A lot of things changed for Radio Milwaukee in March 2020. One of them was 414 Live, our series that brought the city’s artists to our Walker’s Point home for free weekly concerts.
After trying the Zoom thing for a little while, we put things on pause — always with the intention of bringing it back in some form. Today, we’re beyond excited to tell you what that form is and announce that 414 Live … isn’t coming back.
Instead, we’d like to introduce you to State of Sound.
This new series is still free and open to the public, still weekly, and still built on our deep commitment to the artists who call southeastern Wisconsin home. But as we thought about what it could be, we wanted to go big. Not just southeastern Wisconsin — ALL of Wisconsin.
Every Thursday at 5:30 p.m., whether you listen live on 88Nine or while standing in front of the stage at Radio Milwaukee HQ, you’ll hear talent from all over the Badger State, with an emphasis on the Milwaukee area. You’ll also hear Kenny Perez, 88Nine assistant program director and afternoon drive host, who will serve as emcee and interview the artists each week.
He’s also our lineup curator, a responsibility he doesn’t take lightly. “Supporting our local music community is one of the most important things we do as an organization,” he said. “I’m incredibly honored to be a part of bringing this accessible programming back to our listeners and cannot wait to play witness to the amazing talent Wisconsin has to offer.”
Speaking of lineups, we already have the entire month of April booked and ready to go:
- April 6 — NilexNile (alternative hip-hop) and Holy Pinto (indie pop)
- April 13 — Diet Lite (garage rock and power pop)
- April 20 — Trapper Schoepp (Americana singer-songwriter)
- April 27 — Felix Ramsey (singer-songwriter with alternative and R&B inspiration)
We’ll open our doors at 5 p.m. for every show, with the performance starting 30 minutes later. Besides getting to know a different artist every week, you’ll have a chance to meet one of our community partners, including Leaders Igniting Transformation on April 6 and Girls Rock MKE on April 13.
“To say we are excited to bring back weekly live music to our Walker’s Point home is an understatement,” 88Nine program director Dori Zori said. “This programming and opportunity to support Wisconsin-made music is core to our Radio Milwaukee mission, and we cannot wait to host you all each week.”
If you’re a Wisconsin-based artist interested in being featured on State of Sound, you can use this online form to submit your music and other information for consideration.