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.
This week + weekend is another “sardines” kinda vibe, with lots packed tight into one eve. How will you ever choose? Well, we’ll lay things out, and you’ll just have to do the old school pluses and minuses decision / vision board, especially for Friday! If any week is the week to try your hand at cloning yourself, this might be it.
Our fab Friday starts with Ethel “Mother” Cain making her biggest splash in Milwaukee yet, as her Willoughby Tucker Forever Tour takes over the Miller High Life Theatre.
If you were one of the lucky few to see Cain’s surprise drop-in at Cactus Club toward the end of 2024, you got a firsthand glimpse at the ardency of her fans (and just why they’re so ardent). She dropped in at Champaign-Urbana/Milwaukee slowcore band Good Night & Good Morning’s reunion show and guested on their song, “Key Studies,” before sharing "Punish” from her Perverts album.
Not far from MHL Theatre on Friday, indie-pop band Cannons will open up for Bob Moses at Landmark Credit Union Live as part of the Afterglow Tour. The band is bouncing back from frontwoman Michelle Joy’s health troubles (and dealing with bassist Paul Davis’ mid-tour health issues) and pressing on to bring vibrant, shimmering songs from recent release Everything Glows.
Still yet on Friday, Canadian instrumental rockers Holy F*** drop into Cudahy’s X-Ray Arcade with their latest album, Event Beat, which FLOOD Magazine called their “most lucid and focused … pulsating and engrossing.” If you wanna zone out in the best way, this will be a good sonic atmosphere to hang in.
Our final Friday pick is for fans of Chicago indie-rock band Dehd. Guitarist and vocalist Jason Balla is traveling around with his solo project Accessory and visiting Cactus Club with a new release Dehd followers will surely love. Balla’s cloudy, slacker-ish voice is pretty iconic, and the lo-fi style for new solo record Dust was maxed out with the help of Ziyad Asrar of Whitney as Balla tries to make sense of complex relationships by observing them out loud. It’s a good’n.
Got room beyond Friday? Well, you’re in luck because Saturday brings Rock The Green at the Harley-Davidson Museum with performances by Trapper Schoepp and De La Buena, while the Pabst Theater will welcome French pop singer-songwriter Oklou. Then, after a Sunday breather, jump back in Monday for a fun local-centric bill at MKE Ultra with Known Moons, Shontrail, Blood and Josh Evert.
Last (but definitely not least), Waxahatchee and MJ Lenderman join guitar and vocal forces at the Riverside Theater on Tuesday, giving fans of each (and both) a pair of incredible shows glommed into one musical snowball. We can’t think of a sweeter way to cap this delightful wave of shows, and we already can’t wait to jump into the next wave that’s surely around the corner.
Best concerts in Milwaukee this week
- April 22: Tommy Newport, Micah Emrich @ Cactus Club, 7 p.m.
- April 23: Rianna Marie w/Spine Stealers, J.R. Wesley @ Falcon Nest. 7 p.m.
- April 23: Jesse Garwood @ The Argo, 6:30 p.m.
- April 24: Ethel Cain w/9million @ Miller High Life Theatre, 8 p.m.
- April 24: Bob Moses & Cannons @ Landmark Credit Union Live, 8 p.m.
- April 24: Holy F*** w/Gus Englehorn @ X-Ray Arcade, 7:30 p.m.
- April 24: Accessory, Angelica, Speedy Muffler, DJ Jolena @ Cactus Club, 7:30 p.m.
- April 24: Secret Menu, Charlieboy, Naturo Synth @ Anodyne, 7:30 p.m.
- April 24: Torcado (live album recording) @ The Cooperage, 7 p.m.
- April 25: Bloom the Arctic w/Killer High Life, ourvanity, Rotundos @ Linneman’s, 7 p.m.
- April 25: Oklou @ Pabst Theater, 8 p.m.
- April 25: Barns Courtney w/Belle & Chain @ Vivarium, 8 p.m.
- April 26: Pulpa De Guayaba, Calakas Sonora, DJ Pan Fino @ Cactus Club, 7 p.m.
- April 26: James McMurtry @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
- April 28: Waxahatchee and MJ Lenderman w/Brennan Wedl @ Riverside Theater, 7:30 p.m.
