Qwest Center Tickets

Number of events coming in April to Qwest Center

April is a busy time of year for events at the Qwest Center, and there will be a number of activities going on in addition to a couple of top-notch concerts.

The Cirque du Soleil Saltimbanco show is a colorful performance that will be at the Qwest Center arena April 2-6. That same weekend, the Omaha Home and Builders Show will be going on in the convention center April 3-6.

The following weekend, the Spring Festival arts and crafts show will be on display at the convention center, running April 11-13. After that comes the Walking With Dinosaurs experience, set for April 16-20 at the convention center.

Two great concerts will hit the Qwest Center arena during April. On Tuesday, April 22, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Carlos Santana will bring the band that bears his name to Omaha for a great concert. That following Sunday, April 27, singer Michael Buble will perform some of the great American standards in music.

Ticket Express has tickets available to see Santana and Michael Buble, and you can also call for ticket information on the Cirque du Soleil performances. Check out our website at ticketexpress.com for more information and order your tickets now.

Rock legend Santana coming to Qwest Center

One of rock's enduring legends will bring his unique musical talents to the Qwest Center on Tuesday, April 22 when Carlos Santana and the band that bears his name will perform.

The Mexican-born Santana moved to California in the mid 60's and quickly gained popularity with his band, the Santana Blues Band. With talent such as keyboardist Gregg Rolie and a young Neal Schon (both of whom eventually left to form Journey), Santana made a name for itself on the hot San Francisco music circuit, eventually gaining the attention of legendary promoter Bill Graham.

Santana was one of several bands to perform at Woodstock in 1969, and the band continued on to worldwide acclaim with numerous platinum-selling albums. Songs like "Black Magic Woman" and "Evil Ways" launched Santana into the rock elite. The 1971 album "Santana III" was a No. 1 hit and spawned a pair of Top 20 singles, "Everybody's Everything" and "No One To Depend On."

Santana continued touring and recording over the years, but didn't get back into prominence until his 1999 album "Supernatural," which spawned the super-smash "Smooth" (with Rob Thomas of matchbox twenty on vocals). The album not only sold over 10 million copies, but earned Santana an amazing 11 Grammy nominations, including a record-tying eight awards.

Santana's musical genius will be a can't-miss opportunity for rock fans of all ages. Get your tickets for his Tuesday, April 22 performance at the Qwest Center now at Ticket Express -- where no event is ever sold out.

Blue Man Group performs at Qwest Sunday night

Sunday night is the night for the Blue Man Group to perform at Qwest Center, and you can get front-row seats for their 7 p.m. performance at Ticket Express.

The Blue Man Group is out on its "How To Be A Megastar 2.0" tour and is guaranteed to provide an electric, exciting show that uses plenty of audio and visual effects. It's a can't-miss show that is good for young and old alike.

Don't miss out on a great chance to see the Blue Man Group. Get your tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no event is ever sold out.

Bald and Bluetiful: Blue Man Group at Qwest Sunday

The boys in blue are coming to Omaha Sunday night.

The Blue Man Group is set to put on a great show as part of their "How To Be A Megastar 2.0" tour, and they will be performing at the Qwest Center Sunday night.

The "bald and blue-tiful" trio will keep fans busy throughout the night. Everybody will be asked to dance, clap and sing along, and those sitting up close might want to bring a rain poncho along, because things can get messy in the first few rows at a Blue Man Group show.

Look for a lot of fan interaction, with BMG members bringing people on stage for a variety of tricks and funny performances. They'll make noise by pounding on PVC pipe, jiggling strips of metal and doing just about anything they can think of to create the unique sound that they have come to be known for.

There are a few seats left for Sunday's Blue Man Group show, and we have seats available in the front row. Get your tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no event is ever sold out.

More sporting events coming to Qwest Center

The NCAA men's basketball tournament was a huge hit at the Qwest Center in Omaha, with fans coming from all over the country to watch their teams compete in the first two round of the men's basketball tournament.

The Qwest Center is quickly making a name for itself as a top-flight venue for big-time sporting events. It already serves as the home for UNO hockey and Creighton basketball and played host to college volleyball's Final Four in 2006, won by the host Nebraska Cornhuskers.

