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The lineup is set. See what's next for 88Nine's State of Sound.

The Wisconsin bands to watch in 2019

These artists are going places. They will always be from Wisconsin, but they are about to be so much more than "Milwaukee bands."

Each Thursday morning on Radio Milwaukee we—the Journal Sentinel’s Piet Levy and 88Nine’s Jordan Lee—talk about the music coming into Milwaukee and the music coming out of Milwaukee on Tap’d In.

Read more and listen to the podcast episode below to hear why we picked these artists as the ones to watch this year.

Five Wisconsin bands to watch in 2019

Here are the picks, taken from Piet's article in the Journal Sentinel:


  1. Chicken Wire Empire, a bluegrass band selling out theaters and getting prime fest slots.
  2. Crystal Knives, a dynamic EDM producer dropping tracks as powerful as any A-lister, and racking up millions of streams.
  3. Telethon, a blast of a live band that's following up an ambitious rock opera with an even stronger album.
  4. Vincent Van Great, a versatile rapper, producer, singer and songwriter who is fully embracing R&B for his next project.
  5. Zed Kenzo, one of the most intense live performers in Milwaukee, who's taking her style of hip-hop, and her profile, to a whole new level.

And you can see all of these artists in one place, for free. All five acts are performing in the upcoming Journal Sentinel Wisconsin Bands to Watch 2019 showcase at 8 p.m. May 3 at the Radio Milwaukee Studios.

88Nine Senior Director of Programming | Radio Milwaukee