This Week in MKE Music Aug. 20-26, 2026

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

by

This Week in MKE Music

Leo Kottke and Julian Lage, A La Carte at the Zoo, AFTERLIGHT, WMSE’s Backyard BBQ and more—This Week in Milwaukee Music.

Thursday, Aug. 20

A La Carte at the Zoo @ Milwaukee County Zoo, Through Sunday

A La Carte at the Zoo celebrates 40 years of food, music and animals. Headliners include lovelytheband, Chris Lane and jackrabbit. featuring Dermot Mulroney and Tank and the Bangas. The four-day festival features food from more than 30 Milwaukee restaurants and live music on six stages. More info here milwaukeezoo.org/visit/upcoming-events/a-la-carte

Leo Kottke and Julian Lage @ Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, 7:30 p.m.

Leo Kottke helped define fingerstyle guitar playing. His album 6- And 12-String Guitar aka “the Armadillo Record” was released at the dawn of the ‘70s and became hugely influential. Julian Lage, who recently has been playing as part of Bob Dylan’s touring band, is at Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, Aug. 19-23 hosting a master class for guitarists.

For this performance Kottke and Lage each bring their singular artistry to the stage before joining forces for a special collaboration that celebrates the limitless possibilities of the acoustic guitar. Spanning folk, blues, jazz and American roots music, this performance showcases two of the instrument's most inventive and influential voices.

Davis-Peplin Duo @ Bar Centro, 8 p.m.

Meanwhile in Riverwest, the confluence of guitarists continues, this time in an intimate setting. Guitarist and composer Steve Peplin, of Helenville, has performed and recorded with a wide range of artists, including Art Davis, Mel Rhyne, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Howard Levy, War, De La Buena, Yellow Ostrich and many others.

Milwaukee guitarist Neil Davis teaches jazz guitar at the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, co-founded West End Conservatory and Milwaukee Jazz Vision, and serves as an accompanist for UWM’s dance department. A sought-after performer, he leads his own quartet and co-leads the Davis-Peplin Duo and Black Cow Duo, a Steely Dan tribute.

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Friday, Aug. 21

AFTERLIGHT @ Riverwalk from Wisconsin Avenue to Erie Street, 6:30 p.m.

The Riverwalk transforms into a vibrant corridor of light, music, art, and creative energy. AFTERLIGHT invites you to explore Milwaukee after dark through a series of immersive installations, playful environments and spontaneous moments designed to spark curiosity and connection.

Over 30 local artists, filmmakers and performers will take part. Wild Space Dance Company performs alongside Natalie Derr’s Forged by Steele installation, Shocking Milwaukee, a shadow Show by Anja Notanja Sieger and Nick Verbos, photographer Dick Blau presents RAINFOREST with music from John Kruth and many others. More info here newaukee.com/afterlight

Saturday, Aug. 22

WMSE’s 16th Annual Backyard BBQ Concert @ Humboldt Park Bandshell, Noon

The annual free concert that takes over Humboldt Park returns as WMSE says thanks to the community. DJs Robert G. and Sylvan Esso bookend the day that includes the Ivy Ford Band, Known Moons, Field Report and headliner Superchunk.

Food trucks include Flip’s Mini Donuts, T. Best Kettle Corn Co., Tots on the Street, Cedar Teeth, MKE Bento, NOLA Sweets, Sweet Smoke BBQ and Pallino Burger—also craft beer and soft drinks.

If you think it’s been quite some time since you have seen Superchunk in Milwaukee, you would be right. Like last century right.

In 1999, the last time they played Milwaukee, lead singer Mac McCaughan says, they played at the Rave/Eagles Club venue on the same day as the Buzzcocks, on different stages. Seeing the Buzzcocks was awesome, but McCaughan says he and the band were also psyched on that trip to visit the late Bob Paquette’s Microphone Museum.

Despite celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2024, Superchunk has not really slowed down, releasing two acclaimed albums so far this decade: Wild Loneliness (2023) and Songs in the Key of Yikes (2025), along with their usual prolific and highly enjoyable singles output.

Keefe Jackson-Jakob Heinemann Quartet @ Charles Allis Art Museum, 6:30 p.m.

Weaving together sounds from the musical communities of Oslo, Chicago and Los Angeles, the Keefe Jackson-Jakob Heinemann Quartet presents an international collaboration.

The project consists of a core trio with Keefe Jackson (saxophones, bass clarinet), Adam Shead (drums) and Jakob Heinemann on bass, who released their debut album Stinger in August 2025. Augmenting this group is reedist Andre Royston, a rising star on Oslo’s thriving creative music scene.

