This Week in Milwaukee: June 22-28, 2023

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Summerfest turns 55, Black Widows surf into The Foundation, bicycle races in Bay View, QWERTYFEST MKE, Johanna Rose, SUGO at The Baaree, the return of Junior Brantley, Jen B. Larson’s Hit Girls and more—This Week in Milwaukee!

Thursday, June 22

Summerfest @ Henry Maier Festival Park, June 22-24, June 29-July 1, July 6-8

Summerfest celebrates 55 years of music, sun and fun. Kicking off, appropriately, just as summer itself swings into motion, the three-weekend festival includes over a dozen stages and performance areas, restaurants, beer, wine and seltzer bars, shopping areas and the sky glider. Take advantage of admission promotions featuring free or discounted admission each day of the festival. 

Opening weekend includes American Family Insurance Amphitheater headliners Eric Church and James Taylor. Other acts include Buddy Guy, Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets, and locals Willy Porter, Social Cig, Diet Lite, Browns Crew, The Keystones, Bad Boy, Sigmund Snopek and Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound.

On Thursday, bassist Bob Stroger anchors the Chicago Blues Supersession, 5:30 p.m. on the Uline Warehouse Stage. The group of seasoned veterans reached back to the Chicago sound of the 1950s and ‘60s. Moving from Hayti, Mo., in 1955, Stroger’s family lived in an apartment in back of the legendary Silvio’s nightclub. He went on to play with the likes of Otis Rush and Jimmy Rogers. 

On Friday and Saturday, check out the statewide garage band competition, Rockonsin finals at the Generac Stage. (shepherdexpress.com/summerfest/rockonsin-brings-young-bands-to-summerfest)

Here is our guide to The Big Gig. Be sure to check back for concert review updates: shepherdexpress.com/summerfest.

South Milwaukee Downtown Market Celebrates 15 Years, 3 p.m.

The South Milwaukee Downtown Market is a vibrant and dynamic community hub that showcases the best local produce, crafts, and entertainment. With its diverse range of vendors and exciting events, the market serves as a gathering place for residents and visitors. Live music by jazz-funk band Bergendahl, and a craft project where children will have the opportunity to paint a T-shirt of their hero, creating a personalized masterpiece that they can proudly wear while showcasing their artistic talents.

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Urban Empress and The UrbanItes @ Jazz in the Park, 5 p.m.

Reggae takes over Cathedral Square Park when Urban Empress & The UrbanItes drop their mix of roots reggae, neo-soul, dub, jazz, and hip hop to create a vibration that brings a positive message that aims to motivate, heal, and empower the listener.

Junior Brantley Featuring Idle Minds @ Magoo’s on the Mound (5841 West Bluemound Road), 6 p.m.

Junior Brantley, singer and keyboard artist, started his career in Milwaukee in the early 1960's, performing with Sonny Boy Williamson and others at local venues. In the mid-‘60s, his group, Junior and The Classics, had a break-out hit and by 1970 he was performing with the legendary Milwaukee blues group, Short Stuff. When that band broke up 15 years later, Junior spent three years performing with Leroy Airmaster, after which, he toured with Jimmy Vaughan, Stevie Ray Vaughan, the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Roomful Of Blues. You can also catch Junior with Leroy Airmaster on Saturday at Summerfest, 2 p.m. @ Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard, also The Baaree Friday, 7 p.m.

Música Del Lago ft. Cache Mke and Samba Da Vida @ Colectivo Lakefront, 6 p.m.

Now in its 18th year, Colectivo Coffee and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at UW-Milwaukee kick off the free Latin Music Performance Series-Música del Lago. Other performances include July 27, De La Buena and August 24, Bahia.

ToAD - Bay View Community Bike Lap @ Cafe Centraal, 6 p.m.

Tour de Bayview? The Kwik Trip Tour of America's Dairyland (ToAD) celebrates vibrant Wisconsin communities through cycling. The largest competitive road cycling series in U.S. takes over the area around Cafe Centraal with The Bay View Classic.

Black Widows @ Foundation Bar, 8 p.m.

Minneapolis surf trio hang ten at the cozy confines of the tiki-centric Foundation Bar. Founded in 2015, Black Widows' play a storm of wily surf guitars, sleazy bass grooves, riot grrrl vocals and heavy beats.

Friday, June 23

QWERTYFEST MKE @ VRIOAU Locations

Milwaukeean Christopher Latham Sholes invented the QWERTY keyboard, kickstarting the typewriter as we know it. Long overdue, finally, 150 years later, he is getting his own festival. The weekend long celebration for Sholes’ humble but mighty invention includes parties, live music, a tour, presentations, workshops, shopping, brunch, open mics and more. Information here: milwaukeekrampusnacht.ticketbud.com/qwertyfest-mke.

Marvel Studios’ Black Panther

Film With Orchestra @ MSO Bradley Symphony Center, 7:30 p.m.

In 2018, Marvel Studios’ Black Panther quickly became a global sensation and cultural phenomenon, showing a new dimension of what superhero films could be. Rolling Stone raved, “The film lights up the screen with a full-throttle blast of action and fun. That’s to be expected. But what sneaks up and floors you is the film’s racial conscience and profound, astonishing beauty.”

Now you can relive the excitement of T’Challa becoming king and battling Killmonger while the MSO performs Ludwig Göransson’s Oscar® and Grammy®-winning score live to picture. Through Sunday; more info here: mso.org/concerts/black-panther/55069.