The NCAA basketball tournament is the first of three huge sporting events that will be held at the Qwest Center in 2008. From June 29 to July 6, a specially-designed swimming pool will be installed for use as the U.S. Olympic Trials will be held at the Qwest Center. You can order your tickets for that event at Ticket Express.

Later this year, the Qwest Center will once again host the NCAA Volleyball Championships, set for Dec. 18-20. Tickets Express has NCAA Volleyball Championship tickets on sale now, and you can get your seats for this year's championships well ahead of the event.

When it comes to top-notch sports, Qwest Center is making a name for itself as a tremendous host site. Get your Qwest Center tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no event is ever sold out.

Great concerts coming to Qwest Center

We're just about one-fourth of the way through the year, and we've already seem some outstadning concerts at the Qwest Center.

Fans have rocked out with Van Halen and Bon Jovi, got their country groove with Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood, and experienced the magic of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band during the first three months of 2008.

And that's just the beginning -- we have several more concerts coming to Omaha in the weeks ahead, and you can get great seats to these concerts through Ticket Express.

On Sunday, March 30, the Blue Man Group will present their "How To Be A Megstar 2.0" tour on the Qwest Center stage, and a few seats are still available for that show.

In April, two great acts will grace the stage in Omaha. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician Carlos Santana will bring his band to town for a great show on Tuesday, April 22, and crooner Michael Buble will present his impressive talents on stage on Sunday, April 27.

The first half of the 2008 concert season will climax on Wednesday, May 14, when The Police performs at the Qwest Center along with Elvis Costello.

There are some great summer concerts already scheduled, including Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and the Dave Matthews Band, and you can get tickets for all the best concerts and sports in the area at Ticket Express -- where no event is ever sold out.

Be prepared when you see Blue Man Group

When you go to a Blue Man Group concert, you have to come prepared.

First, you must be prepared for a musical experience unlike anything you have heard or seen before.

Second, you must be prepared to interact with three blue-tinted bald guys for almost two hours, acting on their commands to jump, shout and raise your hands in the air.

Third -- and most important if you're sitting in the first few rows -- you have to come prepared to be hit by anything from water to Cap'n Crunch.

The Blue Man Group will be making an appearance Sunday, March 30 at the Qwest Center in Omaha as part of their "How To Be A Megastar Tour 2.0" tour, and they put on a great, dynamic stage show that features a variety of sounds, sights and experiences.

They will do everything from pounding on PVC pipe to playing with paint balls, and it's sure to be a hit for fans of all ages.

There are a limited number of seats left for the Blue Man Group concert at Qwest Center on Sunday, March 30. Get your tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no event is ever sold out.

Teams advance in tournament play at Qwest Center

The first day of the NCAA men's basketball tournament held pretty much to form Thursday at the Qwest Center.

In the afternoon session, top-seeded Kansas had no problem with Portland State, cruising to an 85-61 victory. Nevada-Las Vegas advanced to a meeting with the Jayhawks after the eighth-seeded Runnin' Rebels got past ninth-seed Kent State, 71-58.

In the evening session, the battle of fantastic frosh went to Kansas State's Michael Beasley, who had 23 points and 11 rebounds in the 11th-seed Wildcats' 80-67 win over O.J. Mayo and sixth-seeded USC. The nightcap saw third-seed Wisconsin overcome an early deficit to handle 14th seed Cal State Fullerton 71-56.

Saturday's final session of games at the Qwest Center begins at 3:20 p.m., with Kansas taking on UNLV. About 30 minutes after the completion of that game, Kansas State and Wisconsin will battle to see who joins the Kansas-UNLV winner at the Midwest Regional next week in Detroit, Mich.

Great seats for Saturday's final session are still available. Get your tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no event is ever sold out.

Mikey C picks the winners at Qwest Center

It's just not an NCAA tournament unless somebody's picking the winners and losers. So allow our resident expert, Mikey C, to stick his neck out with preidictions on NCAA tournament games taking place this weekend at the Qwest Center:

FIRST SESSION

Kansas (31-3, No. 1 Seed) vs. Portland State (23-9, No. 16 Seed)
Thursday, 11:25 a.m.

