All year long, we welcome nationally and globally touring artists to our stage for Studio Milwaukee Sessions, sponsored by Ellenbecker Investment Group. If you want to be in the live audience for these VIP experiences, become a member today.
If you have aspirations to play a Studio Milwaukee Session, there’s a recipe you can follow to quickly win over the crowd: be affable, be approachable, and have some between-song banter ready in which you namecheck at least one Milwaukee thing (the more obscure, the better).
Also, having a voice powerful enough to blow out the back windows doesn’t hurt.
Jobi Riccio cooked up that combination at her Studio Milwaukee Session just a few hours before a 5:45 p.m. set at Summerfest’s Aurora Pavilion, and everyone in the room ate it up without hesitation.
The Nashville-based artist could’ve just stuck to the four songs she played from new album Face the Feeling and won over the audience. With nothing but an electric guitar and her voice, Riccio had eyebrows raised and heads shaking in wonder throughout the set. But she officially hooked the crowd between the first two songs, when she confessed it was her first time in Milwaukee and recounted enjoying the World Cup with a side of cheese curds at St. Francis Brewery the night before.
Riccio’s easygoing banter carried over to an inviting performance that quickly turned first-time listeners into dedicated fans. Bonnie Raitt and Angel Olsen immediately jumped to mind while enjoying her voice-guitar combo and blend of influences, from bluegrass to indie rock to pop punk.
“I think you can hear my weird little twisted love child of those influences really come out on this new record,” Riccio pointed out during the mid-set interview with Dori Zori, who took our guest on a tour back through a music-life that literally started at Red Rocks Elementary School — as in the storied Colorado concert venue, which also doubled as the gathering place during the school’s fire drills.
Riccio also talked about performing on that famous stage years later, getting inspired by everyone from Hayley Williams to Kelly Clarkson to Linda Ronstadt, and sustaining her music career with odd jobs like indoor ski instructor (seriously).
Listen to the full session using the player at the top of the page, check out any of our previous Summerfest guests in the list below and make plans to join us for the very last festival performance Friday at noon with The Beths:
- Wednesday, June 17 — Micah Emrich
- Thursday, June 25 — The Mountain Goats
- Wednesday, July 1 — Gold Steps
- Thursday, July 2 — Jobi Riccio
- Friday, July 3 — The Beths
Studio MKE: Jobi Riccio set list
- “The Ridge”
- “Love of the Song”
- “Buzzkill”
- “Doesn’t Matter” (non-broadcast performance)
