This Week in MKE Music: Aug. 15-21, 2024

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

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Irish Fest, Zoo Ala Carte, Center Street Daze, Sgt. Splendor, Extra Crispy Brass Band – Music on the Beerline and more—This Week in Milwaukee Music!

Thursday, Aug. 15

Milwaukee Irish Fest @ Henry Maier Festival Park, Though Sunday  

Four days of music, culture, and craic! Milwaukee Irish Fest is known for its music and dance and the vast array of vendors selling everything Irish and Irish-American from kitsch to cool, but there's another part of it that's definitely worth experiencing, and that's the cultural areas and happenings throughout the weekend.

In addition to the main stages which feature local Milwaukee talent, up-and-coming artists from around the world, and some of the biggest names in Celtic music, there are some other stages with music and dance where you can participate. At the Dance Pavilion you can get free lessons in Céilí and Set dancing, and then join in the dance accompanied by amazing musicians. If you're a musician yourself, you can join in the Irish Music Sessions going on all day, which are gatherings of Celtic musicians playing tunes together. And for a taste of Gaelic culture, drop by the Gaeltacht area for singing and dance demonstrations and performances in the Irish language.

Check out our Milwaukee Irish Fest 2024 music preview at shepherdexpress.com/music/music-feature/milwaukee-irish-fest-2024-music-preview.

John Stano @ Charles E. Fromage, 6:30 p.m.

It was a heady challenge, John Stano was asked to invigorate “Blues For Emmett Till,” a song written by Aaron Kramer and Clyde B. Appleton about the 1955 murder of a 14-year-old Black boy and subsequent trial that was a key factor in the Civil Rights Movement. “It was compelling breathing life into a song about this difficult subject that was perhaps never recorded and then know that it was played for folks where the tragic crime unfolded, “ Stano says of the project.

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Last year’s performance from the modern troubadour conjured scents of sun-baked pine needles, campfires and the inside of old acoustic guitar cases lingered above the bistro long after he had packed up and gone home.

Zoo A La Carte @ Milwaukee County Zoo, through Sunday

A wide selection of animals, food and music. The latter including Frogwater on Thursday and Parmalee the most-played group on Country radio in 2023 on Friday. Saturday’s headliners are The Legendary Wailers featuring guitarist Junior Marvin.

Imagine being offered a spot in Stevie Wonder’s band and Bob Marley’s Wailers. In the same day. That was Marvin’s dilemma and he chose Marley. He played on Exodus and recorded and toured with Marley until his death in 1981. More info here: milwaukeezoo.org/visit/upcoming-events/a-la-carte-at-the-zoo-2024.

Los Dug Dugs w/w/ Dead Feathers and Spidora @ Club Garibaldi, 8 p.m.

Cactus Club and Club Garibaldi team up to present a one-night garage-psych fest. Mexican legends Los Dug Dugs hunkered down as the house band at Tijuana strip joint Fantasistas in 1966. The group’s debut single, “Chicotito Si, Chicotito No,” the theme song for a children's television program was followed by appearances in a pair of films. Perhaps best known for four albums in the ‘70s, singer/multi-instrumentalist Armando Nava continues to lead the group. Chicago’s Dead Feathers is simply one of the best heavy bands working these days; no slouches, locals Spidora mix up a Tropicalia/psych cocktail.

Friday, Aug. 16

Sgt. Splendor @ Ope! Brewing Co., 7:30 p.m.

The duo behind Sgt. Splendor, Kate Vargas and Eric McFadden take a raucous romp in “It's Alright (for now)” The Sgt.’s website also points an accusing finger at another musician.

“Tom Waits’ music has always been a point of connection for me & Kate,” McFadden says. “While our musical approaches differ, they’re also kindred and share a lot of common elements. Our Southwestern upbringing comes through—that sort of mysteriouso desert thing—but also a carnivalesque Waits-ian vibe. The new record is a bit more cohesive but still eclectic. Kind of an Alt-Funk, Desert Roots, Dirty Blues, Rock thing. Our styles have always been complementary.” Vargas concurs: “Sgt. Splendor really feels like a combination of both of us—equally.”

Extra Crispy Brass Band – Music on the Beerline @ Beerline Plaza (3350 N. Holton St.), 5:30 p.m.

