Believe it or not, we’ve somehow already reached the last month of 2025. This year wasn’t particularly great. In fact it was pretty bad…and things will probably just get noticeably worse in 2026. Anyway, here are 13 standout concerts, comedy shows, film screenings, venue openings, and maker fairs that are happening in and around Milwaukee in December. Enjoy!
Thursday, December 4
Rory Scovel @ Turner Hall
In addition to his ever-growing list of acting roles, Rory Scovel is one of the funniest and most original comedians working today. Don’t miss your chance to see the innovative humorist do what he does best at Turner Hall when he drops by Milwaukee as part of his “Know Your Enemy Tour” on December 4.
Friday, December 5
The Argo Soft Opening @ The Argo
There’s a new venue in Whitefish Bay! That’s right, folks. The Argo is opening this month in the former Fox Bay Cinema location. This Friday, the brand new live entertainment destination will host a soft opening event that will feature VEAUX from Nashville and Milwaukee-based openers Zach Pietrini and Chris Haise Band. And if you need another reason to check out The Argo this weekend, all net profits from Friday’s show will be donated to Whitefish Bay School District’s music programs.
Saturday, December 6
Ryan Necci And The Buffalo Gospel @ Vivarium
Even though Ryan Necci—the founding member, bandleader, and namesake of Ryan Necci And The Buffalo Gospel—now calls Tennessee home, the Milwaukee expat and professional songwriter returns to his home region every fall and brings the band out for a local concert. For the second straight year, Necci and company will perform at Vivarium. The homecoming doubles as a release show for Buffalo Gospel’s brand new album, The Dead Can’t Take A Hint.
Saturday, December 6
Driveway Thriftdwellers (album release) + Joseph Huber Band @ Linneman’s Riverwest Inn
Milwaukee’s own Driveway Thriftdwellers will be taking the stage at Linneman’s on December 6 to play a belated release show for High Top Van, the album the band released last month. Joseph Huber Band will offer another dash of local support.
Saturday, December 6
Samiam + Avenues, Hello Face @ X-Ray Arcade
Samiam has done it all. Since starting out on Gilman Street in the late ’80s, the legendary punk band has released eight influential albums and a mess of excellent EPs. They’ve toured extensively, played all over the world, spent time on a major label, and shared the stage with some of the planet’s biggest bands. Despite lineup changes and side ventures aplenty, the band is still going strong. After a long-awaited return to Milwaukee in 2019 and an X-Ray Arcade show in 2023, Samiam will come back to the region to headline Cudahy’s X-Ray Arcade again as part of a December 6 bill that also features local support from Avenues and Hello Face.
Sunday, December 7
Hover Craft @ The Pritzlaff Building
Since 2009, Hover Craft has brought skilled local artists, crafters, retailers, and others residing beneath the broad “maker” umbrella together to bring Milwaukee-made goods to area consumers during the holiday season. It’ll return to The Pritzlaff Building for another installment on Sunday, December 7.
Friday, December 12
Tyler And Ashley’s Holiday Special + Special Guests @ Cactus Club
In recent years, longtime friends and former Whips bandmates Tyler Chicorel and Ashley Smith have joined forces on some downright delightful holiday originals released under the name The Stocking Stuffers. With an ever-growing collection of material (and maybe some yuletide covers thrown in for good measure?), they decided to go public with this musical hobby by hosting a “Holiday Special” at Cactus Club. The event will also feature support from “The Stocking Stuffers,” a “Rockin Rudolph Christmas Choir,” special guests, and even a meat raffle.
Friday, December 12 through Sunday, December 14
Pete Holmes @ Milwaukee Improv (five shows!)
Pete Holmes has enjoyed quite the career. Through the years, he’s starred in a loosely biographical HBO series and a CBS sitcom, hosted a late night TBS talk show bearing his name, voiced “The E*Trade Baby,” recorded hundreds of episodes of his popular You Made It Weird podcast, wrote a book, and guest wrote some episodes of The Simpsons. However, Holmes is a stand up comedian first and foremost. The multi-talented comic will return to Milwaukee Improv in nearby Brookfield to perform five shows spread over three December nights.
Saturday, December 13
Ladybird + Long Mama, Maximiano, Old Pup @ Falcon Hall
What’s there to say about this one? It’s just a very, VERY stacked lineup of local bands residing in the general vicinity of folk, country, Americana, and the like. Don’t miss it!
Wednesday, December 17
Milwaukee Record Presents ‘Demolition Man’ @ Avalon Theater
This futuristic 1993 sci-fi thriller stars Sylvester Stallone as John Spartan, a destructive cop who is wrongfully convicted and sentenced to 70 years in a “Cryo-Penitentiary.” His sentence is cut short when he’s thawed out to help save an otherwise prosperous city of “San Angeles” from a sudden string of crimes and mayhem caused by Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes), an escaped Cryo-Criminal who was Spartan’s former adversary. The two mega stars also get support from Sandra Bullock, Denis Leary, Benjamin Bratt, and MTV Rock N’ Jock hall of famer Dan Cortese (in two roles!). Oh, and every restaurant is a Taco Bell in this movie.
Friday, December 19
Insane Clown Posse’s Big Baller Holiday Party @ The Rave/Eagles Club
Flying sleighs, how do they work?
Friday, December 19 and Saturday, December 20
Bill Bellamy @ Milwaukee Improv (four shows!)
Actor, longtime MTV VJ, alleged creator of the term “booty call,” and veteran comedian Bill Bellamy will drop by the Milwaukee Improv in nearby Brookfield to treat the suburban club to a total of four performances spread across two nights.
Tuesday, December 30
Telethon + Devon Kay & The Solutions, Teenage Ice Age @ X-Ray Arcade
Last November, Milwaukee-born (and now geographically scattered) band Telethon convened at Cactus Club to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Hard Pop. At the end of this month, they’ll get on stage at X-Ray Arcade to give southeast Wisconsin its first live sampling of Suburban Electric, a surprise album the “hard pop” purveyors released back in March. Chicago’s Devon Kay & The Solutions and new local power poppers Teenage Ice Age will precede Telethon.