This Week in Milwaukee: August 24-30, 2023

Here are the Milwaukee events we are looking forward to coming up this week.

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August is winding down and outdoor music is everywhere: Cathedral Square Park, Humboldt Park, Henry Maier Festival Park, Lake Park, Red Arrow Park, Catalano Square, porches around the world, Milwaukee Riverfront … and more—This Week in Milwaukee!

Thursday, August 24

Jazz in the Park – Caché MKE featuring Salsabrositas Rumba Caliente @ Cathedral Square Park, 5 p.m.

Latin jazz reigns tonight at Jazz in the Park. Dance to rhythms that match the peak summer in a great park setting.

tu-NER @ Shank, 8 p.m.

In its most recent incarnation, tu-NER is a musical trio comprised of Trey Gunn, Markus Reuter and Pat Mastelotto, that celebrates the music of the “double duo” era of King Crimson. tu-NER will perform original music, improvisations and bring to the stage some material produced by TU and TUNER during the past two decades. The music of those projects is known for being innovative yet accessible in nature, drawing on elements of rock, jazz, prog, funk and other genres.

Friday, August 25

Mexican Fiesta @ Henry Maier Festival Park, through Sunday 

Mexican Fiesta brings the sound, culture, and taste of México to Milwaukee’s lakefront with three days of fun, food and Mariachi music. More than just a celebration, Mexican Fiesta is a vigorous declaration of community spirit at its best. Education is the key to the future, and through scholarship awards, the festival becomes the gateway to young Hispanics taking their rightful place in society by continuing education. As a cultural foundation concentrating on providing education and cultural events for the growing Hispanic community, the festival honors culture, tradition, and family. Mexican Fiesta encourages individuals from all ethnic backgrounds to share in the beauty of Mexico’s rich history, art, music, and food. More info here: mexicanfiesta.org/mexican-fiesta.

Taste of Egypt @ St. Mary & St. Antonious Coptic Orthodox Church of Milwaukee (1521 W Drexel Ave., Oak Creek), through Sunday

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Church festivals abound but this one stands out. Camel rides? Yes. Also, Egyptian foods, church tours, a bazaar and the release of Best of Traditional Egyptian Recipes cookbook.

Black Lips w/Telethon @ X-ray Arcade, 7 p.m.

In 2005 Black Lips LP Live @ WFMU was the first release by Milwaukee’s venerable Dusty Medical Records label (shepherdexpress.com/music/local-music/dust-never-sleeps-milwaukee-label-dusty-medical-releases-fiv). The band’s early onstage antics gave them a reputation that seems to have diminished over time. Or maybe not. Telethon opens with powerpoppunkrock for the modern kids, a nice warmup for a show the next day.

Social Cig, Fellow Kinsman, Diet Lite, Bug Moment @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m.

In the fallout of the pandemic, a slew of local indie rock bands emerged from the basements and rehearsal spaces around Milwaukee’s colleges, and a new generation of the music scene was born, Allen Halas wrote in the August Shepherd Express magazine. Many of those acts were embraced by Pabst Theater Group, who used their Back Room at Colectivo as a hub for local indie music. After several sellouts four of the many standout acts are making the leap to the 700-capacity Turner Hall Ballroom for an evening that will go down as a celebration of Milwaukee music.

Jay Matthes CD Release w/Listening Party @ Anodyne, 8 p.m.

Jay Matthes’s new album Loved and Lost and Found is filled with 11 songs about hope, heartbreak and finding true love–with lyrics true to his life and his own journey to meeting his wife.

Saturday, August 26

Play Music on the Porch Day @ Porches Everywhere

Milwaukee-born Brian Mallman came up with an idea, “What if for one day everything stopped ... And we all just listened to the music?” In 2014 Mallman set the worldwide project in motion. Play Music on the Porch Day knows that music is powerful and universal. It doesn’t matter if you play an oud, a guitarrón, a nyckelharpa, or a guitar. When you pick up your instrument and start to play the world disappears and you get lost in the sounds. More info here: playmusicontheporchday.com.

WMSE’s Backyard BBQ @ Humboldt Park Bandshell, Noon

Milwaukee’s only free-form, community-supported radio station for 40 years and counting, it is time again for WMSE 91.7 to throw a day-long bash of free music—a thank you party for everyone. 

Headliner Bob Mould began his career with pioneering punk trio Hüsker Dü, before moving on to Sugar and an ever-evolving solo career.  

Other acts include WMSE Chillosophy DJ Tony Myers, Chicken Wire Empire, Girls Rock Milwaukee, Telethon and Esso. Also, an array of food vendors will be on hand including Fuel Café, Pizza Ortolana, JMakin Jamaican Kitchen & Grill,  Rot’s Hots, Twisted Plants, Ventura’s Tacos,  Roll MKE,  Pete’s Pops, and  T.Best Kettle Corn Co.

Ayre in The Square @ Catalano Square (320 E. Menomonee St.) - Funk Summit Bass Team, The Aimless Blades and Conscious Congress, 4 p.m.

