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, sponsored by Urban Ecology Center.
Most weeks, the shows we highlight in this post have pretty mundane location instructions, like “head over to the Pabst Theater” or “point yourself toward Cactus Club.” But, once a year, we get to recommend a performance you can catch just past the otters and near the caribou enclosure.
A La Carte at the Zoo will turn the big 4-0 when it starts serving big helpings of food and music this Thursday, running all the way through Sunday night. You could easily make the argument this is the strongest entertainment lineup in the event’s history, with five headliners who bring something different to each night’s proceedings:
- Thursday, Aug. 20 — lovelytheband (7 p.m.)
- Friday, Aug. 21 — jackrabbit feat. Dermot Mulroney (6 p.m.), Chris Lane (7:30 p.m.)
- Saturday, Aug. 22 — Tank & The Bangas (7 p.m.)
- Sunday, Aug. 23 — De La Buena (6 p.m.)
That’s pretty decent coverage of the musical palette. You can start with alt-pop on the opening night, get a taste of country/Americana on Friday, switch to soul/funk/R&B on Saturday and then finish with Afro-Cuban/Latin jazz for a Sunday dessert.
If you absolutely need to pick just one, we’re partial to the sonic dynamism of Tank & The Bangas, whose lead vocalist sat down with Element for a recent interview (and the whole band will join us for a Studio Milwaukee Session as part of their busy Saturday). For the full entertainment lineup and more info, bounce over to the zoo’s website.
The other multi-day event happening this weekend takes us back to the days when WYMS delivered jazz over the airwaves. It’s the seventh installment of the Fresh Coast Jazz Festival, which runs from Aug. 20-22 and includes an award-worthy lineup of Grammy nominees and other global stars of the genre:
- Thursday, Aug. 20 — The Pairing (wine-tasting event) featuring the music of George Benson
- Friday, Aug. 21 — Spyro Gyra, Kandace Springs and Eric Essix
- Saturday, Aug. 22 — Fresh Coast Cruise
- Saturday, Aug. 22 — Jonathan Butler, Jarrod Lawson and Marqueal Jordan
The event’s webpage includes a bunch of great information about the artists, the full schedule and everything the festival does to support music education throughout the year. But if you want to jump right into the ticket window, you can do that on the Pabst Theater Group’s website.
Best concerts in Milwaukee this week
- Aug. 20-23: A La Carte at the Zoo @ Milwaukee County Zoo
- Aug. 20-22: Fresh Coast Jazz Festival @ Pabst Theater
- Aug. 20: Julia Graves (album release) w/John Stanford, The Panoptics @ Anodyne, 7 p.m.
- Aug. 20: Tenley Sheldon @ The Argo, 6:30 p.m.
- Aug. 20: Liam Kazar, Sima Cunningham @ Cactus Club, 7 p.m.
- Aug. 20: Anything You Want w/Heavy Bend, Bowvee @ Linneman’s, 7:30 p.m.
- Aug. 20: Floryence w/The Precipitators, Maxwell Lane @ Falcon Nest, 8 p.m.
- Aug. 20: Long Line Riders @ Jackalope Lounj, 7 p.m.
- Aug. 21: The 4th Annual Emmitt James Big Band BBQ @ Turner Hall, 8 p.m.
- Aug. 21: Vacation Manor, Nolen Durham @ Anodyne, 7:30 p.m.
- Aug. 21: Jake McKelvie w/Caley Conway, Liv Mueller @ Linneman’s, 8 p.m.
- Aug. 21: Faded Places, Modern Tigers (dual vinyl release) w/Shadeseeker, SSAANN @ Falcon Hall, 8 p.m.
- Aug. 22: Rap J & Friends @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
- Aug. 22: Dizgo & Hot Like Mars w/Wonderful Bluffer @ The Argo, 7 p.m.
- Aug. 22: Chapped Lips, Touchdown Jesus, Yolk, Aergo @ Cactus Club, 6:30 p.m.
- Aug. 23: Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen @ Vivarium, 8 p.m.
- Aug. 23: Jesse James DeConto w/Brandon Reisdorf, Ben Mulwana @ Anodyne, 6 p.m.
- Aug. 23: Damager, Oh Well Ok, Heavy Bend @ Cactus Club, 7 p.m.
