This Week in MKE Music: Dec. 24-31, 2025

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

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Miles Nielsen & The Rusted Hearts w/ Ian Olvera; Lovanova w/ Van Jaeger; Vocokesh w/ Boy Dirt Car, Drekka and Illusion of Safety and Sean Hendley; Telethon w/ Devon Kay and the Solutions and Teenage Ice and more—This Week in Milwaukee Music!

Wednesday, Dec. 24

Milwaukee Rep's ‘A Christmas Carol’ @ The Pabst Theater, Noon and 4:30 p.m.

It’s closing night for Milwaukee Rep's A Christmas Carol.

Ebenezer Scrooge. The name instantly conures up meanness, nastiness and “Bah! Humbug(ness).” When Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843, he was following a Victorian holiday tradition that many enjoyed at that time of year: A ghost story! And this ghost story has four, count ‘em four, ghosts. And what a tale it tells.

In the Milwaukee Rep’s highly entertaining 50th anniversary production of the Christmas classic, those supernatural spirits lift our own spirits and just in time for the holiday season. As adapted and smartly directed by Rep Artistic Director Mark Clements, this Carol is a joyful, musical celebration, including those ghosts.

Thursday, Dec. 25

Friday, Dec. 26

Miles Nielsen & The Rusted Hearts w/ Ian Olvera @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.

Rockford, Illinois-based Miles Nielsen and The Rusted Hearts’ music draws from the prime years of Western-influenced rock music and ‘60s soul, claiming influences as diverse as Otis Redding’s classic sound and Jellyfish’s cult power pop recordings. For Nielsen, music is the family business. No stranger to Milwaukee, he moonlights with wife Kelly Steward, brother Daxx and dad Rick in The Nielsen Trust. His grandfather, Ralph Nielsen, had a recording career and owned a music store in Rockford, IL, where Miles’ dad learned a trick or two about being in a band.

Another graduate of the legendary Fox Valley scene, opener Ian Olvera keeps busy, from his recent work on Ladybird’s album Clementine to touring as Lucinda Williams’ sound tech—a solo set at Bremen Café a few years back proved he’s a musical Swiss Army Knife.

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Saturday, Dec. 27

Lovanova w/ Van Jaeger @ Nashville North, 8 p.m.

Paul Kneevers’ resume as a musician, producer and engineer is a lengthy one that includes: Junk Fud, Lupinare, Cornerstone Studio, Kneever-Kneerverland, Fabulon Triptometer, Paul Cebar and The Milwaukeeans. Piloting Hammond organ and synthesizers, Kneevers returns with the grove-jazz-prog sounds of Lova Nova. Expect new material and twisted cover versions.

Vocokesh w/ Boy Dirt Car, Drekka and Illusion of Safety and Sean Hendley @ MKE Ultra, 6:30 p.m.

This evening of easy listening is being billed as dedicated to the memory of Steve Whalen. The songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who died last summer was an integral part of Milwaukee music scene and was a member of Boy Dirt Car.

Whalen’s final collaboration with Boy Dirt Car, “Crime Boss,” was released in July https://boydirtcar.bandcamp.com/album/crime-boss

Vocokesh’s Richard Franecki tangled discography mingles with space rock legends F/i. Under Franecki’s watch, improvisation is the key—a sound that unfolds as it builds that is not to be confused with “jamming.”

Sunday, Dec. 28

Will Branch @ Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co., 11 a.m.

Best known as half the duo Fox & Branch, Will branch goes solo for this early show. Expect a mix of family-friendly folk, old-timey and original songs.

Monday, Dec. 29

Spafford @ Vivarium, 6 p.m. (also Tuesday and Wednesday)

Jam band Spafford returns to Vivarium—“Sweet” was recorded last December at the venue—for a three-night event that conclude on New Year’s Eve. Monday’s show has Squeaky Feet opening and on Tuesday it is Modern Joey.

Tuesday, Dec. 30

Telethon w/ Devon Kay and the Solutions and Teenage Ice Age, 6:30 p.m.

Need a warmup to kick 2025 out the door? Milwaukee’s Telethon and Teenage Ice Age bring the power pop and Chicago’s Devon Kay & the Solutions provide ska energy.

Wednesday, Dec. 31