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.
Because we love a good value, we’ve got two recommendations sitting at the top of this week’s live-music options that’ll keep more money in your pocket (or Venmo account or whatever) while still putting high-quality sounds in your ears.
At the tippity-top of our list is Graham Hunt’s record-release show Sunday night at Cactus Club. The former Milwaukee, current Madison resident just keeps putting out rock-solid albums at a relatively rapid pace: 2022’s If You Knew Would You Believe It? followed a year later by Try Not to Laugh and then last month’s Timeless World Forever.
Now, typically, a record-release show would fall just a touch closer to a record’s actual release than the one-month mark Hunt’s latest will reach this Sunday. But we’ll give him a break because he’s keeping his hometown in his thoughts while putting out album-of-the-week-worthy music. You can hear those songs live in exchange for a mere $15 of your hard-earned currency this Sunday at Cactus Club.
If you’re looking to stretch your dollar even further, the Pabst Theater Group has you covered with its Ten Buck Show concert series, which returns this Friday at the Pabst Theater with a triple-header of Sleepy Gaucho, Jacob Slade and The Racing Pulses.
The first two members of that trio should be instantly recognizable to fans of the Milwaukee music scene, particularly with their activity ramping up over the last year thanks to their respective album releases: Sleepy Gaucho dropped True Love Corridor last March, while Jacob Slade shared Brain Fog on the first day of May.
The Milwaukee singer-songwriters tend to find adjectives like “ethereal” and “dreamy” rightfully attached to their music, which elicits this floaty sort of feeling as it winds its way through your brain. When you include The Racing Pulses' more propulsive, guitar-driven rock, you've got a batch of good-vibes stuff that always feels better in a live setting surrounded by other good-vibes people. Get in on the goodness at the Ten Buck Show this Friday at the Pabst Theater.
Best Milwaukee concerts this week
- July 10: Friendship, 2nd Grade, Vanity Plates, Life in Public @ Anodyne, 7:30 p.m.
- July 10-13: Harley-Davidson Homecoming @ Veterans Park
- July 10: Los Nenes Del Lago w/Pulpa De Guayaba @ Linneman’s, 8 p.m.
- July 11: Sleepy Gaucho, Jacob Slade, The Racing Pulses @ Pabst Theater, 8 p.m.
- July 11: Offtide, The Paper Flames, Stone Theory @ Anodyne, 7:30 p.m.
- July 11: Maximiano w/Valley Fox, Lone Rock Bride @ Linneman’s, 7 p.m.
- July 12: Chapped Lips, Shoobie, Bug Moment, Lunar Moth, Aergo @ Cactus Club, 6:30 p.m.
- July 12: Hanna Simone, Gabriel Harris, Rachel Kozinski @ Falcon Nest, 7 p.m.
- July 13: Graham Hunt (record-release show), Impish Tips, Royal Jelly @ Cactus Club, 7 p.m.
- July 13: Killer High Life, Cripes!, North by North @ Falcon Hall, 8 p.m.
- July 15: The Swell Season @ Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.
- July 15: EKKSTACY w/Max Fry @ Vivarium, 8 p.m.
