Photo by Jordan Taylor Anaya
Sleepy Gaucho at The Back Room at Colectivo
Sleepy Gaucho at The Back Room at Colectivo
MKE Music Night is a long-running concert series dedicated to supporting live local music around Milwaukee. Curated and hosted by Tlalok Rodriguez, the shows consist of many different styles of music including jazz, funk, singer-songwriters, hip hop, indie rock and more. Often featuring multifaceted bills that cater to many tastes at once, each show is a unique experience.
The very first MKE Music Nights were a product of Rodriguez going to open mics in late 2018 and early 2019. “I was going all the time and wanted to start booking my own shows,” he explains. “It was an original music showcase at first, but it’s evolved since then and now I don’t limit it to just that.”
In its four years of existence, MKE Music Night has been held at venues such as Bremen Cafe, Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Club Garibaldi, Company Brewing, The Miramar Theatre, X-Ray Arcade, Amorphic Beer, The Cooperage and now-closed places Riverwest Public House and Up & Under Pub plus DIY spots. “The best execution of its concept I feel was at the Riverwest Public House,” Rodriguez reflects. “I would line it up with five bands and a lot of people would come out. I remember one time somebody’s dad came in on a motorcycle, dropped a $100 bill in the tip jar and then left (laughs). Linneman’s has kind of been its home since COVID; for a while I was doing it there the last Saturday of every month.”
Inevitably, the series began incorporating more elements overtime. Art vendors, tribute shows like Bee Gees Night and themed shows such as Latin Night and Hip Hop/Reggae Night would all become part of the equation. The 40th MKE Music Night was in December and saw the series debuting at The Back Room at Colectivo with bands Sleepy Gaucho, Pocket Change and Soul Speed. “I think that was our best one to date,” Rodriguez says. “Now that my friends and I are older, we’re trying to get into some different places and do different things.”
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Rodriguez often opens each MKE Music Night with a solo set. Currently he plays with Colorblind Chameleon, Cream City Players, Sleepy Gaucho, Hoppers Luck and the Bee Gees tribute band. “I also have a Latin band called Los Mitoteros that I only bust out like once a year,” he said. “This upcoming spring I’m going to be writing horn parts with my friend Anthony Kopczynski; he’ll be graduating from the UWM music department this year and he’s a genius. I’m also hiring Carlos Adames as our timpani player.”
MKE Music Night XLIII (43) will be at Company Brewing this Saturday at 9:30 p.m. and will feature Cullah, NilexNile and Cream City Players with Super Ego and Seize the Emcee complete with a cypher. Then on February 25, MKE Music Night returns to Linneman’s with Red’s Hot Chili Peppers, Secondhand Souls and Christian Jackson & Friends. The next show will be held at Amorphic Beer on March 11 with Sam Balistreri, Shell Bells, Matt Froelich and Cosmic Love Child. Future MKE Music Nights are scheduled at Linneman’s on March 25, Anodyne on April 2 and The Cooperage on May 12; lineups are yet to be announced.
On the biggest things he’s learned from running MKE Music Night, Rodriguez shares, “I’ve put countless hours into it and have hit up so many people, but it doesn’t even feel like I’m doing all that much because it’s something that I’m really excited to do. That’s actually one thing I’m learning right now - keeping the excitement. You can’t make it too much of a job and let it consume your whole life. I’m learning to play my cards right and book things way far in advance so that what you want to make happen will happen. I’ve become more intentional with how I book it; just this last month I started doing promotional videos and I want to keep getting better at doing them. That goes a long way.”
Follow MKE Music Night on Instagram at @mkemusicnightofficial. For Company Brewing, visit companybrewing.com.
