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 November 11-17, 2024.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11
Sorry Mom + Aubrey Del Mar, Carb-Ho Hydrate, Rat Bath @ X-Ray Arcade
“Queer punk on Hopeless Records!”
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12
Blitzen Trapper + GoldenOak @ Vivarium
“There are numbers so vast they exceed the scope of human reckoning, concepts so immeasurable they surpass our capacity to understand. On their radiant new album, 100’s of 1000’s, Millions of Billions, Blitzen Trapper make peace with the unknowable, surrendering themselves to forces beyond their control as they explore the infinite with a broad mind and an open heart.”
Silver Reign + LUXI, The Overmorrow @ X-Ray Arcade
“Silver Rein is an Ithaca NY-based performing artist, whose newly released self-titled debut album explores feelings of isolation and belonging, life and death against the landscape of an old yet familiar world.”
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13
Modest Mouse + The Black Heart Procession @ The Riverside Theater
Wanna feel old? Modest Mouse released Good News For People Who Love Bad News 20 years ago. That’s two decades! Damn. In honor of the occasion, the seminal Washington indie rockers are coming to Milwaukee’s Riverside Theater to play songs from that celebrated album. Oh, and they’re bringing The Black Heart Procession along with them.
La Doña + El Sebas @ Cactus Club
“La Doña is a solo artist, music educator, activist and cultural worker from San Francisco, CA. Born Cecilia Cassandra Peña-Govea, she began her career at age seven playing trumpet, strings and percussion in her family’s conjunto. She is a student, teacher and preservationist of Latinx traditional arts like corrido, bolero, cumbia, and mariachi. In her compositions, she combines these ancestral traditions with contemporary diasporic musics like reggaeton, hip-hop and jazz. La Doña’s live performances are grounded in ceremony and social mobilization; she and her audiences sing, dance, cry and chant together, for collective healing and political action.”
Big D And The Kids Table + We Are The Union, Devon Kay & The Solutions @ X-Ray Arcade
Over the course of a 30-year run, Big D And The Kids Table have released 11 studio albums, traveled the globe, and earned a place as one of the planet’s premier ska-punk projects. The Boston band comes to Cudahy tonight to head up a show that also includes We Are The Union and Devon Kay & The Solutions.
Low Cut Connie + Sweat @ Shank Hall
Livingston + Micah Emrich @ The Rave / Eagles Club
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14
Wild Pink + John Francis Flynn, Rainbow Cobra @ X-Ray Arcade
“Wild Pink, the New York-bred project of John Ross, builds worlds inhabited by ghosts and angels and aliens, inciting a strange and lovely daze as the backdrop shifts from the mundane (subdivisions, highways, hotel parking lots) to the extraordinary (deserts, battlefields, the moon). But within its vast imagination lies a potent truth-telling on the part of singer/guitarist John Ross who’s lyrics lay out potent stories that paint with broad brush strokes.”
Midweek Music: Joe Crockett @ Crafty Cow (Wauwatosa)
Join us at Crafty Cow Tosa on select Wednesdays and Thursdays in October and November for a total of eight Midweek Music performances! Once again, there’s NO COVER for these all-ages shows, which run from 7-8:30 p.m. If a free weeknight show isn’t already great enough on its own, Crafty Cow Tosa will offer $4 pints from Badger State Brewing. They’ll also have meal deals available during each show. The series continues this week with a solo set from the ever-busy Joe Crockett.
Dana Gould @ The Laughing Tap (through November 16)
Between his decades of stand-up experience, his abundance of TV appearances, and his years as a writer and producer on The Simpsons and Parks And Recreation, we think it’s safe to call Dana Gould a legend. This week, the “comic’s comic” brings his incomparable perspective and thousands of hours of on-stage experience to The Laughing Tap for a total of five performances spread over a three-night run.
Ben Harold & The Rising + Hello Sapien, Middle Child Syndrome @ Anodyne Walker’s Point Roastery
Malört: The Redemption Of A Revered & Reviled Spirit @ Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15
Telethon + Breakup Tour, Nick Wilkinson And The Featured Players @ Cactus Club
Wanna feel old? Telethon released Hard Pop five years ago. That’s half a decade! Damn. In honor of the occasion, the Milwaukee-born project is setting up shop at Cactus Club to play songs from that celebrated album. Oh, and they’re bringing Breakup Tour and Nick Wilkinson And The Featured Players along with them.
