Milwaukee is chock-full of things to do, but only a handful of events are worthy of the lofty honor of “Record Recommended” (patent pending). Here are our recommendations for April 3-9, 2023.
MONDAY, APRIL 3
Opening Day @ American Family Field
Happy Opening Day, Milwaukee! GO BREWERS!
TUESDAY, APRIL 4 (VOTE!)
WMSE’s Local/Live: Astral Hand @ Anodyne Walker’s Point Roastery
Like a signal traveling through the unfathomable vastness of space, it’s been a long journey for Astral Hand. The heavy cosmic-psych band emerged from the shadow of another Milwaukee band (Calliope) way back in 2019. The rebranded outfit released a handful of tentative singles, but plans for a full-length album were put on hold due to the pandemic and other nefarious interstellar forces. But now—finally!—Astral Hand has released that debut record, the 8-track Lords Of Data. See the band perform some of that Data at this (free) live broadcast of WMSE’s Local/Live.
Election Night Show: Dead Horses + NilexNile @ Lakefront Brewery
“We’re teaming up with the #iVoted Festival to host an election night performance with up and coming Midwest standouts, Dead Horses, and NilexNile! Join us on Tuesday, April 4 to celebrate democracy and our ability to vote with this FREE show. Must be 18+ unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Those 21 and over will receive a free beverage, those under 21 are welcome to a free non-alcoholic beverage and will be given an UNDER 21 wristband. The show will get started with our special guest at 7:30PM. Dead Horses at 8PM! Our full food menu will be available through counter-service. *Voting is not required to enter or receive a free beverage. This is a bipartisan event.”
Lucius + Danielle Ponder @ Turner Hall Ballroom
“Every Lucius song begins with what Holly Laessig calls ‘coffee talks,’ in which she and Jess Wolfe share what’s on their minds—and in the spring of 2020, they had a lot to discuss. Since 2007, Laessig and Wolfe have written this way, learning each other’s stories by heart before weaving them into the lyrics and chord progressions of their inventive indie-pop anthems. Onstage, they’re two identically-dressed and coiffed halves of the same whole, the mirror image of each other at the microphone; off-stage, they step into their respective lives—separate, but close—as chosen family. They’ve shared countless joys as they’ve seen the world while touring behind their 2013 debut album, Wildewoman, and its follow-up, 2016’s Good Grief, but they’ve weathered profound losses and lows together, too. And when one of them experiences a seismic shift that shakes their world, the other is there to listen, and reflect, in order to help write through it.”
Viewing Party: Watch Chef Ashley Turner On Chopped @ Hacienda Taproom & Kitchen
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5
Riverwest Co-op Presents: 2023 Annual Pre-WMSE Chili Cook-off Vegan Chili Cook-off @ Falcon Bowl
“Enter your creation into our chili cook-off for a chance to have your chili represent the Co-op at the 21st Annual WMSE Rockabilly Chili Fundraiser at the MSOE Kern Center on April 16th. There is no cost to enter! And Prizes!”
THURSDAY, APRIL 6
The Mae Simpson Band + Wurk @ Anodyne Walker’s Point Roastery
The Mae Simpson Band, a Minneapolis outfit that astounded us at the Blue Ox Music Festival in 2021, is finally making its way to Milwaukee to treat Anodyne on Bruce Street to its winning blend of soul, R&B, and rock—all anchored by the incredible voice of Mae Simpson.
FACS + Primitive Broadcast Service, Ghost Cuts @ Cactus Club
Chicago post-punk project FACS stops by Cactus Club on the eve of the release of a new EP, Still Live In Decay. Making this show even more appealing is local support from Primitive Broadcast Service and Ghost Cuts.
State Of Sound: NilexNile + Holy Pinto @ Radio Milwaukee
“Live, local music returns to Radio Milwaukee! Introducing State of Sound, our FREE weekly session showcasing talent from across the state with a deep commitment to artists that call southeastern Wisconsin home. First up: Alternative hip-hop artist NilexNile and indie-pop group Holy Pinto. Doors open at 5 p.m. Show starts at 5:30 p.m. Can’t be there in person? Listen live on 88.9FM.”
In The Round: Zach Pietrini + Ben Harold, Jesse Tyler Frewerd @ Linneman’s Riverwest Inn
FRIDAY, APRIL 7
NEWSKI (record release) + Valentiger @ Anodyne Walker’s Point Roastery
“A revival of ’90s alternative, durable midwest rock trio NEWSKI enlists a friend/musical influence on every track for their new LP Friend Rock. From veterans like Matthew Caws (Nada Surf), Brian Vander Ark (the Verve Pipe), Ryan Miller (Guster), Miles Nielsen, and Scott Terry (Red Wanting Blue) to overseas acts like H Burns (France), The Secret Beach (Canada), and The Shabs (South Africa), NEWSKI compiles an internationally collaborative album from his own tiny house in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.”
Products + The Present Age, The Nile Club @ Cactus Club
Club Ritual: Don Black + Asher Gray, Greyhound @ Cactus Club
5 PM To Nowhere + Lake Drive, Sabrina Prochaska @ Linneman’s Riverwest Inn
SATURDAY, APRIL 8
Bouncing Souls + Anti-Flag, A Wilhelm Scream, The Venomous Pink @ The Rave
A pair of punk rock legends—Bouncing Souls and Anti-Flag—bring their decades of experience and massive catalogs of influential material to The Rave as part of the Ten Stories High Tour. The dynamic duo will be joined by A Wilhelm Scream and The Venomous Pink.
Release Party For Breakfall, A New Novel By Zhanna Slor @ The Sugar Maple
“Mina Banksy, a 32-year-old writer and mother of a rambunctious toddler, is still reeling from a tumultuous divorce when two Chicago detectives show up at her door looking for her friend, Dylan. Or, more accurately, the van that she allowed him to register in her name, because Dylan, a friend from her former Jiu Jitsu gym, is a recovered addict and convicted felon. The van quickly becomes the least of her problems, as Dylan, too, is nowhere to be found. His disappearance triggers a series of events that turn everyone at the close-knit gym into suspects or victims, and somehow all roads lead back to Mina Banksy, and the scandal that forced her to leave the gym in the first place. Part unlikely romance and part murder mystery, set inside the eclectic subculture of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Breakfall is an exploration of sexual desire, motherhood, and marriage in modern times.”
NilexNile + FTBK, Six One Trïbe, Cronies Only, Kill Goober @ Cactus Club
Man Random + Oh Well, Ok (EP releases), Handmade Wolves, No Parking @ High Dive
Concrete Elite + Assault & Battery, Empire Down, Splatter Pattern, Poison Hand @ X-Ray Arcade
SUNDAY, APRIL 9
Milwaukee Psych Fest Presents: Garcia Peoples + Chris Forsyth, A. James Shelp And The Rolling Hills @ Cactus Club
“Formed in New Jersey by guitarists Tom Malach and Danny Arakaki, Garcia Peoples took a few years to find their flying shape, solidifying into a lineup with Danny’s brother Cesar on drums and Derek Spaldo on bass by mid-2016. Ramping up their acceleration around the time of their 2018 Cosmic Cash debut on Beyond Beyond Is Beyond Records, they’ve blasted through residencies and new songs and sessions and collaborations, relocating to New York, picking up two new members in keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Pat Gubler and bassist Andy Cush, and leaving a trail of live tapes in their wake. This year, they’ve delivered not one but two new albums for BBiB: the sleek and song-oriented Natural Facts and the sprawling improvisatory opus of One Step Behind. 2019 also saw the first performances by the full Garcia Peoples lineup, a six-person behemoth with Spaldo on third guitar.”
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