Photo Credit: Danny Clinch
Thursday, Jan. 18
The Zach Pietrini Band w/ Jon Knudson @ Good City Brewing. 7 p.m.
Milwaukee singer/songwriter Zach Pietrini scaled back his rollicking Americana for his latest album, 2017’s Holding Onto Ghosts, a hushed and contemplative record with a decidedly darker tone than its predecessors. When he’s accompanied onstage by his backing band, though, Pietrini still knows how to barnstorm with the best of them. The group’s stomping, feverish shows have given them a reputation as one of the city’s must-see live acts. This show at Good City Brewing will serve as the kickoff for the group’s winter tour, which will take them down to Florida. Jon Knudson from the Americana group Driveway Thriftdwellers opens.
Friday, Jan. 19
MAM After Dark @ Milwaukee Art Museum, 7 p.m.
Well timed for the coldest month of the year, the latest installment of the Milwaukee Art Museum’s MAM After Dark series celebrates all things Latin, with a night of salsa dancing and music from the brassy Chicago ensemble ¡ESSO! (El Sonido Sonic Octopus), as well as the DJ collective Future Rootz, who specialize in world-minded electronic music and Latin house. There will also be tapas-style dining, team trivia, an art scavenger hunt and a display of new works by Spanish artist/designer Jaime Hayon.
Local Coverage @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 7:30 p.m.
Once again last fall Milwaukee Record held a draft to determine which of the nine Milwaukee bands and solo artists the site selected for its annual Local Coverage benefit concert would cover each other. As always, the draft yielded some truly unlikely pairings. For this year’s concert, De La Buena will put a Latin spin on the quirky guitar-pop of Jaill, while soul singer Lex Allen will put his stamp on the rollicking country of Whiskey of the Damned, and rockers Space Raft will amp up songs by the synth-pop band NO/NO. Listening Party, B~Free and Negative/Positive round out the bill. Each of the nine acts plays for just 15 minutes, so the night moves fast. Tickets for the show are just $10 in advance, and all proceeds go to the Milwaukee Women’s Center.
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Saturday, Jan. 20
2018 Pablove Benefit Concert: An All-star Tribute to Tom Petty @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 6:30 p.m.
Milwaukee native and former Elektra Records president Jess Castelaz launched the pediatric cancer charity Pablove in honor of his late son Pablo. Each winter the organization rounds up a host of talent for its annual Pablove Benefit Concerts, which this year is framed as a massive tribute to Tom Petty. Sam Llanas, Abby Jeanne, Gabriel Sanchez, The Wooldridge Brothers, Semi Twang, Louie Lucchesi and Chris DeMay will be among those paying tribute to the late rocker. The show will open with what’s sure to be an emotional note: After losing band member Tim Phillips last year, the Milwaukee alternative group Spanglemaker will play a farewell performance in his memory.
Dwight Yoakam @ The Riverside Theater
Label heads assumed that Dwight Yoakam’s scrappy, unrepentantly honky-tonky country-rock would be a tough sell in an ’80s climate that favored poppier country sounds. They were wrong. Yoakam’s 1986 album Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. became one of the most iconic country debuts of that decade, setting the stage for a number of follow-up number-one country albums and a career that has now lasted for more than a quarter century. At 56, Yoakam remains as iconoclastic as ever. He’s dabbled in more modern sounds on some of his recent albums, including 2012’s 3 Pears, which featured a pair of collaborations with Beck, but his most recent album, 2016’s Swimmin’ Pools, Movie Stars…, is a traditional bluegrass album, complete with some unforgettable mandolin.
Rebels & Renegades: The WhiskeyBelles and WheelHouse @ Cedarburg Cultural Center, 7:30 p.m.
Cedarburg Cultural Center’s “Rebels & Renegades” series takes a big-picture view of American music, featuring a mix of local and national bands playing all kinds of bluegrass, folk, country and roots music. This installment features The WhiskeyBelles, a gregarious Milwaukee country music trio inspired by legends like The Carter Family, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris. They put a cheeky spin on vintage country tunes, both classic and obscure, as well as the originals they’ve written for albums like their latest, last year’s Dance in the Moonshine. They’ll be joined on the bill by WheelHouse, a hard-touring Madison band whose blend of bluegrass and outlaw country nods to greats like Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings.
Milwaukeeappella featuring Transit @ South Milwaukee PAC, 7:30 p.m.
Finalists in the 2017 International Championship of A Cappella Open, the vocal band Transit headlines this day of a cappella-themed entertainment at the South Milwaukee PAC. The group is known for their rich, distinctive covers of songs from acts like Maroon 5, Bob Marley and The Beatles, and one of its singers, Adam Decker, took home Outstanding Soloist honors at last year’s A Cappella Open. Ahead of Transit’s performance, there will be a full day of student workshops covering a cappella technique, beatboxing, vocal percussion, performance prep and other subjects from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Students from those workshops will open for Transit’s performance later that evening.
Paw Patrol Live!: Race to the Rescue @ Miller High Life Theatre, 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Characters from the Nickelodeon smash hit “Paw Patrol” star in this live spinoff of the show. After the mayor of Adventure Bay goes missing on the day of a big save, Plucky 10-year-old Ryder and his pack of highly talented rescue dogs step in to save the day. The set and character designs are every bit as bright and colorful as the ones on the TV show. (Also Sunday,. Jan. 21)
Wednesday, Jan. 24
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit w/ James McMurtry @ The Riverside Theater
Singer-songwriter Jason Isbell first caught the attention of Southern rock fans as a late addition to the cultishly beloved group Drive-By Truckers. He played with the group for six years, contributing some unforgettable songs to their mid-’00s records, but it wasn’t until he left the band to pursue a solo career in 2007 that he really came into his own as a songwriter, earning acclaim for unrelentingly honest records like 2013’s Southeastern, which he filled with songs about addiction, illness and sexual abuse. Recorded with his band the 400 Unit, Isbell’s latest album The Nashville Sound cements him as a bona fide country star. It was nominated for Album of the Year at last year’s Country Music Awards, and is up for Best Americana Album at this year’s Grammys.
2Cellos @ BMO Harris Bradley Center, 8 p.m.
As 2Cellos, the Croatian duo Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser treat the cello not only as a classical instrument, but also as a rock one, rearranging not only classical standards but also pop and rock staples. The group’s fourth and latest album Score includes memorable covers of songs from Schindler’s List, Chariots of Fire, The Godfather and, most dramatically, a medley of “Game of Thrones” music.
