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.
We’re far from high fashion, but we’re not above borrowing the montage we’ve seen in countless movies/shows in which the stylist works with the schlubby main character to ensure they get something that fits juuuust right and makes them feel fabulous. Thus, here comes your small-medium-large version of Milwaukee Concert Picks.
Large: Kacey Musgraves @ Fiserv Forum
For this exercise, the size factor refers to venue capacity — and Fiserv Forum figures to welcome north of 18,000 people when Kacey Musgraves brings her “Middle of Nowhere Tour” to Milwaukee this Friday.
If you’re familiar with the 88Nine playlist, you know we don’t play just any country artist. Alt country? Sure. Indie/goth country? On occasion. Musgraves has certainly applied her own bend to the genre, mixing in elements of folk and even disco. Her latest release, Middle of Nowhere, is packed with country flavors while pushing into the kinds of sounds you’re more likely to hear on La Alternativa: cumbia, Mexican norteño and mariachi.
The first handful of tour dates have been met with overwhelmingly positive reviews, and Musgraves is good and warmed up for Friday night’s Milwaukee crowd. Midland will open the show, which is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.
Medium: Turnstile @ The Rave/Eagles Club
Sitting in the middle ground this week is Turnstile, who will welcome a couple thousands of their fans to the Eagles Ballroom on Wednesday as they continue part two of their “Never Enough Tour.”
The Baltimore punk/alt outfit broke out in 2021 with the release of Glow On and haven’t really let up in the years since. Rather than hustling out another record, they took their time (relatively speaking) and let almost four years pass before dropping the Grammy-winning Never Enough in June of 2025.
Turnstile are enjoying the kind of overnight success that makes bands who have been together for 16 years (like they have) laugh at the very notion. But they do seem to be enjoying themselves and will bring a batch of fresh energy to the Eagles Ballroom when they kick off the tour Wednesday night with openers Texas Is the Reason and Haywire. Also: $1 of every ticket sold supports the Guest House of Milwaukee, which provides shelter, housing, education and services to the city’s homeless who seek to transform their lives with dignity and purpose.
Small: Margaret Glaspy @ Vivarium
While the 450-capacity Vivarium represents the most intimate of the venues we’re highlighting, the talent within it Saturday night will be massive.
Margaret Glaspy is a frequent flyer in the 88Nine playlist and has swung through Milwaukee a time or two. This particular visit is in honor of I Am Both, which got released to our ears a little more than a month ago. The folk artist did her genre proud on the new album by not only pointing out some of the ills that surround us, but also encouraging us to actually DO something about them.
Glaspy kept the arrangements sparse for the record and in doing so allowed her remarkable vocals space to rattle around in our brains. That approach will sound amazing in the Vivarium’s space, particularly when combined with fellow folkie Anna Tivel in the opening slot.
Best concerts in Milwaukee this week
- Sept. 9: Turnstile w/Texas Is the Reason, Haywire @ The Rave, 7:30 p.m.
- Sept. 10: Shane Guerrette w/Lunde @ Anodyne, 7 p.m.
- Sept. 10: She Returns From War, Maximiano, Lily Slay & The Vertebrae @ Cactus Club, 7 p.m.
- Sept. 10: Matt Froelich @ The Argo, 6:30 p.m.
- Sept. 10: The Bourbon Jockeys @ Jackalope Lounj, 7 p.m.
- Sept. 11: Kacey Musgraves w/Midland @ Fiserv Forum, 7:30 p.m.
- Sept. 11: In Shining Armour, Lana Leone, My Melody, Overhand @ Cactus Club, 6:30 p.m.
- Sept. 11: BAMM w/Dandelion Delivery Service, Gabriel Harris Band @ Linneman’s, 8 p.m.
- Sept. 11: Shoobie w/Carbon Decoy, Glass Chimera, Zang! @ Falcon Hall, 8 p.m.
- Sept. 12: Margaret Glaspy w/Anna Tivel @ Vivarium, 8 p.m.
- Sept. 12: LP @ The Rave, 8 p.m.
- Sept. 12: Lily Rose w/Adam Paddock @ The Argo, 8 p.m.
- Sept. 13: Bikini Kill w/Ganser @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m.
- Sept. 13: Punch Brothers @ Pabst Theater, 8 p.m.
- Sept. 13: Peaches w/Wheelchair Sports Camp @ The Rave 8 p.m.
- Sept. 13: Mini Trees w/Frown Line @ Falcon Hall, 8 p.m.
- Sept. 15: Starly Kind, Tiny Vamp, The Precipitators, Candlewax @ MKE Ultra, 7 p.m.
- Sept. 16: The Wilder Blue w/Ian Harrison @ Vivarium, 8 p.m.
