This Week in MKE Music Aug. 13-19, 2026

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

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This Week in MKE Music

Wisconsin State Fair wraps up, Irish Fest, Center Street Daze, Modest Mouse w/ Califone, Jack Grassel and Jill Jensen and more—This Week in Milwaukee Music.

Thursday, Aug. 13

Irish Fest @ Henry Maier Festival Park, through Sunday 

From the “Bloody Third” to Tory Hill, Milwaukee’s has boasted strong Irish neighborhoods throughout its history. Though not as dominant numerically as Poles, Germans or Mexicans, or in cultural impact as Yankees and Jews, Irish immigrants and their descendants have still left a mark on Milwaukee. Since 1981, Irish Fest has annually celebrated Irish culture and its impact on Milwaukee at the Lakefront. 

This year over 100 artists are performing at 18 different stages during the four-day festival, from traditional Irish music to rave and folk music to writers, speakers and poets. Within the festival at the Snug stage is “Tradfest,” a miniature celebration of Ireland’s largest traditional and folk music festival in Dublin known as “Tradfest” held each January. 

Altan, Atlantic Wave, Athas, Bog Bodies, Derek Byrne and Paddygrass, Jigjam, The Drowsy Lads and dozens more acts perform. 

Long Mama - Under the Bridge @ Third Space Brewing, 6 p.m. 

Long Mama’s Kat Wodtke and Andrew Koenig play a low-key duo set outdoors at Third Space Brewing.  

Written partly in Alaska and partly in Wisconsin, Long Mama’s 2022 debut album Poor Pretender is a 10-song trek through genre and emotional ups and downs, sometimes told through the perspective of Wodtke, other times lived through the eyes of fictional characters based on Wodtke’s travels. 

“[It’s about] appearances versus reality and the ways we kind of mask what’s really going on,” says Wodtke. “Whether it’s the romantic heartbreak or grief that you’re trying to push your way through, or a mountain man who may have just been misunderstood.” 

Wisconsin State Fair, through Sunday 

With dozens of free stages, plus the State Fair Main Stage, music and entertainment is everywhere at the Wisconsin State Fair.  

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While you can’t turn a corner without running into a racing pig, a prize goat or a blue-ribbon quilt there’s plenty of music on free stages: Kids From Wisconsin, The Gufs, Let’s Sing TaylorÚAn Unofficial Live Tribute Show, Kate Voss & The Hot Sauce, Pat McCurdy and more. More info here: wistatefair.com/fair/home

mEA jIMA @ Jackalope Lounj, 7 p.m.

The Everly Brothers, The Kinks, The Carter Family, Blue Öyster Cult—add Mea Jima to the list of bands where siblings get creative.  

Matt and Jim Meixner have been playing music together since their teenage years. Despite having releases with other projects, they had never released a record with each other until 2021. When the time came, the brothers decided to form the electronic music duo that has expanded to a quartet.  

The group experiments with the possibilities of sound. Ripe with synthesizers and electronic percussion, mEA jIMA layers sounds and uses devices to change the sonic quality of those layered sounds. 

Jazz in Park – Deadelijk @ Cathedral Square Park, 6 p.m.

Deadelijk will turn Cathedral Square Park into a vintage Alpine Valley concert. Jazz in the Park continues through September 10. More info here: easttown.com/jazz-in-the-park

Friday, Aug. 14 

Modest Mouse w/ Califone @ The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.

Touring on their recently released album An Eraser andaA Maze, Modest Mouse returns to the Riverside Theater. Formed in Issaquah, Washington and Portland Ore. in 1993, Modest Mouse got critical acclaim for 1997’s The Lonesome Crowded West and 2000’s The Moon & Antarctica, becoming a fixture on the underground indie scene. 

But thanks to the song “Float On,” the album Good News was a different beast. “At the time of writing and recording it, it felt fun to do,” Isaac Brock (the band’s founder, lead singer, guitarist and primary songwriter) said of the hit song. “It was almost an afterthought. It was not completely finished until the very end of that record, because I was uncomfortable with how poppy the chorus was. I just couldn’t really come to terms with what the song was until it was just like, it is what it is. Put it on there. I like it. It doesn’t hurt to have a pop song.” 

Don’t sleep on opener Califone. In 2023 the Chicago band’s Milwaukee show skirted the issue of rock and roll in favor of otherly music; sounds and lyrics that could be taken at face value as poetry.  

Then things got wonderfully weird. Those blues and folk melodies as presented by Tim Rutili’s wobbly vocals were served up to a band who massaged the sounds in a wilderness of mirrors. Drums and percussion moved a groove off-kilter and effect pedals that seemed to have a mind of their own guided the songs tottering toward a precipice—certainly trippy but definitely not spacey. 

Reilly @ Little Switzerland (105 Cedar Creek Rd., Slinger), 7 p.m.

A virtual world tour, Milwaukee’s Reilly rocks the ski hill at Little Switzerland and heads over to Irish Fest for a show on Saturday. 

Bull Fiddle Four @ Bar Centro, 8 p.m. 

