’re making music all by yourself, you’ve got to record everything, mix everything,” he said. “It’s easier today than is it was in the past, because there’s so many services that cater to independent artists in terms of how you get your music on Spotify, Apple Music or whatever. That part of it is made really easy these days.”
“If you make music that’s authentic to you and it has your voice shine through and you’re not trying to sound like anyone else, then you know that will resonate with the listener,” he said. “I don’t remember who said it, but it’s something along the lines of, ‘Do what you can with what you’ve got where you’re at.’ Where you may not have access to the best equipment or the best space, but you just have to use what’s at your disposal to create art that is authentic to you.”

A big win in Memphis
One of Jasnowski’s memorable experiences with Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal was when the band competed in the International Blues Competition (IBC) in Memphis, Tenn., in January, competing against over 200 bands from around the world.
“They all play at least a couple short sets in a number of venues throughout downtown Memphis and there’s a panel of judges at each venue,” he said. “Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal made it through the first round and then we made it through the second round, into the finals and we ended up winning the whole thing out of 200 plus bands.”
In July, Jasnowski performed with Omaha music artist Dreion and opened for Earth, Wind, and Fire at The Astro in Omaha.
“That was cool, because it was a free day for me and I was able to make the rehearsals and make it work out,” he said.
Jasnowski also performs with the band Vibe Check at the Zoo Bar in Lincoln. 
“I think for three years we have been doing that as of this coming October,” he said. “That’s been a really fun outlet for me, because I get to play with my friends here in Lincoln, who I don’t normally get to play with in other musical acts.”
Over the past few years, Jasnowski has returned to Aurora several times to perform at Bands on the Bricks and Aurora Art Walk.
When not playing his music, Jasnowski enjoys spending his spare time playing tennis or returning home to spend time with his parents, his brother Evan and Evan’s three children at the family cabin outside of Central City. 
Jasnowski said he is hoping to play some tennis during his time back in Aurora.
“If anyone from Aurora wants to play at the tennis courts – because I know they put those nice courts in there and I have played tennis a couple of times on them – but I would love to come back and play with someone.”
Later this year Jasnowski will perform with Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal and at the Telluride Blues Festival in Telluride, Colo., and also at the Las Vegas Blues Bender in September. The band will begin 2026 by performing on the week-long Legendary Blues Cruise.
Jasnowski is eager to create more music and continue to grow as a music artist.
“I would like to continue releasing music on my own and dedicate a little bit more time to my development as a songwriter and as a band leader,” Jasnowski said. “I have been listening to a lot of funk music and there’s a lot of fun festivals that cater to that type of music. I would love to be on the bill for any number of those festivals or events in the kind of funk world.”
Jasnowski’s music can be found by searching his name on YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.
Jasnowski is the son of John and Mardell Jasnowski of Aurora.