Sam Jay @ Milwaukee Improv (also November 16)
Sam Jay, is an accomplished comic who you might also know from her work as a Saturday Night Live staff writer and an actor on TV shows like Bust Down and films like You People. About a year removed from the release of her HBO special, Sam Jay: Salute Me Or Shoot Me, Jay drops by Milwaukee Improv in nearby Brookfield for a pair of shows spread over a two-night span.
WWE SmackDown @ Fiserv Forum
“Undisputed WWE Champion ‘The American Nightmare’ Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, United States Champion LA Knight, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill, Bayley and Solo Sikoa! Plus, from Monday Night RAW, Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee vs World Tag Team Champions Finn Balor and JD McDonagh! Braun Strowman vs Carlito!”
New Beliefs (record release) + Convoy, James Shelp & The Rolling Hills @ Linneman’s Riverwest Inn
Pullstring + Boiled in Lead, West Nile Crows @ Shank Hall
Friday Night Retro Mixtape @ Mad Planet
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16
Long May You Run: A Neil Young Tribute & Fundraiser For Planned Parenthood Advocates Of Wisconsin @ Linneman’s Riverwest Inn
“A concert to pay tribute to Neil Young’s music and, at the same time, raise money for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin! Bella Bruto, City Fools, Claire & Jimmy, Dallas & Anja, Mother Goose, The Chris Haise Band, Tom Trisco, Jim & Marty w/ Blaine, and more!”
Reverend Horton Heat + Jason D. Williams @ Shank Hall
“Loaded .38s, space heaters, and big skies. Welcome to the lethal, littered landscape of Jim Heath’s imagination. True to his high evangelical calling, Jim is a Revelator, both revealing and reinterpreting the country-blues-rock roots of American music. He’s a time-traveling space-cowboy on an endless interstellar musical tour, and we are all the richer and “psychobillier” for getting to tag along. Reverend Horton Heat have been the outlet of this creative mind for 39 years, leading to 12 full-length albums, 3 ‘best-of’ collections, 2 DVD releases and thousands of memorable live performances.”
Denude + Credentials, Exit Statements @ X-Ray Arcade
“Denude traverses state lines with members from Chicago and Milwaukee. We don’t know if supergroup is the right term, but anyone who’s familiar with elusive Midwest bands like Tintoretto, Murder In The Red Barn, Credentials or Piglet knows they’re in for a treat.”
Dear Nora + Marielle Allschwang @ Cactus Club
Rod Wave + Moneybagg Yo, Toosii, Lil Poppa, Dess Dior, Eelmatic @ Fiserv Forum
MKE Music Night: Cosmic Love Child (record release) @ Mad Planet
Funky Fruit: Asher Gray @ High Dive
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17
Milwaukee Record Halftime Show: Cozy Danger @ Cactus Club
Come on out to the Cactus Club for this week’s Packers-Bears game, and enjoy a halftime set from Cozy Danger! Games are shown in the bar and on a projector screen in Cactus Club’s back room. As always, there will be touchdown shots (both regular and N/A options will be offered) and DJs during commercials. THERE’S NO COVER CHARGE for the concerts. Kickoff is at noon! The Bears still suck!
Milwaukee Malört Fest @ Busby’s
With the Packers and Bears squaring off for the first time this season, Busby’s is creating a “safe space” where fans of both teams can enjoy the historic rivalry while also celebrating polarizing Chicago spirit Malört. Milwaukee Malört Fest will feature specials on the “Happy Handshake” boilermaker consisting of Third Space’s Happy Place and a shot of Jeppson’s Malört. There will be cans of Malört Spritz offered, shots of infused Malört, as well as specialty Malört-based cocktails including a Malört Margarita in a Flamin’ Hot Cheetos-rimmed glass. Not Bad Food will be serving up food on-site, DJs will be spinning records during the game’s commercial breaks and after the Packers’ inevitable win, and there will be a meat raffle—featuring sausages from both Milwaukee and Chicago butcher shops, with winners drawn at halftime and immediately after the game—to raise funds for Hunger Task Force.
Wanda Sykes + Keith Robinson @ The Riverside Theater
“Wanda Sykes is an Emmy-winning stand up comic, writer, actress and producer who has been entertaining audiences for over twenty years. She has ranked among Entertainment Weekly’s ’25 Funniest People in America’ and her peers have called her ‘one of the funniest stand-up comics’ in the field.”
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