Milwaukee is chock full of things to do, but only a handful of Milwaukee events are worthy of the lofty honor of “Record Recommended” (patent pending). Here are our recommendations—brought to you by Lilliput Records—for April 7-13, 2025.
MONDAY, APRIL 7
Ani DiFranco + Wryn @ The Pabst Theater
“Widely considered a feminist icon, Grammy winner Ani DiFranco is the mother of the DIY movement, being one of the first artists to create her own record label in 1990. While she has been known as the ‘Little Folksinger,’ her music has embraced punk, funk, hip hop, jazz, soul, electronica and even more distant sounds. Her collaborators have included everyone from Utah Phillips to legendary R&B saxophonist Maceo Parker to Prince. Her memoir No Walls And The Recurring Dream was a New York Times Top 10 best seller in 2019, and her debut children’s book The Knowing is out now. DiFranco recently completed a 5-month run on Broadway as “Persephone” in the Tony and Grammy Award-winning Best Musical, Hadestown. Her 23rd album Unprecedented Sh!t is out now, and a second children’s book Show Up And Vote was released in August of 2024.”
Garden Home + Bug Moment, Chapped Lips, Mizzy @ Anodyne Walker’s Point Roastery
Milwaukee Underground Film Festival Promo Screening @ Cactus Club
TUESDAY, APRIL 8
WMSE’s Local/Live: Collections Of Colonies Of Bees @ Anodyne Walker’s Point Roastery
“Collections Of Colonies Of Bees is an experimental rock band that combines intricate instrumentation with resonant vocals, creating music that balances technical precision with heartfelt expression. While initially focused on instrumental compositions, the band embraced vocals as a central element on their 2018 album Hawaii, introducing melodic narratives to their signature interlocking rhythms and lush textures. Known for their dynamic live performances and adventurous creativity, they continue to evolve, blending innovative arrangements with rich complexity to push the boundaries of experimental rock. Never content to paint the soundscape twice, the previously instrumental Bees now come outfitted with vocalist Marielle Allschwang, that finds the Wisconsin-based ensemble harvesting the fertile intersection between experimental and pop to maximum effect.”
La Luz + Color Green @ Vivarium
Ryan Davis + Old Pup, Tobacco City @ Cactus Club
Bobcat + Dead Dead Swans, David Geir, Nelson Vega @ Last Rites
The Lowdown Drifters + Tony John & The Flatland String Band @ Shank Hall
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9
Jim Gaffigan @ The Riverside Theater (through April 13)
What’s better than one Jim Gaffigan show? How about six Jim Gaffigan shows! Buckle up when the beloved, no-stranger-to-Milwaukee comedian sets up shop at the Riverside for a six-show, five-day stint.
Ed Schrader’s Music Beat + The Trusty Knife, No Motel @ Cactus Club
“Aesthetically, Ed Schrader’s Music Beat hates to tread water. At the same time, the Baltimore-based two-piece of vocalist Ed Schrader and bassist Devlin Rice won’t force their songs to fit a preconceived style. ‘The next album’s always gotta be different from the last one.'”
TV Grime Presents: 1999 MTV Spring Break Flashback @ X-Ray Arcade
“Pack up your favorite Limp Bizkit CDs, spray on your whipped cream bikinis, and get ready to steal some sunshine at X-Ray Arcade on Wednesday, April 9, as TV GRIME guides you back to the end of the millennium with an original 1999 broadcast of MTV’s Spring Break—uncut and exactly as it aired, with all the collect calling commercials you can shake a dialing finger at! Come for the drunken frat boys slurring their way through karaoke, stay for the questionable grinding and blurred nudity. Unlike in 1999, this time you don’t have to keep your finger on the remote’s “last channel” button in case Mom walks in. And for all you star-gazers, watch for special appearances by deathless celebrities like Jerry Springer, Britney Spears, Kid Rock, and more!”
THURSDAY, APRIL 10
Ninja Sex Party: Pure Elegance Tour @ Turner Hall Ballroom
“For the first time in over five years, NSP and TWRP are back on tour together, and they’re doing it with STYLE! Actually, not style: ELEGANCE. But actually, not just elegance: PURE ELEGANCE. That’s right, it’s the 2025 Pure Elegance Tour, featuring everything you’ve come to expect from NSP: Classy songs, exquisite showmanship, a refined, debonair atmosphere, and face-melting solos that will rend your flesh from your bones and leave you gasping for breath yet desperate for more as you fall, screaming, to the floor. Like we said: Pure Elegance.”