Here is the final installment of this summer’s Ayre in The Square series of free concerts in Third Ward. Bring a picnic or grab food and drinks from nearby restaurants and vendors.

Jon Burks Band @ Circle A, 7 p.m.

Was there ever a better match than Jonathan Burks and Circle A? With the beloved club’s time ticking away Burks will offer one last blast. 

Circa 2019, “Jonathan is in the Circle A basement mixing up his medicine ... If Jonathan Burks’ particular genius fell in a forest, everyone crammed into Circle A tonight would hear it. Imagine if the character of Lou Reed’s “Coney Island Baby” came to life and wrote songs.  

Burks’ tunes could be songs he made up walking through the park on his way to work in the morning, if that walk had the occasional chorus, sing-speaking in a Midwestern drawl that is a cousin to Coney Island Lou. The public domain lo-fi videos, controlled by Burks' remote and projected on to a sheet hung by clothespins was the perfect touch.”

Long Mama w/ Ladybird and Maximiano @ Linnemans, 8 p.m.

Long Mama songwriter Kat Wodtke fronts an all-star band that includes guitar slinger par excellence Andrew Koenig, drummer Nick Lang (Ryan Necci & the Buffalo Gospel), along with bassist Samuel Odin (Horseshoes & Hand Grenades). Long Mama’s recent album Poor Pretender showcase Wodtke’s Midwest misfit country sound and informed by her knack for travel and getting songs for the miles and experiences.

Sunday, August 27

Harm Reduction Series: Call to Action - Led by Milwaukee Overdose Prevention @ Cactus Club, Noon

According to the CDC, more than one million people have died since 1999 from a drug overdose. Deaths involving synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl, continue to rise. 

Learn how this local mutual aid organization connects community members to AODA related harm reduction resources, regardless of socioeconomic barriers, and also learn how you can become involved in increasing access to life saving harm reduction tools. This event will include opioid overdose prevention training, a new volunteer orientation, and free Narcan kits for attendees.

Monday, August 28

Robbie Fulks @ Musical Mondays – Lake Park, 6:30 p.m.

Grammy-nominated performer and songwriter Robbie Fulks’ career spans Americana, folk, rock and more. Last time he played Lake Park he whipped through a bluegrass tinged set accompanied by a fiddler whose name Fulks wasn’t quite sure of, and even managed to drag his erstwhile bass player, Milwaukee’s Mike Fredrickson, onstage for a song.

The Baseball Project w/Trapper Schoepp @ Turner Hall, 7 p.m.

The Baseball Project had its origins way back in 1992 when musicians whose resume includes The Minus 5, The Young Fresh Fellows, Dream Syndicate, Gutterball, Zuzu’s Petal and REM discovered they shared a passionate interest in baseball. The plan to make an album of original modern rock songs about the fascinating stories and stars of America's pastime sat on the back burner until 2007, when Scott McCaughey and Steve Wynn sat down in earnest to write and record the project. 

Reviewing the new album Grand Salami Time, Jon Gilbertson wrote, "Musically, the quintet tosses a few curves, such as the jangle-pop ode to the “Screwball”; the McCartney-reminiscent folk of “That’s Living,” which shows resigned forgiveness for the reckless drugs-and-drinking boat-crash death of Marlins pitcher José Fernández in 2016; and the funky, head-shaking look back at the 1979 Comiskey Park “Disco Demolition.” (shepherdexpress.com/music/album-reviews/grand-salami-time-omnivore-recordings-by-the-baseball-projec)

Tuesday, August 29

Dale Hollow w/Hosts and Rat Bath @ Cactus Club, 7:30  p.m.

A bit Andy Kaufman, a little Orville Peck, a hint of Father John Misty, Dale Hollow possesses “a fascinating combination of performance and purveyed authenticity,” as the lifestyle magazine Mundane once posited, while also noting that “no other country music artist has ever claimed to be the best, except for Dale Hollow.”

Wednesday, August 30

Donna Woodall Group @ Heart(beats) of the City - Red Arrow Park, 11:30 a.m.

Catch the Donna Woodall Group at the finale of this summer lunchtime series. With her unique blend of jazz, blues, soul and pop, Woodall presents lush, intimate vocals with every performance. She has established herself as a talented singer, bandleader, and songwriter in the Milwaukee music scene, with frequent performances at Saint Kate - The Arts Hotel, The Jazz Estate and Blu.

It’s Alive on the RiverWalk: Caley Conway @ Blue Bat Kitchen and Tequilaria, 4 p.m.

The Milwaukee Theater District brings live performances from local artists to hot spots on the Milwaukee RiverWalk through Sept. 16. The busker-style performances by local musicians, artists and street performers showcase local artists.

Caley Conway’s EP Only A Dark Cocoon, found the singer-songwriter drawing a three-song-hallucination from Joni Mitchell’s source material: shepherdexpress.com/music/album-reviews/only-a-dark-cocoon-by-caley-conway.