I'm pretty sure this is the only one I'm guaranteed to get right.

I say this because, in the history of the 64-team format of the NCAA tournament, no 16th seed has ever beaten a top seed. And we're pretty safe in assuming that this is not going to happen with the Jayhawks and the Vikings.

Kansas won the Big 12 tournament title and is one of the top four teams in the country. Portland State is making its first-ever trip to March Madness.

The good news for Portland State fans is . . . the Henry Doorly Zoo is open until 6 p.m., so there's plenty of time to go see the fish in the aquarium.

Kansas 82, Portland State 57

UNLV (26-7, No. 8 seed) vs. Kent State (28-6, No. 9 seed)
Thursday, 1:55 p.m.

These are almost always coin-flip picks. Six of one, half-dozen of the other. What's a guy to do here?

The Runnin' Rebels won't run up the score like they did when they had Stacey Augmon, Larry Johnson and the rest of the team that won a national title in the early 90's. But they are a stingy bunch defensively, so what they lack in offensive prowess they make up for on defense.

That's bad news for Kent State, which has lost to Xavier and North Carolina, to say nothing of that season-opening loss to Detroit (and, no, we're not talking about the Pistons).

Still, ya' gotta have a lot of respect for a team with the nickname Golden Flashes, so we'll make this one a close pick:

UNLV 70, Kent State 63

SECOND SESSION

USC (21-11, No. 6 seed) vs. Kansas State (20-11, No. 11 seed)
Thursday, 6:10 p.m.

This is the marquee matchup of the entire first round. You can bet the national media will be watching this one, as two highly-touted freshmen will lock horns in this first-round matchup.

On the one side is USC's O.J. Mayo, one of the best freshmen ever to don a Trojans uniform and an explosive talent that will likely be making the jump to the NBA.

On the other side is the Wildcats' Michael Beasley, who led the nation in scoring and rebounding and carried the Wildcats to their best-ever finish in the Big 12.

Something's gotta give here -- and I think it's going to be the Trojans. I think the Wildcats have a little more depth and will be able to contain Mayo just enough to move on to the second round.

Kansas State 84, USC 79

Wisconsin (29-4, No. 3 seed) vs. Cal State Fullerton (24-8, No. 14 seed)

The Badgers dominated the Big 10 this year, while the Titans make an early trip to Omaha, about three months before their baseball team usually makes the trip to the College World Series.

Wisconsin is very solid defensively, but are prone to suffer against a fast-paced team. I don't think Cal State Fullerton has those kinds of horses available, and the fact that the tallest player in the CSF starting rotation is 6-foot-6 means this could get ugly.

Wisconsin 80, Cal State Fullerton 60

THIRD SESSION

Kansas State vs. Wisconsin
Saturday, 3:20 p.m.

The Wildcats will have a tough test against the Badgers. This one could come down to the very end, but I'm hoping for a long run for Beasley before he makes the leap to the NBA next year.

Kansas State 78, Wisconsin 73

Kansas vs. UNLV
Saturday, 6 p.m.

The Runnin' Rebels could be a tough second-round matchup for the top-seeded Jayhawks, but Kansas is playing very well right now and I don't see an upset happening here.

Kansas 85, UNLV 68

The winners advance to the Midwest Regional next week in Detroit, Mich.

No re-entry policy in place for NCAA tournament

Omaha-area fans used to coming and going from Rosenblatt Stadium during the College World Series will find a different policy in place for the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

The NCAA has a policy in place regarding re-entry during sessions at the NCAA basketball tournament. Fans who leave during a session will not be able to re-enter using the same session pass and will have to buy another ticket to get back in.

Session tickets are good for two games each session. The first session Thursday includes Kansas vs. Portland State and Nevada-Las Vegas vs. Kent State, with the second session including USC vs. Kansas State and Wisconsin vs. Cal State Fullerton. Saturday's third session will include winners from Thursday's games.

Tickets for the NCAA men's basketball tournament are still available at Ticket Express -- where no event is ever sold out.