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Photo credit: Anton Corbijn
Arcade Fire
2 of 7
Photo credit: David McClister
Cheap Trick
3 of 7
Photo credit: George Salisbury
The Flaming Lips
4 of 7
Janelle Monae
5 of 7
Photo credit: Danny Clinch
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
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Phantogram
7 of 7
The Pretenders
Thursday, July 5
Photo credit: Danny Clinch
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit @ BMO Harris Pavilion, Summerfest, 10 p.m.
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, although 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. But it was his 2017 album The Nashville Sound, recorded with his band the 400 Unit, that cemented him as a bona fide country star. It was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2017 Country Music Awards and won Best Americana Album at this year’s Grammys.
DJ Jazzy Jeff @ Johnson Controls World Sound Stage, Summerfest, 10 p.m.
There’s no separating Jeffrey Allen Townes, better known as DJ Jazzy Jeff, from his more famous counterpart Will Smith. Together they created an upbeat, family friendly spin on hip-hop that helped widen the audience for rap music and usher Smith into superstardom after he landed the lead role in the NBC sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” where Jazzy Jeff had a supporting role. But where Smith increasingly focused on acting, Jeff stayed true to his musical roots, releasing a series of mixtapes that put the emphasis on old-school turntablism. This spring he released a new album, M3, which features several guest verses from rapper Rhymefest.
Friday, July 6
Janelle Monae
Janelle Monáe @ BMO Harris Pavilion, 9:45 p.m.
Soul singer Janelle Monáe turned heads with her 2010 full-length debut, The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III), an epic and eccentric mélange of funk, hip-hop and glam-rock that plays out as an eccentric science-fiction fantasy. What a joy it is to see that, even as the singer has raised her profile with mainstream acting roles in movies like Moonlight and Hidden Figures, she hasn’t lost her iconoclastic spirit. Inspired by Prince, her latest album, Dirty Computer is a concept record that plays out as a joyful, 49-minute celebration of sexual fluidity—it may be her wildest album yet.
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Børns @ Miller Lite Oasis, 10:15 p.m.
Børns is the exotic stage name of Garrett Borns, a singer from the decidedly un-exotic hometown of Grand Haven, Mich. Maybe it’s because of his ordinary upbringing that his music conveys such a sense of fantasy. His glammy blend of soul and rock feels like it was piped in from a daydream, and it’s no coincidence that its aesthetic mirrors the retro/modern hybrid of Lana Del Rey. His 2015 debut album Dopamine was recorded with producer Emile Haynie, who worked on Lana Del Rey’s Born to Die, and featured the euphoric single that put him on the map, “Electric Love.” On his new 2018 album Blue Madonna, he offers an even glammier, poppier spin on the same sound, while recruiting Lana Del Rey herself for the opener “God Save Our Young blood.”
Photo credit: George Salisbury
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips @ Harley-Davidson Roadhouse, 10 p.m.
After the fluke success of their 1994 single “She Don’t Use Jelly,” The Flaming Lips emerged as one of the few bands of the alternative-rock era to reinvent themselves for indie-rock audiences, using their major-label budget to create lavish, uplifting experimental rock albums like 1999’s The Soft Bulletin and 2002’s Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and earning a reputation for their celebratory, prop-heavy live shows. Even as that band has explored darker, more psychedelic territory on their most recent albums, they’ve retained their trademark sense of mischief.
Saturday, July 7
The Weeknd w/ Big Boi @ American Family Mutual Insurance Amphitheater, 7:30 p.m.
At some point Abel Tesfaye, better known as The Weeknd, decided it wasn’t enough to be an R&B star, he wanted to be a massive pop star in the mold of Michael Jackson, and with his 2015 album Beauty Behind the Madness and 2016’s Starboy and big dance-minded hits like “I Can’t Feel My Face,” he came remarkably close. There’s still a tension in Tesfaye’s music between his mass-appeal ambitions and his miserabilist tendencies—and sometimes he lets the latter get the best of him. His latest EP, My Dear Melancholy, is a total buzz kill. For this show, he’ll be joined by a rap veteran who knows how to bring the party: Big Boi of OutKast fame.
Phantogram
Phantogram @ Miller Lite Oasis, Summerfest, 10:15 p.m.
Alternative rock is saturated with synth-pop bands right now, most of them offering plenty in the way of pleasant, candy-colored spectacle but little in the way of substance or originality. The New York duo Phantogram, however, offers a genuinely unique take on the sound, combining the eerie mystique of Blonde Redhead, the grand shoegaze of M83 and the sensual charge of Serge Gainsbourg with bold, kinetic hip-hop loops of the sort Pete Rock, J Dilla and Madlib pioneered. It’s that generous dose of hip-hop that distinguishes their third and most recent album, 2016’s Three, which contrasts sleek, fizzy pop with gritty beats.
Sunday, July 8
Photo credit: Anton Corbijn
Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire w/ Manchester Orchestra @ American Family Mutual Insurance Amphitheater, 7:30 p.m.
Arcade Fire’s return to Milwaukee is long overdue: The Canadian band hasn’t played Milwaukee since they headlined the small Riverwest club Mad Planet in 2004, long before they were one of the biggest and most iconic bands in indie-rock. The group is coming off of a bit of a humbling year that saw their latest album, Everything Now, get largely shrugged off by critics and an audacious, satirical promotional campaign for the album blow up in their faces. But that doesn’t undo their previous accomplishments (including a 2011 Album of the Year Grammy for The Suburbs). And although Everything Now isn’t one of their best, it’s still a bright, pleasurable album that reveals its treasures over time, and these new songs should lend themselves well to Arcade Fire’s signature, grandiose stage treatment.
Photo credit: David McClister
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick @ BMO Harris Pavilion, 9:45 p.m.
Cheap Trick is an honorary local band. The group came out of Rockford, Ill., in the mid ’70s, but they played so often in Milwaukee clubs that they felt like a local band. They were hometown heroes here and throughout the Upper Midwest from Champaign-Urbana, Ill., through La Crosse, Wis. Their 1977 self-titled debut LP was greeted with jubilation in these parts (even if it sold few copies outside the region) and vindicated a Midwest work ethic of hard-touring, play-every-bar rock ’n’ roll. Though their late-career sales haven’t matched those of some of the other goliaths of their era, Cheap Trick has stood the test of time better than most bands spawned by the ’70s’ hard rock movement. Last year, they released a chipper new album, their 18th, We’re All Alright!
Tuesday, July 10
The Pretenders
The Pretenders w/ The Rails @ The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.
Rock has never seen a singer like Chrissie Hynde, the tough-as-nails frontwoman for The Pretenders. She’s always been the face of the band, but on their most recent studio effort, 2016’s Alone, she is the band—she spearheaded the sessions along with producer Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, who recruited members of his group The Arcs to serve as her backing band. The only other remaining original member of the band, drummer Martin Chambers, sat out this album, although he still performs with the group on the road.
Poetry in the Park @ Juneau Park, 6:30 p.m.
Once again for its free Poetry in the Park event, Juneau Park has rounded up four prominent Milwaukee wordsmiths. This installment includes Bryon Cherry, who is also a musician, along with two co-executive directors of Woodland Pattern Book Center: Jenny Gropp and Laura Solomon. Poet Sue Blaustein rounds out the evening. Guest are encouraged to bring kids, pets, blankets, snacks and beverages.
