This Week in Milwaukee: June 15-21, 2023

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

by

Good luck planning for this week’s embarrassment of riches. A Joycean event, street festivals, art events, a beer fest, Juneteenth Day celebration and more—This Week in Milwaukee!

Thursday, June 15

Still No Tomatoes @ Charles E. Fromage, 6:30 p.m.

This hidden-in-plain-sight rooftop venue kicks off the Thursday summer music series with Still No Tomatoes, folk pop project of Jeff Stehr and Mike Lizzo. The Bastille Day West street festival presents four groups on July 14: Milwaukee Hot Club, Professor Pinkerton’s Irrelevant Orchestra, The Best Westerns and The Hungry Williams. Other highlights include Bill Camplin on Aug. 24 and Robin Pluer w/Peter Roller & Juli Wood on Sept. 7. Full Lineup here: squaremktg.com/campaigns/AV8VYxMrQPsZ.

Eyelids w/ Model Citizen and Dramatic Lovers @ Cactus Club, 8 p.m.

Portland’s Eyelids arrive highly regarded; the band’s new album, A Colossal Waste of Light, does an excellent job of framing the quintet as one of today’s most compelling purveyors of lopsided guitar pop workouts and earworm-laden vocal melodies. It also proves that great guitar pop can still evoke favorites from a glorious past—the penetrating moodiness of XTC’s Black Sea, or R.E.M.’s Fables of the Reconstruction, comes to mind – while refusing to waste time on idle nostalgia. Likewise, Model Citizen brings Southern punk roots with a connection to Drive-By Truckers.

Friday, June 16

Bloomsday: A Celebration of James Joyce @ County Clare Irish Inn & Pub, 7 p.m.

Bloomsday is a celebration of Irish writer James Joyce and his epic novel Ulysses. According to Milwaukee organizer Jim Kearney, “Much of James Joyce’s novel Ulysses chronicles the wandering of Leopold Bloom around Dublin on June 16, 1904 (the day Joyce met Nora Barnacle who later would become his wife). As a result, June 16 is celebrated in Dublin as Bloom’s Day.” 

Raise a pint and enjoy feature readings from the book, people in 1904 attire, probably some lively craic and definitely some live Irish music.

Friends of the Shepherd

Help support Milwaukee's locally owned free weekly magazine.

LEARN MORE

Kilbourn w/ crimesXnature and Sleepersound @ Club Garibaldi, 9 p.m.

As Kilbourn ramps up to their debut album, here’s a chance to catch them with the swirling rock of Sleepersound and crimesXnature’s mix of riot grrrl, alt, indie, and punk rock.

Saturday, June 17

Historic Concordia Neighborhood Tour @ Greater Utopian Church, 9:30 a.m.

Historian and author Bobby Tanzilo takes you on a tour of 10 homes in this historic neighborhood plus the State Theater; also a pie and cake social at Greater Utopian Church. More info at hcni.org/home-tour-2023.

Brady Street Art Walk, Noon 

Dozens of artists will take to the streets to create art in public. Attendees are encouraged to talk with artists about their work and process. From ceramics to street art to painting, the Brady Street Art Walk has something for all art lovers. New this year will be an activity for kids on North Arlington Place between Hi Hat and La Masa. Kids will be given water balloons full of paint to throw at a wall to create a colorful, collaborative art piece.

Summer Soulstice Music Festival @ Kenilworth Place to Ivanhoe Place and Farwell Avenue to Prospect Avenue, Noon

With four stages of music, there will be something for everyone. Acts include Robot Witch, Mark Waldoch & the Hallelujah Ward, Fellow Kinsman, Asher Gray, Tigera, Strangelander, Collections of Colonies of Bees and more, plus food and drinks in addition to neighborhood bars and restaurants. The 12-hour festival in the heart of the East Side rally packs it in.

Wisconsin Beer Lovers Festival @ Bayshore June 17, 1 p.m.

The Wisconsin Beer Lovers Festival is back. After a gap of four years, one of the state’s best beer fests returns to Bayshore in Glendale with 35 breweries from around the state pouring samples all afternoon. shepherdexpress.com/food/microbrews-mke/wisconsin-beer-lovers-festival-returns-to-bayshore-june-17

Art Hop Thru the 53212 @ Various Locations, 2 p.m.

Think Gallery Night with an edge. Close to 100 artists and makers will be scattered throughout the 53212 zip code at participating businesses, galleries and breweries. Attendees will be able to “art hop” between these locations by foot or bike via the Beerline Trail or by buses provided by the Riverwest Brewery Syndicate. Keep Riverwest Weird bumper stickers should be issued. More info at arthopmke.com.

Circle Jerks w/ Descendents and The Adolescents @ The Rave , 8 p.m.

A triple shot of adrenaline, these southern California bands whose history goes back decades will undoubtedly bring back memories of the days when hardcore punk struck fear in the hearts of parents everywhere. Circle Jerks singer Keith Morris was an original member of Black Flag, Descendents drummer-songwriter Bill Stevenson would play with that band as well. The Adolescents, like the others, never went gently into that quiet night.

Sunday, June 18

The John Doe Folk Trio w/Liv Mueller @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.

As bassist for X, singer-songwriter John Doe’s gritty poetic lyrics drew a line from punk to the Beats, neatly skipping any pretense or whiff of patchouli. His solo albums are slightly tamed affairs, his most recent album, last year’s Fables in a Foreign Land was released by Fat Possum Records. A longshot, perhaps, but here’s hoping for an encore with Doe and opener Liv Mueller, who recently released the new single “Goin Down.” youtube.com/watch?v=xjiiDYuDUKg

Monday, June 19

52nd Annual Juneteenth Day Parade & Festival @ 9 a.m.

Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day, is a holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. The holiday originated in Texas and has been celebrated by African Americans since the late 1800s. 

The Juneteenth Day parade takes place from 14th Street & Atkinson Avenue to Locust Street & Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Also starting at 9 a.m. is the Juneteenth Festival with activities and vendors on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive between Concordia Avenue to Center Street.

Tuesday, June 20

Charlie Crockett w/Wyatt Flores @ The Rave, 8 p.m.

Prolific artist Charlie Crockett might be filed under country & western but that seems too limiting as time goes by. Last year’s album The Man from Wacocontinued Crockett’s creative momentum.

Wednesday, June 21

Don Linke - Jazz in the Gardens @ Sanger House Gardens, 5:45 p.m.

The Jazz in the Gardens series is a specialty event series that brings live jazz music, curated five-course meals and wine tastings to the garden oasis of Sanger House, an 1872 Victorian home turned public garden. The dinner at each event is prepared and served by a featured local chef. Enjoy live jazz music from Don Linke with wine tastings and dinner prepared by Suzette Metcalfe from the Pasta Tree restaurant. More info at allevents.in/milwaukee/jazz-in-the-gardens-june-event/10000650410383967.