Milwaukee’s Extra Crispy Brass Band brings the fonk ala old school New Orleans horn crews. Bandleader, vocalist, and trombonist Gregory Cramer formed the band because he missed NOLA. A resident of the Crescent City in the 1990s, he moved north in 1999 and looked for the Milwaukee version of the Rebirth Brass Band. One day riding his bicycle past Shank Hall he heard the sounds of Mama Digdown’s Brass Band waft out, and he was inspired by that amazing outfit to form his own band (and learn trombone).

Saturday, Aug. 17

Center Street Daze @ Center Street between Holton and Humboldt, 11 a.m.

The heart of Riverwest, Center Street is the main street of this eclectic neighborhood. This one-day festival offers four stages of music ranging from DJs to jazz, from punk to blues. The cart race, a mannequin model competition, an outdoor billiards tournament, food, street vendors and more of the beauty that keeps Riverwest weird.

HarborPark Jazz, Rhythm & Blues Festival @ HarborPark Celebration Place (5501 Ring Rd, Kenosha), noon

The HarborPark Jazz, Rhythm & Blues Festival is a fundraiser produced by the volunteer efforts of the Mary Lou & Arthur F. Mahone Fund and all proceeds support the CEO mentoring program, where their overarching goal continues to focus on academic achievement, college readiness career success, and service to others while reducing the financial barriers impacting access and affordability for our first-generation students.

This year’s music includes Jonathan Butler, Christopher's Project and The Demetria Taylor Blues Band.  Also, a 50/50 raffle, a wine pull, and the Cooking Studio, which provides gourmet foodies and aspiring cooks a gorgeous lakefront atmosphere to learn the tricks of the trade during an interactive cooking demonstration.

Sunday, Aug. 18

The Savage Blush w/ Vocokesh and Spidora @ Quarters Rock and Roll Palace, 9 p.m.

Denver’s The Savage Blush is a psychedelic rock band, projecting reverb-washed atmospheres of phaser modulated melodies, punchy rock rhythms, and vocals that soar and echo throughout. The band creates a sound that blends the familiar textures and dynamic structures of bands such as The Animals, The Doors, and Jefferson Airplane, with the ethereal spaces and darker fuzzed out psych rock of the present age.

Vocokesh long ago established a place in local and international underground music circles. Led by Richard Franecki, the long-running band travels the spaceways with detours into psychedelic and Kraut rock regions. Spidora puts a spin on Tropicália.

Monday, Aug. 19

Fountain of Youth – Musical Mondays @ Lake Park Summer Stage, 6:30 p.m.

Fountain of Youth is a project of several Milwaukee musicians representing the city’s next generation of jazz music. Led by guitarist Sam Catral, the band features vocalist Faith Hatch and will cover jazz standards perfect for a summer night in Lake Park.

Tuesday, Aug. 20

Dave Bayles Quartet @ Chill on the Hill – Humboldt Park, 5 p.m.

For two years the Dave Bayles Trio held forth on Tuesdays at The Uptowner in Riverwest. The fruition of that residency was documents in a live album: shepherdexpress.com/music/album-reviews/live-at-the-uptowner-by-dave-bayles-trio. So here’s a chance to catch the inventive, imaginative musicians at play in a park setting. On a Tuesday, natch.

Testa Rosa @ Traveling Beer Garden - Sheridan Park, 6 p.m.

Moons ago, an infant Testa Rosa played a show outside at the Bay View Bash, so it’s fitting that group—now older and wiser—have graduated to the confines of Sheridan Park for another outdoor concert. Here’s a chance to see one of Milwaukee’s best pop-glazed bands in a unique setting.

Midge Ure w/ Brian Ritchie and the Zen Gardeners @ Shank Hall, 

With Rich Kids, Mide Ure was part of punk’s class of ’77; with Ultravox, he was at the vanguard of the New Romantic/Synth pop era; as co-writer of “Do They Know It's Christmas?” Ure and Band Aid kicked off a chapter of high visibility musical charities. Along the way Ure also joined Thin Lizzy for a short spell. So expect an evening of musical history and anecdotes when Ure take the stage.

Shakuhachi player Brian Ritchie has played with The Break, Elephant Lip, was a regular the Washed Up Has-Beens and plays bass with Violent Femmes.

Wednesday, Aug. 21

Built to Spill @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 7 p.m.

Time flies. Hard to believe that Built To Spill released the album There's Nothing Wrong with Love 30 years ago. This concert will feature a performance of the album in its entirety. Led by Doug Martsch, Built to Spill’s sound meets “in the middle ground between postmodern Pavement-style pop and the loose, spacious jamming of Neil Young.”