Remember when the end of summer was also kinda-sorta a signal for things slowing down in Milwaukee entertainment? Those were simpler (and much more boring) times. Thankfully, there are also a ton of musicians, comedians, and other entertainers coming to town during the first full month of fall. And that’s not even counting recurring Milwaukee Record events like our Halftime Shows, the Midweek Music concert series, and an abundance of fall festivals. There are a bunch of great shows coming to Milwaukee in October, but here are 15 standouts from the bunch.
Friday, October 4 through Sunday, October 6
Pete Holmes @ Milwaukee Improv
Pete Holmes has enjoyed quite the career. Through the years, he’s starred in a loosely biographical HBO series called Crashing and a CBS sitcom called That’s How We Roll, 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 Comedy Sex God, and guest wrote some episodes of The Simpsons. However, Holmes is a standup comedian first and foremost. Following last year’s one-nighter at Turner Hall, the multi-talented comic—who started out in Chicago and was no stranger to Milwaukee mics—will return to the Midwest to treat Milwaukee Improv in nearby Brookfield to five shows spread over three October nights.
Saturday, October 5
Mike Viola + L.A. Exes @ Shank Hall
The name Mike Viola may not immediately jump off the screen, but for anyone who’s paid attention to the last couple of decades of rock and pop music, it’s likely they have come into contact with his work. The voice on that infectious titular tune from the film That Thing You Do? That’s him. The songs in the John C. Reilly vehicle, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story? Viola was one of the primary songwriters. Panic! At The Disco and Mandy Moore producer credits? They’re on his resume as well. This is just a minuscule sampling of the pies Viola’s hands have been in. Almost exactly a year removed from playing Cactus Club, the accomplished will return to Milwaukee to perform at Shank Hall. L.A. Exes open.
Sunday, October 6
Mean Jeans + Watermelon, Chinese Telephones @ X-Ray Arcade
Long-tenured punk trio Mean Jeans are coming to Cudahy to play a show in belated support of Blasted, which the band released on Fat Wreck Chords in February 2024. Watermelon and Milwaukee’s own Chinese Telephones open.
Tuesday, October 8
The Get Up Kids + Smoking Popes @ The Rave / Eagles Club
Wanna feel old? The Get Up Kids released Something To Write Home About 25 years ago. That’s a quarter-century! Damn. In honor of the occasion, the seminal Kansas City emo project will come to The Rave to play songs from that celebrated album. Oh, and they’re bringing veteran Chicago pop-punkers Smoking Popes along with them.
Wednesday, October 9
Illuminati Hotties + Daffo @ Vivarium
Illuminati Hotties—the “tenderpunk” band fronted by project mastermind and producer extraordinaire Sarah Tudzin—will make its Vivarium debut and will play a batch of summer-suited songs that will heat up the new venue in the early days of autumn. Daffo opens.
Thursday, October 10
Advance Base + Apollo Vermouth, Katie Malco @ Lilliput Records
Using the “Advance Base” moniker, Chicago musician Owen Ashworth crafts lo-fi story-driven output that manages to range from humorous and off-kilter to devastatingly beautiful. Some 10 months after playing Cactus Club, the multi-instrumentalist will come back to Milwaukee to headline an all-ages affair at Lilliput Records that also features Apollo Vermouth and Katie Malco. The show begins at 7 p.m.
Friday, October 11
Horseshoes & Hand Grenades + Ladybird @ Pabst Theater
Instead of its usual New Year’s Eve appearance in Milwaukee, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades will play Pabst Theater a few months earlier this year. Preceding the central Wisconsin roots music mainstay is Milwaukee’s own Ladybird, who will cap off an extremely accomplished year with its biggest show yet.
Friday, October 11 through Sunday, October 13
Bill Bellamy @ Milwaukee Improv
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 five performances spread across three nights.
Saturday, October 12
Hotline TNT + Disq, Cry Baby @ Cactus Club
Brooklyn’s Hotline TNT will bring its psych-tinged shoegaze to the cozy confines of Cactus Club for an October 12 show that has the potential to be an intimate show you’ll brag about being at a few years from now. Disq and Cry Baby will open things up.
Thursday, October 17
Yo La Tengo @ Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co.
You read that right: legendary and forever-awesome indie-rock icons Yo La Tengo will play a fundraiser show for the Harris/Walz campaign on Thursday, October 17 at the Walker’s Point Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co. That’s a pretty intimate venue! Tickets are $100, and 100% of the ticket sales will go directly to the Harris Victory Fund. The 7 p.m. show (6 p.m. doors) is scheduled to last approximately 45 minutes. Anodyne has standing room and limited seating; seating will be first-come, first-serve. Oh, and there’s this note: “James McNew may NOT be able to participate in this show. At minimum, artist’s configuration is a duo (Georgia Hubley and Ira Kaplan).”
Saturday, October 19
Lil Wayne + Saweetie, Selfish Sons @ Fiserv Forum
A Lil Wayne show in Milwaukee may not be rare (like Mr. Clean with hair), but we’re still pleased to report that the veteran rapper (and Green Bay Packers superfan) is scheduled to play Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum on Saturday, October 19. Saweetie and Selfish Sons will play in support.
Wednesday, October 23
Milwaukee Record Presents: ‘Election’ (1999)
What better way to take your mind off an upcoming election than watching a film about, well, an election? That’s right! Less than two weeks before America makes its voice heard at the ballot box, we’ll be showing Election at Avalon Theater. Directed by Alexander Payne, this dark 1999 comedy chronicles the lead up to (and fallout after) a student body election at a Nebraska high school that pits the overachieving Tracy Flick (played by Reese Witherspoon) against popular football player Paul Metzler (Chris Klein) and finds social studies teacher Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick) trying/failing to maintain control of the proceedings and his life. We want YOU to come to our Election screening at Avalon Theater on Wednesday, October 23.
Thursday, October 24
Stevie Wonder @ Fiserv Forum
What needs to be said about Stevie Wonder? Over the course of his 60-year music career, he’s written and performed some of the planet’s most beloved and iconic songs that will live on forever. You’ll have a chance to see the 74-year-old legend in Milwaukee when he comes to Fiserv Forum on October 24 as part of his “Sing Your Song! As We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart” tour.
Friday, October 25
Ms. Pat @ Pabst Theater
The life story of Patricia Williams (aka Ms. Pat) is nothing short of astounding. Once a teen mom who was selling drugs in Atlanta, she turned her life around and, by way of her incomparable perspective and undeniable talent, shifted her focus to comedy. In the years that followed that significant life change, Ms. Pat has amassed an abundance of TV credits, started a popular podcast, wrote a critically-acclaimed and NAACP Award-nominated memoir, and has toured extensively. Ms. Pat will drop by Pabst Theater on October 25 for a night of boundary-pushing comedy.
Monday, October 28
M.A.G.S. + Barely Civil @ Cactus Club
Fresh off playing the Milwaukee Record Stage at Bay View Bash, M.A.G.S. and Barely Civil will head a few blocks east to bring their early-autumn tour to a close at Cactus Club. Don’t miss it!