Stinger has received strong critical response, with All About Jazz praising the trio’s fluency and collective language, The Free Jazz Collective calling the album “glorious stuff” and placing Jackson firmly in the loft-era aesthetic tradition.

Rap J @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.

“I'm just a six-year-old kid who refused to give up on their dream.” Rap J returns to Shank Hall. Where he parts company with most other music makers is the impetus that compels him. “My biggest motivation is to show people that cerebral palsy does not define me or my ability to create,” says Rap J, whose wheelchair brings him to both the recording studio and concert stage.

John Kruth & the Atomic Croutons @ Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, 7:30 p.m.

John reunites his Atomic Croutons, a band that includes Mike Kashou, bass; Jasper Kashou, sax and flute; Steve Bear, percussion and Peter Roller, guitar. On Sunday at 2 p.m. Kruth will present poetry and readings of his music writing at Gallery 218 in the Third Ward with Jasper Kashou on sax and flute.

Sunday, Aug. 23

Mrs. Fun w/Russ Johnson @ The Deep Groove, 6:30 p.m.

Maybe not as comfortable as a futon, this unassuming corner nightspot listening room is perfect for small combo jazz. Ease out of the weekend with some of the finest players around.

Jon Cleary and The Absolute Monster Gentlemen @ Vivarium, 7 p.m.

Jon Cleary plays rhythm & blues, soul, jazz and funk, along with a few other styles. For him, that variety reflects both his status as a skilled tradesman and his residence in New Orleans.

 “New Orleans working musicians play all kinds of different gigs,” he said during a recent phone interview. “One night with a traditional jazz band, the next with a Latin band, the next with some funk band. These are all facets of the same thing. The DNA is all there in New Orleans music.”

Born in London and on a plane to New Orleans before he turned 20 years old, he grew up absorbed by the sounds and rhythms of the Crescent City. His mastery of the city’s music landed him gigs playing as a session musician in the bands of local legends Earl King, Johnny Adams, Walter ‘Wolfman’ Washington, Snooks Eaglin, Ernie K-Doe, Jessie Hill—and as a guitarist for Dr. John. He later toured extensively with icons like Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal.

Monday, Aug. 24

Musical Mondays - Mama Said String Band @ Lake Park summer Stage, 6:30 p.m.

Delivering a refreshing reinvention of sounds once forgotten, Mama Said String Band has been impacting the bluegrass scene and beyond since its 2016 debut. Based in Louisville, Kentucky, the band’s four songwriters and players feature exquisite vocal harmonies and contemporary instrumentation.

Tuesday, Aug. 25

Chill on the Hill – Electricity Kills Crimes Against Nature @ Humboldt Park Bandshell, 6 p.m.

Back in June when this year’s lineup was announced, this was slated to be the final concert. Mother Nature had other plans so the weekly series will now extend into at least September 15.

Fronted by vocalist Mark G.E., Electricity Kills gathers a formidable crew of punk/rock veterans from the local scene: Tom Kornkven, Russ Grabczyk, Jon Newcomb and Andy Stilin. With a pair of EPs on their resume, Crimes Against Nature proves rock and roll rebellion has no expiration date. Full-blown eldercore authority from Milwaukee, with Riot Grrrl-queercore energy as its beating heart.

Wednesday, Aug. 26

Todd Rundgren - Damned If I Do Tour @ The Pabst Theater, 7 p.m.

In 1967 Todd Rundgren wrote his first song—it was “Hello, It’s Me.” He was 19 years old. While his sons Rex and Randy would go on to play minor league baseball, their dad was the one who hit a home run his first time at bat.

A decade ago, when I caught up with the legendary producer, engineer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and band leader for a telephone interview I asked what he’d been reading—looking to get a glimpse into what makes him tick. Manuals for the new gear he was working with, he replied. Of course.

While he’s always leaned into technology—a concert “tour” during Covid was based in Chicago and personalized to each night’s city on the broadcast feed, it is his songs and the humanity he brings to them that keeps his Faithful fans coming Back to the Bars…or theaters, in this case.

Rundgren seems an indefatigable music treasure who is constantly gaining a 2nd Wind. Ever The Individualist, he scored music for Pee-wee's Playhouse, has released albums reimaging his songs as bossa nova-style (With a Twist), a collection of blues legend Robert Johnson’s songs, and most importantly to Packer fans awaiting the upcoming season he wrote “Bang the Drum All Day,” the song used to celebrate touchdowns.