Jon Mroz & His Bull Fiddle Four is a Milwaukee-based post-war electric blues combo featuring Mroz on string bass and vocals. Mroz, known for leading the Swingin’ Kools in the 1990s and the early jazz band Troubadours of Rhythm, assembled his Bull Fiddle Four to celebrate the raw energy and pioneering sound of late 1940s and early ‘50s blues legends like Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers and Little Walter. The group includes Big Al Dorn, Paul Stilin, Tael Estremera and Patrick Morrow. 

Saturday, Aug. 15

Fair Webber @ South Shore Farmers’ Market, 10 a.m. 

WAMI award winners Barb & Tom Webber present their original Americana/Roots music with Nick Hooyman (bass) and Colin Williams (percussion.) 

Center Street Daze - East Center Street from Holton to Humboldt, 11 a.m. 

Currently in its 28th year, Center Street Daze Festival is a street festival held in Milwaukee’s vibrant Riverwest neighborhood between Holton and Humboldt on Center Street. Check out the Art Cart Race at noon, art activities at the Jazz Gallery, Classic Car Show with Unique Car Club, Mannequin Fashion Show Competition at for Martha and The Museum of Ambiguous Objects-Style Machine. 

Music up and down the street includes Tony TNT Washington and his Explosive Divas, Los Mitoteros, Group of the Altos, Aluminum Knot Eye, Jayke Orvis, Big Style Brass Band, LJ the Drummer, DJs and more. More info here https://centerstreetdazefestival.com/ 

Eric Johanson @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m. 

Eric Johanson blends sharp songwriting with a deep connection to the guitar, creating music that’s dynamic, soulful, and rooted in a mix of rock, roots, blues and modern influences.  

Whether channeling the swampy pulse of his New Orleans home or leaning into heavier, fuzz-laden textures, Johanson’s music strikes a balance between grit and finesse, power and restraint. As American Songwriter puts it, he “displays his guitar prowess but within the borders of melodies and lyrics that push the boundaries of blues/rock … searing guitar work, and persuasive songwriting.”

Sunday, Aug. 16  

Community Arts & Funk Festival @ Davidson Park (3725 W. Juneau Ave.), 10 a.m. 

Enjoy a full day of art, live music, youth performances, and great food to Davidson Park. Performances by Peace Love Hope Band, Songbird and D’Aych.  

Jack and Jill @ Villa Terrace, noon 

Musician Jack Grassel has recovered from a stroke that struck him two years ago. He has returned as a musician with exceptional power and imagination and will present a solo concert of improvisations on favorite jazz, blues and pop tunes celebrating his 75th year as a professional musician. Accompanied by vocalist Jill Jensen, Grassel will sing and play the triple neck, keyboard and chromatic harmonica and share some gig stories.   

Disaster! A ‘70s Musical @ Bombshell Theatre Co., through Aug. 30 

Set in 1979, Disaster! is a hilarious parody of The Poseidon Adventure and ‘70s disaster films. On opening night of a floating casino, a tsunami flips the cruise ship upside down, unleashing chaos, comedy and over 30 unforgettable disco hits. 

Monday, Aug. 17 

Downtown Employee Appreciation Week @ Various locations, through Friday 

Coffee, music, food, yoga, Zumba and more. Music includes Jenny Thiel, Jon Hintz Duo, Carmen and Kostia, Max Niemann and more. More info here: milwaukeedowntown.com/signature-events/employee-appreciation-week

Musical Mondays - The Kal Bergendahl Project Featuring Faith Hatch @ Lake Park Summer Stage, 6:30 p.m. 

The Kal Bergendahl Project is a six-piece instrumental jazz-funk band powered by a three-piece horn section. This top Milwaukee-based group will perform originals as well as jazz standards featuring up-and-coming vocalist Faith Hatch.

Tuesday, Aug. 18

Chill on the Hill – Obscure Birds w/ November Criminals @ Humboldt Park Bandshell, 6 p.m.

Rara avis by any other name, Obscure Birds might be a bunch of old dudes who don’t know when to quit. They might be tech-fearing Luddites fumbling toward enlightenment. Whatever the truth, they bring over 200 years of collective music-listening experience, funneled through pure rock ‘n’ roll instinct and unleashed as a post-retro psych/alt-country folk/sub-prog classic rock group.

Wednesday, Aug. 19 

Wonderful Wednesdays - @ Lake Park Summer Stage, 6:30 p.m.

Little Miss Ann is a Chicago based Filipina American kids’ musician who has made nine award-winning albums that span different genres with fun, interactive, upbeat songs that inspire kids to sing, jump, dance and let their own lights shine. 

Washington Park Wednesdays - Ben Mulwana & the Village w/ The New Grey @ Washington Park Bandshell (43rd Street between Vliet and Lloyd Streets), 5 p.m.

Ben Mulwana is a Ugandan-born and raised artist who writes songs about love, loss and everything in between. His band project Ben Mulwana and The Village delivers a rock and soulful sound. Washington Park Wednesdays, more info here: washingtonparkneighbors.com/calendar