Do you like fall? Of course you do. Do you like shows? Yep. Here are 16 shows to see this fall.
Friday, September 22
Twin Brother + Abby Jeanne, Dramatic Lovers @ Anodyne Coffee’s Walker’s Point Roastery
You simply will not find a better local show in Milwaukee in September than this stacked three-act bill. The new and improved Twin Brother will headline its EP release show, which also features the wonderful Abby Jeanne and the shoegaze-y stylings of Dramatic Lovers.
Thursday, September 28
The Dirty Nil + Space Raft, Rio Turbo @ Cactus Club
Ontario-based rockers The Dirty Nil have been bringing their Canadian-crafted tunes to Milwaukee with some regularity of late. This time around, the band—fresh off its European tour in support of its latest EP, Minimum R&B—will anchor a Thursday night Cactus Club show that also includes Space Raft and Rio Turbo. At just $6, you couldn’t ask for a better Packers post-game show.
Saturday, September 30
Stephen King & Owen King @ Riverside Theater
M-O-O-N, that spells legendary author talk. Master of the macabre, highness of horror, and star of that one part in Creepshow where he turns into a plant and then blows his head off, Stephen King will make a Milwaukee appearance along with son/author Owen King. The Kings will discuss their latest collaboration, Sleeping Beauties, which postulates what would happen if women disappeared from the world of men. Each ticket comes complete with one hardcover edition of Sleeping Beauties, and up to 400 attendees will randomly receive a pre-signed copy. There will be no author signing at the event, so save your questions about the great It reboot and the lousy Dark Tower movie for another time.
Saturday, September 30
“Band Together” @ 88Nine Radio Milwaukee
Back for year two, 88Nine’s “Band Together” seeks to bring disparate parts of Milwaukee’s music scene together under one roof. R&B, Latin, jazz, and rock are all represented this time around, with performances from Adi Armour, Cache, Kymaera, and Tigernite.
Saturday, October 7
Whips + Siren, B-Free, Taj Raiden @ Cactus Club
Looking for another stacked local bill this fall? Look no further. The show is part of the “Mix-It-Up” series (similar to “Band Together”), which promises to bring together “four distinctly unique Milwaukee acts who know how to melt faces, hearts, and pants.”
Friday, October 13
Xposed 4Heads + Mortgage Freeman, Scrimshaw @ Linneman’s
If there’s any Milwaukee band that can claim some Devo DNA running through its veins, it’s probably Xposed 4Heads. Founded in 1982 by Joy Farm mastermind Mark G.E., the on-again-off-again 4Heads were relatively dormant in recent years until performing at 2012’s massive Lest We Forget show at Turner Hall. Five years later, the band is playing in support of its delightful new album Urgency Squad.
Saturday, October 14
Beet Street Harvest Festival @ Wentworth and Potter avenues (Bay View)
Between noon and 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 14, the Bay View blocks between Cactus Club and Goodkind—and the interior and patio of Palomino—will offer an autumnal mix of baking contests, a pumpkin patch, live entertainment, local vendors, on-site food, craft cocktails made with Skyy Vodka and Four Roses Bourbon, Loon Juice Cider, and beer from Solemn Oath and Pabst breweries. Milwaukee Record will also host a fall edition of our “Broken Up Band Bazaar” sale at Cactus Club during the day, with WMSE and 88Nine DJs providing our soundtrack, before the bar hosts a post-festival after party. Milo, Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas, Dogs In Ecstasy, and Gas Station Sushi will play outside. Here’s everything you need to know.
Sunday, October 15
Queens Of The Stone Age + Royal Blood @ The Rave
Queens Of The Stone Age return to Milwaukee for the first time in more than three years. This time, the seminal stoner rockers will play a show at The Rave just a couple months removed from the release of their great Villains. Awesome opener Royal Blood is just the icing on the cake.
Thursday, October 19
Kesha @ The Rave
What else needs to be said? Kesha is coming to The Rave.
Friday, October 20
Andrew W.K. @ The Rave
God bless Andrew W.K. Since 2001, the white-clad, long-haired rocker has been making the world a slightly less-shitty place by spreading his gospel of partying, partying, and partying some more. Milwaukee will be able to partake in Andrew W.K.’s party revival for the first time in five years when the musician (born Andrew Fetterly Wilkes-Krier) comes to The Rave. Part of W.K.’s “The Party Never Dies Tour,” the show will feature a full band, and will be in support of a new album to be released later this year. Party hard. Have fun. Get wasted.
Friday, October 20
NO/NO (record release) + Dirty Dancing, Dashcam @ Linneman’s
NO/NO is one of Milwaukee’s best bands. NO/NO is releasing a new album. Go to this show.
Sunday, October 22
Craig Finn + John K. Samson @ Cactus Club
Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn will return to Cactus Club cozy stage this fall, along with his backing band The Uptown Controllers. The band will be playing in support of Finn’s latest solo effort, the months-old We All Want The Same Things. Perhaps more impressive is the show’s opener. John K. Samson, who is best known as the former bassist of Propagandhi and (more so as) the singer of The Weakerthans, will play an opening set in belated support of his gorgeous and heart-wrenching 2016 solo record Winter Wheat. Holy shit.
Friday, November 3 and Saturday, November 4
Bill Burr @ Riverside Theater
Yes, beloved stand-up comic, popular podcast host, F Is For Family co-creator, talk show regular, and new father Bill Burr is checking in on Milwaukee once again. Will he talk about boozing? A lack of boozing? Drumming? Cigars? Fatherhood? The lovely Nia (his wife)? That Yoko Ono bit you’re probably not supposed to like but is still kind of funny anyway? You have two chances to find out! (The Saturday, November 4 show is already sold out.)
Tuesday, November 7
Guns N’ Roses @ BMO Harris Bradley Center
You know where Guns N’ Fucking Roses are going to be Tuesday, November 7? They’re going to be at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, baby. They’re gonna die. Well, hopefully not, because, yeah, the reunited GNR are bringing their “Not In This Lifetime…Tour” to town, which is awesome.
Friday, November 17
St. Vincent @ Riverside Theater
Is there anyone better than Annie Clark, a.k.a. St. Vincent? No, no there is not. She’ll be here just over a month after the release of her latest album, Masseduction.
Thursday, November 30
Nick Offerman @ Riverside Theater
Enough talking: Nick Offerman—noted humorist, writer, woodworker, and Ron Swanson—will return to Milwaukee a week after Thanksgiving, which seems to be an especially Offerman-y holiday. The comedian will be performing a solo stand-up set, musing on “survival in the wild, living with enthusiasm, and most importantly, the cultivation of fulsome body hair.” The name of his tour, appropriately, is the “Full Bush” tour.