A pair of benefits for good causes, outdoor Bluegrass music concerts and a Bay View block party are on tap for this week.
Friday, July 30
Photo credit: Ross Monagle
Chicken Wire Empire
Starry Nights with Chicken Wire Empire @ Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts (3270 Mitchell Park Drive, Brookfield), 6:30 p.m.
Milwaukee bluegrass quintet Chicken Wire Empire’s evolution from traditional to progressive was documented in the 2018 film All It Takes. Still riding high on the two-volume set Live from Deutschland, the band performs at Wilson Center's Gerlach/Haack Outdoor Theater. Lawn chairs and picnic baskets are encouraged at this free event.
Saturday, July 31
The MKE Arts Spotlight w/ Kids From Wisconsin @
Washington Park Bandshell, 2 p.m.
Join in on an opportunity for Milwaukee area arts organizations to present and represent what they offer to the community. At 6:30 p.m. the Kids From Wisconsin present their production of LIVE! In Living Color. Performances and demonstrations from several stages will take place throughout the day and food tucks will be on hand. Get creative at arts booths, watch the entertainment, listen to local sounds and learn how you too can become part of your community arts scene.
Heartland Howlers @ Cudahy Family Library (3500 Library Drive,
Cudahy), 2 p.m.
“Honky Tonk Blues” by Heartland Howlers
Bring a lawn chair and enjoy the country, folk and Bluegrass sounds of Heartland Howlers in the Cudahy Family Library’s outdoor amphitheater.
Puddler’s Rock Party Block Party @ Puddler’s Hall, 2 p.m.
“Sorry (Tony Z Song)” by Two and a Half Stars
One of the oldest taverns in Milwaukee, Puddler’s Hall was originally a gathering place for union meetings for local iron workers. On Saturday Puddler’s opens a new chapter with a five-band block party featuring the power punk of Crimes Against Nature; Madison’s Twenty Minute Mission; veteran power-poppers Fuzee; the tongue-in-cheek pop of Two and a Half Stars and Bright Eyed and Blind.
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The event will also include art by Jill Ortiz; Keith Drea Man Cave Productions; Julia Teeguarden Sparklegarden Design Studio; Steven Borchardt and Kimberly Geszvain. Here’s hoping this becomes an annual event.
Sojourner Family Peace Center and GIVESONG.ORG Benefit Concert—Sponge and SACRED w/ Peter Distefano from Porno for Pyros @ Turner Hall, 7:30 p.m.
“Berlin Wall” by SACRED
This triple bill of post-grunge rockers Sponge, Milwaukee progressive rock band SACRED and Porno for Pyros guitarist Peter Distefano will play a benefit for Sojourner Family Peace Center, the nonprofit provider of domestic violence prevention and intervention services that offers support aimed at helping families affected by domestic violence achieve safety, justice and well-being and givesong.org, the organization where artists partner with charities to release exclusive paid content benefiting the charities. The first 200 guests at the door will receive limited edition gifts from SACRED.
Ike Reilly solo w/ Paul Cebar—A Benefit for Froedtert Hospital Foundation Breast Cancer Research @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
“Someday Tonight (Will Seem Like A Long Time Ago)” by Ike Reilly
A note from Shank Hall’s Karen Jest: After I found out I had breast cancer in 2019 I knew that at some point when my treatments were done, I wanted to have a benefit at Shank. My last day of treatment is on my birthday this year so I wanted to have a party to celebrate the end of treatment and thought having a benefit at the same time would be a perfect fit. The money raised will go to breast cancer research at Froedtert Hospital. My team of doctors there helped me get through my surgery and treatments, and I want to support their research so they are better able to help others in my situation.
Since his major label debut, Salesmen and Racists, Ike Reilly has been making punk/folk/blues influenced rock ‘n’ roll records that lean heavily on stories of outsiders with keen details and broad strokes that insinuate a crack in the American dream.
Of his 2018 album Crooked Love Reilly said, “I’m not sure if all the songs reflect what’s going on right now. You know, Trump’s insane behavior, racism and classism out in the open, a new nuclear threat, the planet’s demise. The songs were written under the shadow of all of that, but most people still just need and want love, affection, sex, and the simple pleasures of human contact. I have optimism for society and for its survival, though I am pretty fatalistic in the sense of, ‘This is what it is. It’s right here, it’s right now, and this is it.’ That can either drive you crazy or motivate you to squeeze every last drop out of it, you know?”
Reilly’s song and video "Someday Tonight (Will Seem Like A Long Time Ago)," recount a call from his son in Kenosha in the days after the police shooting of Jakob Blake where protesters squared off against police and armed civilians, and Illinois resident 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse murdered two people and wounded another.
Sunday Aug. 1
The Puerto Rican Family Festival @ Wilson Park, 11 a.m.
Car show, domino tournament, salsa and merengue dance contests, a children’s area and 81 vendors in all—there are plenty of reason to celebrate the rich culture that makes Puerto Rico so special. This annual family-friendly festival is free and runs until 7 p.m.
