Milwaukee’s concert scene has a lot going on, so we look at the shows coming up to find the ones you’ll look back on and be glad you went. Then we add them to our weekly Milwaukee Concert Picks.
Bay View’s Cactus Club has already reached icon status, which it continues to cement further by hosting solid, community-driven events for all ages — like this Saturday’s return of Beet Street. The club touts its annual event as a harvest festival, but it’s truly so much more.
Like music? There are scores of amazing artists playing sets, and WMSE DJs and music videos to groove with.
Like food? There will be lots of “seasonal refreshments and libations,” as well as a juried contest touted as “The Great Midwestern Pie Championship” thanks to the fine folks at Palomino (and who doesn’t like pie?).
There will also be a punk-rock rummage sale, maker market, photo booth and more to keep you active in between all the audio and seasonal indulgences.
Taking place inside and outside the club — spanning the streets on South Wentworth Avenue between Potter and Russell — the Eighth Annual Beet Street sits on a notorious local corner where Cactus Club, Palomino and Goodkind meet (with nearby neighbors Groppi and Garibaldi). Anyone who has lived in Bay View long enough knows the lore of this particular corner, and Beet Street lives up to it.
As Cactus Club writes on the event’s page: “Bay View Historical Society, abolitionists, high school art clubs, environmental justice organizers, voter registrants, and LGBTQ+ resources all have a presence. We uplift the intersections of art and movement building.”
This year’s Beet Street kicks off at 2 p.m. with a loaded outdoor music lineup that includes soulful Chicago songstress Kaina, Nashville punk weirdos Snõõper, Good Vibes Only, Ellie Jackson and Girls Rock Milwaukee.
More shows worth a go
- Oct. 4: Frankie and the Witch Fingers w/Wine Lips, Fellow Kinsman @ The Miramar Theatre @ 7 p.m.
- Oct. 4: Slow Pulp w/Babehoven @ The Back Room @ Colectivo, 7 p.m.
- Oct. 4: Vacancy Chain w/Vile Bees, IfIHadAHiFi @ X-Ray Arcade, 6:30 p.m.
- Oct. 5: Ty Segall & Freedom Band w/Axis: Sova @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 7 p.m.
- Oct. 5: Grace Potter w/The Cactus Blossoms @ The Pabst Theater, 7 p.m.
- Oct. 6: The Lemon Twigs w/Joanna Sternberg @ Cactus Club, 8 p.m.
- Oct. 6/7: Willy Porter Band w/Anne Heaton @ Shank Hall, 7 p.m.
- Oct. 6/7: No Tomorrow’s Parties: 48 Hours of Velvet Underground @ Circle-A
- Oct. 7: Ratboys w/Free Range @ The Back Room @ Colectivo, 7 p.m.
- Oct. 8: Jonathan Richman @ Marcus Performing Arts Center, 7:30 p.m.
