PREMIUM ENTERTAINMENT VENUE THE ARGO WISCONSIN SETS OPENING DATES, SPRAWLING CONCERT CALENDAR
More Than 40 Shows Announce On-Sale Dates November 5 for Live Performances Commencing December 5; Early Events Focus on Local and Regional Talent and Giving Back to the Community
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Full-Service Bar & Restaurant and Catering Operation Curated by Dan Jacobs Soft-Opens December 5
Whitefish Bay, WI (November 5, 2025) – Milwaukee entertainment group The Argo today announced the grand opening of its eponymous premium entertainment venue located in the lavishly restored Fox Bay Theater in Whitefish Bay, WI, located just north of downtown Milwaukee.
A complete entertainment experience, The Argo features a 700-person capacity entertainment hall, a full-service bar and kitchen, and a flexible ballroom/event space for weddings, festivals, private celebrations, community events and more.
With approval recently granted to revitalize the historic property, built in 1949 as the late Art Deco-era Fox Bay Theater, the management team of Andrew J. Coate, Adam Powers, and Josh Bryant moved at breakneck speed to complete the venue’s renovation in less than five months.
With more than 40 events booked through Spring 2026 and beyond, the very first public event on December 5th will feature local artists Chris Haise Band and Zach Pietrini, as well as Nashville-based alt-pop trio VEAUX. This event also serves as a fundraiser, with profits given back to local Milwaukee music programs. The next evening, December 6th, Goran and Morgan of legendary Milwaukee band The Gufs return to headline The Argo’s Grand Opening party, celebrating the 30th Anniversary of their seminal album Collide.
The Argo’s giving model extends well beyond the soft opening: they will donate $1 from every ticket sold to support music industry well-being, prioritizing programs in mental health, sustainability, and longevity.
“We’ve lived every angle of this industry—we’ve seen the best of it. We’ve felt the burnout,” Coate explains. “The Argo is our way of tipping the scales back toward the good—for our peers, for our city, and for the next generation coming up behind us.”
The Argo recently engaged leading national entertainment group Knitting Factory Entertainment’s live music division Knitting Factory Presents to exclusively handle talent buying duties, led by SVP James Irvine. Through their innovative approach and dedication to excellence, KFE continues to influence the entertainment landscape, fostering cultural exchange and creating memorable experiences for fans and artists alike.
“This is just the start for The Argo. We’re laying the foundation for what will become a real destination for touring artists and the community here in Whitefish Bay,” Irvine says. “The team behind it is strong, and the space itself is built the right way — the production, hospitality, and artist amenities are first-class across the board.”
Expanding beyond opening weekend, highlights from the winter/spring calendar include: regional Grateful Dead tribute artists Another One; American Idol contestant Steve Beghun’s “New Year’S teve;” Midwest indie folk trio Violet Wilder; singer/songwriter Gabriel Harris; Minnesota rockers Remo Drive; stalwart bluegrass outfit NewFound Road; seminal punk rockers The Casualties; bluegrass artist Dan Tyminski, and “your girlfriend’s favorite band,” The Pork Tornadoes.
The venue will also hold a regular rotating residency in swing jazz with The Flood, The Sazerac 5, The Micro Brew Swing Band, and Old Sam & The Teardrops. The full calendar (list in formation) is below and here.
The bar & kitchen at The Argo has been curated by five-time James Beard semi-finalist and 2024 nominee, Top Chef contestant, and chef and co-owner of beloved Milwaukee restaurants EsterEv and DanDan, Dan Jacobs. Calling Milwaukee “a town so cool that they don’t even know it yet,” Jacobs plans an eclectic menu at The Argo that expands on his other innovative concepts; the bar & kitchen is open to the public even when not attending a show. The restaurant is slated for a soft-opening at the same time as the concert house, with a limited temporary menu beginning December 5.
Additional venue partners include exclusive ticketing partner Eventbrite; developer New Land Enterprises; and one of Milwaukee’s top full-service design-and-build firms, Three Sixty Design, who’s responsible for some of Wisconsin’s most visually stunning hospitality spaces from Cafe Centraal to The Milwaukee Athletic Club’s Roof and Elephant Room.
Coate concludes, “after months perfecting this venue and the customer experience, we’re finally ready to show our faces to Milwaukee and the world; we’re looking to become a must-stop for local artists, prominent artists touring through the region and for fans of almost every kind of music.”
December 2025
Dec 05 Public Soft Opening ft. VEAUX w/ Zach Pietrini, Chris Haise Band
Dec 06 Public Grand Opening ft. Goran & Morgan of The Gufs
Dec 10 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring Old Sam & The Teardrops
Dec 12 The First Wave (80’s New Wave Tribute)
Dec 13 Birth-Tay (Taylor Swift Dancy Party)
Dec 17 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring. The Flood
Dec 19 Another One (Grateful Dead Tribute)
Dec 20 Second Hand News (Fleetwood Mac Tribute)
Dec 24 Free Holiday Film Screening
Dec 26 Free Holiday Film Screening
Dec 27 Free Holiday Film Screening
Dec 28 Free Holiday Film Screening
Dec 31 Steve Beguhn Presents “New YearS’ teve”
January 2026
Jan 07 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring The Sazerac 5
Jan 09 An Evening with Field Report
Jan 10 Gabriel Harris
Jan 11 School of Rock Shorewood
Jan 17 Violet Wilder
Jan 14 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring Old Sam & The Teardrops
Jan 23 The Midnight Purchase
Jan 24 Pat McCurdy
Jan 28 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring Micro Brew Swing Band
Jan 30 Fool House (90s Dance Party)
Jan 31 Hot In Herre (00’s Dance Party)
February 2026
Feb 04 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring The Sazerac 5
Feb 11 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring Old Sam & The Teardrops
Feb 12 NewFound Road
Feb 15 Whitefish Bay High School Music Club
Feb 18 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring The Flood
Feb 20 Remo Drive
Feb 25 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring Micro Brew Swing Band
Feb 28 Jump (Van Halen Tribute)
March 2026
Mar 04 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring The Sazerac 5
Mar 07 Scythian
Mar 11 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring Old Sam & The Teardrops
Mar 18 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring Micro Brew Swing Band
Mar 25 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring Micro Brew Swing Band
Mar 28 Bangers Before Bed
Coming Soon
Apr 03 Not Quite Brothers (Classic Rock Tribute)
Apr 10 Smells Like Nirvana
May 16 The Casualties
May 29 Dan Tyminski
Jun 18 Thurston Howell (Yacht Rock Tribute)
Aug 8 The Pork Tornadoes