Samuel Blasucci + Julia Zivic, Sleepy Gaucho @ Cactus Club
Pinkshift + Vial, Rat Bath @ X-Ray Arcade
An Evening with Jason Wade of Lifehouse @ Shank Hall
FRIDAY, APRIL 11
Milwaukee Tattoo Festival 2025 @ Baird Center (through April 13)
Milwaukee Tattoo Festival is a celebration of all things needles and ink that will offer “a selection of over 200 of the best artists from all over the world right here in Milwaukee for three days of tattooing, art making, merch selling, and much more,” April 11-13.
Daniel Van Kirk @ The Laughing Tap (also April 12)
Dan Van Kirk is the pride of Rochelle, Illinois. The (now-L.A.-based) stand-up comedian, improvisor, impressionist, and podcaster—who’s probably best-known in the medium for his work alongside the Sklar Brothers on Dumb People Town—returns to his beloved Midwest April 11-12 for a total of three shows at The Laughing Tap.
Katt Williams @ UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena
Spring Gallery Night & Day @ various locations (also April 12)
Dialogues + Products Band, Brindled @ Amorphic Beer
Spoof Fest, Day 1: Talking Heads + Guns n’ Roses, Jeff Beck Group, Better than Ezra @ Club Garibaldi
Long Line Riders @ Wiggle Room
Mount Eerie + Alan Sparhawk @ Turner Hall Ballroom
Bongripper + Exploders, Nicholas Elert @ X-Ray Arcade
Cassini Echoes (acoustic) + Jason Burns (Kid Elephant), Peter Hair @ Bremen Cafe
Cloakroom + Null, Overhand, So Zuppy @ Cactus Club
Peppers And Pineapples + WURK, Spare Change Trio @ Falcon Hall
Milwaukee Independent Songwriter Night @ Linneman’s Riverwest Inn
The No Writes + Arcade Mode @ Uptowner
Friday Night Retro Video Dance Party @ Mad Planet
SATURDAY, APRIL 12
Wheatus + Rematch, Breakup Tour @ X-Ray Arcade
Teenage Dirtbags take note: Wheatus (yes, that Wheatus!) will return to X-Ray Arcade just shy of two years after its first appearance at the Cudahy venue. They’ll have local support from the likes of Rematch and Breakup Tour.
Record Store Day @ various locations
LUXI + Ontonomy, Micro Heathen, The Demix @ Last Rites
Generation After Generation: A Benefit Concert For Palestine @ Falcon Hall
Spoof Fest, Day 2: White Zombie + Beastie Boys, Steve Griller Band, Garbage, Pixies @ Club Garibaldi
We Them One’s Comedy Tour: Hosted By Mike Epps @ Fiserv Forum
Milwaukee Marathon: Full Marathon & Half Marathon @ E. Clybourn St. & N. Harbor Dr.
SUNDAY, APRIL 13
Milwaukee’s Best Bloody @ Wisconsin State Fair Park
On April 13, the 13th annual Milwaukee’s Best Bloody contest will find bartenders showcasing their signature bloody marys at State Fair Park while vying to have their cocktail concoction crowned, well, Milwaukee’s Best Bloody. As if the opportunity to try a bunch of bloodies and cast your vote on your favorite one isn’t enticing enough on its own, proceeds from the event “support Great Lakes Hemophilia Foundation in their mission to educate, support and advocate for the Wisconsin bleeding disorders community.”
MKE Day Party @ New Barons Brewing Cooperative
The Criticals + The Keystones, Alley Eyes @ Cactus Club
Giallo + Blood Stained, Concrete, World I Hate, Sex Scenes, Intrusive Thoughts @ X-Ray Arcade
The Hungry Williams @ Ope! Brewing Co.
Milwaukee Marathon: Milwaukee 5K @ Washington Park
Milwaukee Makers Market @ Discovery World
What Can You Spare? Fundraiser For The Homeless @ Brewski’s Sports Club
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