Since opening in the longtime home of The Exclusive Company (1669 N. Farwell Ave.) in the summer of 2022, Lilliput Records has quickly stepped in to become one of the city’s and the state’s finest independent record stores. Adding to their outstanding, ever-growing inventory and interactive listening parties they offer is a brand new concert series the store tested out last fall and have decided to make a monthly occurrence this year.
“Lilliput After Hours” expands on the in-store performance by offering full-fledged multi-act concerts instead of abbreviated sets by one artist. The series was started by Mark Taylor, a Lilliput Records employee, sound engineer, and member of Milwaukee band North Warren.
“There are only so many venues in the city that will easily book smaller local acts. Most of those venues are bars and almost none of them are in the Brady Street area,” Taylor says. “I felt like there was an opportunity to use the store as a venue space after hours. We would be able to charge at the door to help the bands make money, people could shop to help the store make money, and we could offer an all-ages and interesting space to see local music.”
He tested the concept out at the store by booking North Warren, Well + Good, and Okay Omen to play a show on the shop’s stage last October. That “After Hours” debut was well-attended and, as Taylor predicted, brought Lilliput some extra sales during a time the store would have usually been closed. That successful experiment encouraged Taylor and the store’s owners to keep the shows coming on a monthly basis in 2024. This year’s edition kicked off with a January 20 bill headlined by Social Cig.
Subsequent “Lilliput After Hours” installments will feature an eclectic lineup of bands from Milwaukee and beyond taking to the store’s stage for unconventional all-ages concerts that attendees can enjoy while they shop. Each show has a $10 cover and 7:30 start time (7 p.m. doors) unless otherwise stated. The series will continue this weekend, with a February 17 show featuring Bunny Blues, Oh Well, Okay and Glitzy. Here’s the rest of the lineup as it stands right now.
February 17
Bunny Blues
Oh Well, Okay
Glitzy
March 9
Rat Bath
Mizzy
SPOY
April 20
Record Store Day (lineup TBA)
May 18
Dusk
Max Niemann And The Fellow Travelers
Support local record stores, support local artists, support all-ages venues, and take in a show all at the same time with the “Lilliput After Hours” series! You can stay up to date with the series on Lilliput Records’ Instagram.