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.
Ah, late August. The back-to-school sales are well and truly picked over, the nighttime temps start to hint at the 50s, and Milwaukee’s concert scene takes a relative breather from the breakneck pace of summertime.
Aided by festivals and seasonal concert series, our list of weekly picks has hovered right around 20 for the last several months. This installment feels more autumnal when it comes to sheer volume while still maintaining the quality that gives you plenty of solid options for the week ahead.
One of the solidest(?) comes from 88Nine’s Dori Zori, who couldn’t be more geeked about Sierra Ferrell coming to Landmark Credit Union Live this Saturday. Considering what Ferrell said about her most recent album, Trail of Flowers, it’s not hard to guess why our sunshiney morning show host is looking forward to this one.
“I’m just trying to put words and melodies together and build it into something people can pour their feelings into, all their happiness and sorrows, so that it changes their reality a little bit and gives them some comfort,” Ferrell said. “To me, music is like medicine. And whenever I write a song and it feels healing to me, I know it can heal other people, too.”
If you’re looking for a different approach to emotional catharsis on a Saturday night, you’ll find it at X-Ray Arcade and the all-Wisconsin lineup of Fake My Death, Frantic Repair, in shining armour and Dust Cover.
Regular Radio Milwaukee readers/listeners (that’s you) will recognize at least a couple of those names from a series of hyper-local stories we brought you over the past year — both from our former intern and proud member of the Milwaukee media community, Jonathan Joseph. Fake My Death were the stars of his DIY Digest series (check out part one and part two), and in shining armour played a key role in the story of Pierhead artist collective.
More important than their occasional appearances in our space, these two bands — along with fellow city-dwellars Frantic Repair — are prime examples of the emerging talent and hardworking ethic that have made the Milwaukee music scene what it is today. Throw in the fact that Fake My Death are celebrating the release of their new self-titled EP, and that makes Saturday night’s quadruple-header a prime ticket for your weekend
Best concerts in Milwaukee this week
- Aug. 27: The Marshall Tucker Band w/Ladybird @ Pabst Theater, 7:30 p.m.
- Aug. 27: Jacob Augustine, Marielle Allschwang & The Visitations, The Hallelujah Ward @ Anodyne, 7 p.m.
- Aug. 27: Haunter, Large Print, Apollo Vermouth @ Cactus Club, 7 p.m.
- Aug. 27: Michael Sodnik Trio @ The Argo, 6:30 p.m.
- Aug. 27: Carl Erikstrup @ Jackalope Lounj, 7 p.m.
- Aug. 29: Sierra Ferrell @ Landmark Credit Union Live, 8 p.m.
- Aug. 29: Fake My Death, Frantic Repair, In Shining Armour, Dust Cover @ X-Ray Arcade, 7 p.m.
- Aug. 29: Home for the Weekend w/Payroll @ Falcon Hall, 7 p.m.
- Aug. 29: Crow Eater, The Sweet Sheiks @ Anodyne, 7:30 p.m.
- Aug. 31: Cathedral Becomes Tomb, Todd Umhoefer, Whitty Remarks @ Cactus Club, 7 p.m.
