Now that we’re within 72 hours of the season’s conclusion, we can officially declare that it was the summer of Ladybird. The Milwaukee alt-country outfit played pretty much every notable local festival and block party (including a headlining set at our inaugural Morgan Park Picnic!), embarked on some short tours, earned a few impressive opening slots, and found its popularity continue to swell as more listeners stumbled upon the band’s exceptional 2024 effort Amy Come On Home and saw them perform live.
Yes, it’s been a watershed summer for Ladybird, but fall is looking to be even better. The band is slated to release Clementine, its second full-length album, on October 10. To this point, only the lead single (a wistful toe-tapper called “Lapis Buckle”) has seen the light of day. However, Ladybird just released a music video for its second Clementine single, and it’s a doozy.
Directed by accomplished local videographer and frequent collaborator Sam Ghani, the video for “Famous Band” finds the Ladybird lads sitting in the back of a pickup truck that’s cruising around a Milwaukee County Park. Between sips of beer, bandleader Pete McDermott delivers tongue in cheek lyrics about the “hard work being in a famous band” and name drops Chad Kroeger of Nickelback (whose “Rockstar” he later quotes in the song).
Eventually the truck stops at Cactus Club, where the band takes the stage before being quickly overshadowed by some Ladybird lookalikes (most notably Kat Wodtke of Long Mama). There are also some cameos from Ghani, Maximiano, and more along the way. Ladybird might be joking about hitting it big and being a famous band, but if they keep on this trajectory, who knows?!
Check out the video for “Famous Band” now, then pre-order Clementine, and make plans to see one of Ladybird’s two release shows at Cactus Club on Saturday, November 1.
Exclusive articles, podcasts, and more. Support Milwaukee Record on Patreon.