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.
What better way to spend Independence Day than at an all-night electric dance party?
Hyperpop duo Frost Children will perform a DJ set at Cactus Club that gets spinning at 10 p.m. Friday, right after their Summerfest performance. The Missouri siblings are a chip off the 100 Gecs block as heirs to the hyperpop explosion in the mid- to late-2010s. Combining eclectic sounds with verbose rhythms, the duo bring a lot of flare and flavor to Milwaukee.
With the use of conventional instrumentation and dozens of tonal modulators, Frost Children create a truly captivating sound that shows off the sonic power of glitchcore. Their vocals carry a phase-like melancholy backed by a heart-thumping beat, while their music personifies the most freeing and animalistic desires that humans are capable of.
Frost Children are proof that alternative pop is a broad world, and they’ve carved a niche in the genre that solidifies their Y2K aesthetic with mind-bending music. Catch their set Friday night at Cactus Club with openers Blaketheman1000 and Ariel Zetina.
Just a bit earlier this week, New Orleans upright bassist Johanna Rose will bring her own distinct sound to Milwaukee with a Thursday night show at Cactus Club. Focusing on sultry guttural bass lines, Rose brings a new take on what jazz can really feel like and has a couple solid local openers on board: Ellie Jackson and Old Pup.
Jackson has an airy quality to her music, with a pensive but hopeful tone that creates a feeling of being right where you're supposed to be, while Old Pup brings broadband folk that touches on all kinds of Americana, from the Midwest to the bayou.
Jumping ahead to Saturday, Nashville North will host a post-Independence Day celebration with almost 10 full hours of music starting at 3 p.m. Local singer-songwriter Gabriella Zamansky will open with a mega-set of soul-healing tunes, followed by locals Past Midnight channeling the heyday of classic rock and DJ Zovo finishing off the night with a Chicago house set that’ll fill the room with rhythm.
Best Milwaukee concerts this week
- July 2: Awakebutstillinbed, For Your Health, Garden Home, Badtzmaru @ X-Ray Arcade, 6 p.m.
- July 3: Johanna Rose, Ellie Jackson, Old Pup @ Cactus Club, 7 p.m.
- July 4: Frost Children (DJ set), Blaketheman1000 (DJ set), Ariel Zetina (DJ set) @ Cactus Club, 10 p.m.
- July 5: 40 Watt Sun, Serpentent, Ghost Cuts @ X-Ray Arcade, 6:30 p.m.
- July 5: Ben Yacob, Dahlia La'Deja, Yvonne Dollheart @ Falcon Nest, 7 p.m.
- July 5: Gabriella Zamansky @ Nashville North, 3 p.m.
- July 5: Past Midnight @ Nashville North, 7 p.m.
- July 5: DJ Zovo @ Nashville North, 10 p.m.
- July 6: Lipsticism, Devin Shaffer, Apollo Vermouth @ Cactus Club, 7 p.m.
- July 7: Pomfret, Delirium, Buena Cara, Clementine, My Melody @ X-Ray Arcade, 5:30 p.m.