Highway Kind Presents: Old Pup, Johanna Rose, and Elijah Berlow @ 2853 N Pierce St., 6 p.m.

This East Side honky tonk house show hosts singer/songwriters Old Pup a cosmic folk outfit from Milwaukee with surrealistic leanings and a lyrical nod to American poets old and new, and Elijah Berlow a Chicago-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist folk musician with a narrative style grounded in the traditions of Americana music. More info here:.facebook.com/highwaykindmke.

Johanna Rose toured as bass player, singer and songwriter in Nickel&Rose before moving to a treehouse in Vermont. When the pandemic eased up, she made her way to New Orleans playing jazz with The Ugly Vipers and typing –lining up neatly with QWERTYFEST MKE, this weekend’s events celebrating the 150th anniversary of the typewriter. She will also have a two-day residency at Shakers Cigar Bar Friday and Saturday, as well as a brunch gig at Company Brewing on Sunday. How street poetry works: “Any Topic, Any Price! The customer picks a topic and I type up a poem on the spot, read it to them and they decide what it’s worth to them,” Rose said. “I have a secret specialty of alternatively writing sexy obituaries if someone doesn’t desire a poem.”

Summer Concert Series – Jake Williams @ Deer District, 6 p.m.

Enjoy music Friday nights through Sept. 29 in The Beer Garden. More information here: deerdistrict.com/events.

Living Your Dreams Swing Dance Party @ Hilton Garden Inn Grand Ballroom Northwest Conference Center, 7 p.m.

The Bill Sargent Big Band provides the soundtrack to dance to the music of ’20s, ’30s and ‘40s. Here’s a chance to dress up in your favorite swing-era outfit; enjoy delicious hors d’oeuvres and refreshments, with a special appearance by WMYX radio personality Radar. Details here: livingyourdreamsevents.com.

Saturday, June 24

Elevator Jazz @ Riverwest Pizza, 6 p.m.

Gareth Lippe (guitar), Don Turner (accordion) and Peyton Lencho (bass) play acoustic jazz of the swing, Latin, hot club varieties.

Sugo @ The Baaree (105 South Main St., Thiensville) ,7 p.m.

Sugo brings the funk, particularly a ‘70s NOLA variety, to this comfortable outdoor beer garden that is booked all summer long with live music: thebaaree.com. And great news, parent restaurant The Cheel recently announced it plans to reopen this year. In 2020 the popular Himalayan restaurant across the street was heavily damaged by a fire.

Yasmin Williams @Colectivo 7 p.m.

With multi-instrumental techniques of her own making and influences ranging from video games to West African griots subverting the predominantly white male canon of fingerstyle guitar, Yasmin Williams is a guitarist for the new century. Her sophomore release, Urban Driftwood, is instrumental, yet its songs follow a narrative arc of 2020, illustrating both a personal journey and a national reckoning, through Williams’ evocative, lyrical compositions.

Sunday, June 25

Hit Girls Feral House Book Event & Free Swim Artist Market @ Cactus Club, 2 p.m.

Feral House Publishing presents a look at Hit Girls: Women of Punk in the USA, 1975-1983  (shepherdexpress.com/culture/books/hit-girls-women-of-punk-in-the-usa-1975-1983-by-jen-b-larson(, Jen B. Larson’s book that examines women’s roles in punk music and culture with chapters on key Milwaukee artists Jill Kossoris (The Shivvers), Stoney Rivera and Jana Blackwell (Dummy Club) and Boolah Hayes and Lisa Wicklund (Ama-Dots). While the guard has changed, here is hoping some of those folks make an appearance to chime in.

Monday, June 26

March and Rally with Transit Workers for Public Transit in Milwaukee @ 734 N. 26th St., 3 p.m.

The Milwaukee County Transit System is projecting $2 million in budget cuts to public transit. This funding crisis comes after years of short staffing, county-wide route cuts and reductions that are straining bus operators, mechanics and offering fewer transit options for our communities that depend on public transportation.

While county transit may see a small increase in funding with the new budget, state Republicans moved state transit funding out of its own dedicated fund into the general fund, jeopardizing future funding. The county must invest in public transit rather than further cuts. Lend your support on Monday, July 26 to march from the ATU hall to the County Courthouse to demand real funding and investment for safe, reliable public transit.

Tuesday, June 27

In Honor of Kevin Fahey: Selections from the Fahey/Grzebielski Collection @ Milwaukee Art Museum, Through October 1

Milwaukee Art Museum Members Kevin Fahey and Ray Grzebielski donated their collection of more than 200 prints and drawings to the Museum between 2016 and 2022. Their gift further strengthened the Museum’s esteemed holdings of work by 19th- and 20th-century American and European artists. In honor of Fahey’s memory and this generous gift, this special focus exhibition features 25 of his favorite prints. Works by artists such as John Taylor Arms, Martin Lewis, and James McNeill Whistler explore travel and other themes reflecting subjects of interest to the couple that guided their collecting.

Wednesday, June 28

Zach Pietrini Band @ Red Arrow Park, 11:30 p.m.

Heart(beats) of the City, the Wednesday lunchtime food and concert series, continues through Aug. 30. This week Zach Pietrini Band serves up a slice of Americana (shepherdexpress.com/music/album-reviews/rock-roll-is-dead-by-zach-pietrini).