Photo Credit: Ashlan Grey
Thursday, Feb. 15
The Infamous Stringdusters w/ The Last Revel @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m.
Photo Credit: Scott McCormick
With their first album, 2007’s Fork in the Road, The Infamous Stringdusters joined the hordes of fellow young bands revolutionizing bluegrass by playing to the sensibilities of the jam scene. Well received by critics and fans alike, it picked up several awards at the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards, including Emerging Artist of the Year. In the decade since the band’s following has ballooned, both in the jam scene and in roots-music circles. Recorded on the road, the band’s most recent album, 2017’s Laws of Gravity, peaked at number one on Billboard’s bluegrass albums chart.
Friday, Feb. 16
Anime Milwaukee @ Wisconsin Center
Founded by UW-Milwaukee student organization the Japanese Animation Association, Anime Milwaukee has grown into the state’s largest anime convention, attracting nearly 10,000 gamers and anime enthusiasts last year. This weekend’s enormous lineup includes a large exhibition hall, video-game tournaments, cosplay events (including an unusual cosplay chess tournament), webcomic workshops, a charity ball, a burlesque show, a variety of late-night events and parties for attendees 18 and older, and a host of film screenings. Though many of the titles contain adult content, there also will be extensive children’s programming. (Through Sunday, Feb. 18).
Brockhampton @ The Rave, 9 p.m.
Photo Credit: Ashlan Grey
With their explosive, youthful energy, the internet-born California hip-hop crew Brockhampton can’t help but draw comparisons to another provocative California rap collective, Odd Future, though their music is never quite as angry and incendiary as Odd Future’s formative releases were. Instead Brockhampton’s records are lively, inclusive and all over the place, filled with as many divergent ideas as you’d expect from a group that contains a dozen or so active members. Last year the released of the most explosively entertaining rap albums of 2017—Saturation, Saturation II and Saturation III, each better than the last—and they’ve already announced plans for a 2018 album aptly titled Team Effort, but first they’ll play in Milwaukee as part of their first-ever headlining tour.
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Backstage at the Miller High Life Theatre Presents: Becca Stevens, Nicholas David & Stephanie Brill @ Miller High Life Theatre, 8 p.m.
Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez
For its “Backstage at the Miller High Life Theatre” series, the historic Milwaukee venue presents intimate performances at Plankinton Hall, on the venue’s second floor. Headliner Becca Stevens, an ambitious folk-pop artist who’s performed with David Crosby and Esperanza Spalding, will be joined by 2012 “The Voice” contestant Nicholas David, whose five studio albums have highlighted his showy piano playing. Rounding out the bill is Stephanie Erin Brill, a Milwaukee songwriter who also uses the piano as the foundation for her gentle folk-pop.
Turtle Island Quartet: Bird’s Eye View, The Legend of Charlie Parker @ South Milwaukee PAC, 7:30 p.m.
Photo Credit: Jati Lindsay
Since 1985, the Turtle Island Quartet has been reimagining a wide range of jazz, folk and pop sounds through the lens of a string quartet. For this bill, the two-time Grammy winners will pay homage to one of jazz’s all-time greats: Charlie Parker. In addition to the Bird’s signature works, this program will also include a mix of original compositions and other favorites from the bebop era, including pieces by Sonny Rollins and Charlie Mingus.
Saturday, Feb. 17
Bon Iver w/ Field Report and Collections of Colonies of Bees @ BMO Harris Bradley Center, 8 p.m.
Few records from the past decade have had more impact than Bon Iver’s majestic debut For Emma, Forever Ago, the cabin-born album that cemented songwriter Justin Vernon as one of Wisconsin’s most influential musicians and inspired countless struggling songwriters to plan their own retreats to the woods in hopes of capturing the same inspiration. Even as Vernon has shed his folk image on recent albums, opting instead for more electronic, experimental sounds, that album has remained near and dear to the hearts of listeners. In conjunction with a limited-edition reissue of the album, featuring new artwork and liner notes, Vernon and his band will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the record that helped put Eau Claire on the map with this special one-off concert, which will feature performances from two fellow Wisconsin bands that Vernon’s success helped call deserving attention to: Field Report, who have a sunny new album Summertime Songs set for release next month, and Collections of Colonies of Bees.
Dre Day @ Company Brewing, 10 p.m.
One of the true lions of hip-hop, producer Dr. Dre helped lay the template for gangsta rap, recorded one of the most replayable rap albums of all time with The Chronic, and sired stars from Eminem to Snoop Dogg. Don’t let his headphone-hocking, Dr. Pepper-drinking later years confuse you: The guy is a legend, and if you were a teenager in the ’90s, odds are good you grew up quoting his lyrics. Milwaukee DJs Madhatter and Bizzon will celebrate Dre’s birthday and his legacy with this party, which will feature a “$20 Sack Pyramid” game shoe contest, Dre and Friends Karaoke and a “Best West-Dressed” contest. Iron Grate BBQ will be serving barbecue at the event, which attendees can wash down with—yup, you guessed it—gin and juice.
Davina and the Vagabonds @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
Led by singer Davina Sowers and her huge, throaty voice, the Minnesota ensemble Davina and the Vagabonds celebrates blues music in all its forms, from the boogie-woogie of the genre’s 1930s barrelhouse incarnations to the brassy swing of New Orleans’ R&B and the smooth sounds of Memphis soul, with splashes of cabaret and gospel thrown in for good measure. All those sounds are nicely captured on the group’s spirited latest album, 2016’s Nicollet and Tenth, which they recorded live at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis.
Tuesday, Feb. 20
Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 7:30 p.m.
Béla Fleck may be the most renowned banjoist of his time, celebrated for his expansive, forward-thinking approach to the instrument and for his forays away from bluegrass and into jazz, funk and classical music. Abigail Washburn, meanwhile, takes a much more traditional approach to her banjo, proudly playing in the classic, old-timey claw hammer style. Those contrasting sensibilities have led to some exciting collaborations between the two, who as fate would have it, have found chemistry off the stage as well—they’re married. Since Washburn gave birth to their son, they’ve kept the family together by touring as a duo, while recording a series of albums together. Their third and most recent duo album, Echo in the Valley, came out last year on the famed folk label Rounder Records.
Wednesday, Feb. 21
Steve Aoki w/ Desiigner, Deorro, Grandtheft, Bad Royale and Bok Nero @ The Rave, 8 p.m.
A club promoter, record producer and founder of Dim Mak Records, Steve Aoki injects tricked-out trance beats into even the tamest tracks to create thumping house music that’s virtually impossible to listen to while standing still. Aoki found fame by adding layers of scratches and dubs to hits like Drake’s “Forever” and Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness,” reinventing them for the dance floor, but it was his own hard-hitting solo output that made him one of EDM’s top-grossing touring DJs. His latest album, last year’s Steve Aoki Presents Kolony, featured a litany of guests including Lil Yachty, 2 Chainz, Lil Uzi Vert, Gucci Mane, T-Pain and Migos, and he’s brought that collaborative mindset to his latest live tour, which will feature Desiigner, Deorro, Grandtheft, Bad Royale and Bok Nero.
