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.
The eighth annual Psych Fest has been a long time coming. The brainchild of local musician Andrew Shelp (Moss Folk, Dancing Silks) was supposed to notch numero ocho back in 2020 and then 2021 … but COVID. It finally happens this week at the Cooperage, starting Thursday and running through Saturday night.
Shelp has presented his love of psychedelic music in festival form for more than a decade — and it really does come from a place of love. As he told Milwaukee Magazine in 2019, “Promoters do it for money — it’s an investment for them; they need to see a return. I do it because I love the music, and I love and miss my friends. Psych Fest is typically the only time I get to see them, so it’s important to me. Plus all their bands rule!”
This is an event that pulls from everywhere. There are Milwaukee bands like Apollo Vermouth and Vocokesh; acts from 13 other states; plus international artists Acid Mothers Temple (Japan), En Attendant Ana (Paris), Smoke Bellow (Australia) and Los Dug Dugs (Durango, Mexico). On top of that, you get light shows from A. Bill Miller and Mad Alchemy further illuminating the live-music experience.
You can visit the Cooperage website for the full lineup and pick up tickets for any of the individual days or all three.
More shows worth a go
- May 4: The New Pornographers @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m.
- May 4: Humbird, Long Mama @ Cactus Club, 7 p.m.
- May 4: Telltale, Sundressed, Brooklane, Gold Steps @ X-Ray Arcade, 7 p.m.
- May 4: Ethan Keller (tour launch) @ Company Brewing, 9 p.m.
- May 6: Soul Night @ Company Brewing, 9 p.m.
- May 7: Daniel Rodriguez @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.