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.
It’s officially autumn/fall, and what better way to herald a new season than to stock it full of shows! In less than one week, we can think of more than a DOZEN concerts that’ll make your heart sing. Here are a couple faves:
Just a few days ago, B~Free (aka the flautist with the mostest) released her highly anticipated third and newest album, Millennial Symphony. You’ve heard “Adulting 101” on 88Nine and HYFIN, and that night you can experience it live and in-person at Radio Milwaukee. And if you really can’t wait, tune in to 88Nine at noon the same day for a sneak peek (or listen) via B~Free’s Studio Milwaukee Session.
Also getting the “Studio Milwaukee Session into big release show” treatment is none other than Milwaukee’s own traveling troubadour, Trapper Schoepp. He’ll stop by our studios for a session at noon Wednesday but take a breather or two before a record-release show Saturday at the Vivarium.
The new scorcher of an album, titled Osborne, revolves around Schoepp’s path through chronic pain, addiction and recovery stemming from BMX accidents in his youth. Osborne borrows its name from the unit Schoepp was in at a Minnesota rehab facility and also serves as a nod to his musical muse, the late Ozzy Osbo[u]rne, who attended the same facility.
If you want to dip outside of the local pool, there are plenty of other options, including the dance-y rhythms of soulful and artistic Nourished by Time on Thursday at Vivarium. Stick close to that same venue for a show from the Paris-born, now-Chicago-based jazz drummer and band leader Makaya McCraven the next day and then save room for a couple indie kid specials: the U.K.-based Dry Cleaning at Cactus Club on Sunday and the inspiring soulful dance grooves of Tune-Yards at the Vivarium next Tuesday, Sept. 30.
Best concerts in Milwaukee this week
- Sept. 24: Grieves w/NilexNile @ Vivarium, 8 p.m.
- Sept. 25: B~Free (album release) w/Brit Nicole, Genesis Renji, Joavan Landry, Lili K, Klassik @ Radio Milwaukee
- Sept. 25: Nourished By Time w/witS, Smitty @ Vivarium, 8 p.m.
- Sept. 25: Wife w/Badman, Poor Ridley and Primitive Broadcast Service @ Cactus Club, 7 p.m.
- Sept. 26: Corinne Bailey Rae @ Pabst Theater, 8 p.m.
- Sept. 26: Makaya McCraven @ Vivarium, 8 p.m.
- Sept. 26: The Courettes w/Jinksie @ X-Ray Arcade, 7 p.m.
- Sept. 27: Trapper Schoepp (album release) w/Devil Met Contention @ Vivarium, 8 p.m.
- Sept. 27: Nation of Language w/Greet Death @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8:30 p.m.
- Sept. 28: Amy LaVere, Will Sexton, Long Mama, Joseph Huber @ The Cooperage, 4 p.m.
- Sept. 28: A Visit From Portlandia with Fred & Carrie @ Pabst Theater, 7 p.m.
- Sept. 28: Dry Cleaning w/Infinity Knives, Brian Ennals @ Cactus Club, 6:30 p.m.
- Sept. 29: Chris Acker, Old Pup @ Cactus Club, 6:30 p.m.
- Sept. 29: sombr w/Devon Gabriella @ The Rave, 8 p.m.
- Sept. 30: Tune-Yards @ Vivarium, 8 p.m.
