This Week in MKE Music: March 5-11, 2026

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

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This Week in MKE Music

The Smithereens with special guest vocalist John Cowsill, QUITAPENAS @ Latino Arts, The Albert Lee Band, “Sonorous Silence” - Bel Canto Chorus, Eclecti-Pop! w/ Local Hands and Eric Blowtorch with Dena Aronson and more—This Week in Milwaukee Music!

Sunday is International Women’s Day

Thursday, March 5

The Smithereens with special guest vocalist John Cowsill w/ Kitty Soft Paw @ Vivarium, 8 p.m.

Since their formation in 1980s, New Jersey’s The Smithereens have earned a reputation as one of America’s most enduring rock bands. With a distinctive sound rooted in the melodic punch of the British Invasion, fused with the raw energy of American garage rock, they’ve created a catalog of timeless songs that continue to resonate with audiences worldwide. This time around they team up with vocalist John Cowsill from ‘60s pop group and inspiration for The Partridge Family, The Cowsills.

Friday, March 6

Hatcher/Dessel + Devin Drobka @ Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts, 7 p.m.

Gerrit Hatcher and Erez Dessel present a new project rooted in the tradition but looking ahead, never bound by aesthetics and deeply grounded by an improvisatory practice that spans space and time. Their duo music includes free improvisation as well as compositions: original, repertory, lesser-known, and traditional. Devin Drobka’s music has been described as “sounding like nothing else in Midwestern jazz” and “gorgeous, innovative.”

QUITAPENAS @ Latino Arts, 7 p.m.

QUITAPENAS borrow aesthetics from the radical ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Each song echoes a remix of history and invites one to engage in the liberating evenings of Angola, Peru, Colombia, Brazil and beyond. The name means “to remove worries.” Founded in 2011, the band was formed around their shared love of dance rhythms from the Tropical Afro Latin diaspora. The group is made up of first-generation sons of immigrant parents from Guatemala and Mexico

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The Albert Lee Band with special guests The Cryers @ Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co., 7:30 p.m.

Double Grammy winner with Earl Scruggs and Brad Paisley, Albert Lee has played with everyone from Jerry Lee Lewis to Eric Clapton, to the Everly Brothers to Emmylou Harris. No stranger to Milwaukee, Lee was a member of The Crickets in the post-Buddy Holly era and forged an impressive solo career along the way. Lee is out on the road touring his newest album, Lay It Down recorded at the legendary Konk Studios in London.

From Mark Knopfler's blistering “Setting Me Up” to Jimmy Webb's soaring piano ballad “Too Young to Die,” to The Everly Brothers' storming hit “The Price of Love,” Lee’s latest album sees his triumphant return to the studio, recording live, as one of the greatest guitarists ever. Don't miss the man known as “Mr. Telecaster,” one of the legendary guitarists of rock and roll, rockabilly and country music.

Saturday, March 7

“Sonorous Silence” - Bel Canto Chorus @ St. Sebastian Catholic Church, (5400 W. Washington Blvd.), 3 p.m.

“Sonorous Silence” is a contemplative choral concert exploring themes of longing, resilience, creativity, mortality and hope. Through evocative contemporary works, the program invites audiences into a powerful journey of reflection and emotional resonance, discovering the profound beauty found not only in sound—but in silence.

Eclecti-Pop! w/ Local Hands and Eric Blowtorch with Dena Aronson -- supporting Women’s March @ Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, 7:30 p.m.

Among the many events planned this weekend around International Women’s Day (March 8) is the Saturday, March 7 benefit concert for Women’s March, a national organization whose mission is “building a base of feminists to end sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression.”

The concert, at Linneman’s, features two Chicago acts, Local Hands and Eclecti-Pop! along with a Milwaukee recording artist with a long history of activism, Eric Blowtorch (accompanied by percussionist Dena Aronson).

“As a woman and a songwriter, I greatly value the importance for all women to have an avenue to express themselves authentically,” Eclecti-Pop!’s Emily Chloe Quinn says. “This power of expression can be intimidating, formidable, and world changing, and that's why the suppression of women has historically been so strong.”

The Bronswik Affair w/Electricity Kills @ Camp Karma, 7 p.m.

Louie & The Flashbombs w/ The Dirty Sweet @ Ope! Brewing Co., 8:30 p.m.

West Allis checks the Richter Scale with a pair of shows.

Get in on the ground floor with Electricity Kills, as the group of local veterans fronted by Mark G.E. play their second gig.  Louie & The Flashbombs gear up to begin recording their third album while The Dirty Sweet are finishing up in the studio.

Sunday, March 8

Darren Garvey w/ Special Guest Lindsay Anderson @ Var Gallery, 4 p.m.

Multi-instrumentalist Darren Garvey remains a longtime member of Elephant Revival and currently calls Milwaukee home. The title track on his solo album As a Scribble evokes the wonder of child’s play and the messiness of life. For Garvey, songs come from somewhere—an instrument, the confluence of two rivers, a scribble in his daughter’s notebook. As A Scribble utilizes his longtime musical collaborator and Midwest guitar legend, the late Dan McMahon. As two seasoned sidemen, Darren and Dan always pushed each other to release their own music as showcased on the split EP Social.

Chris Botti @ The Pabst Theater, 7 p.m.

GRAMMY-winning trumpeter Chris Botti has been one of the most popular instrumentalists in the world for nearly three decades; he’s collaborated with some of the biggest superstars on the planet, including Sting, Paul Simon, Barbra Streisand, Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler, Joni Mitchell, Steven Tyler, Andrea Bocelli, Herbie Hancock, Yo-Yo Ma and others.

Botti’s Blue Note Records debut is in many ways a fresh start for the trumpeter. Having successfully crossed over from jazz renown to pop stardom, Botti’s first album in more than a decade finds him crossing back, with a small group project focused on acoustic jazz and classic standards.

Monday, March 9

Screaming Orphans w/ Gould & Jaeger @ Shank Hall, 7 p.m.

With St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner here is a chance to get in the mood early. Screaming Orphans are a chart-topping all-sister folk and pop band from Ireland. They are known worldwide for their award-winning sound combining original pop songs with a unique take on traditional Irish music. The band has always defied being pigeonholed, having masterfully developed their own unique fusion of folk and pop.

Belfast native, one-man band Ian Gould and multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, Lukas Jaeger, are often referred to as a six-piece-duo, layering multiple instruments at a time.

Tuesday, March 10

Chad Price, Tim Rogner, Marc-Alan Prince and Alex Crook @ Cactus Club, 7 p.m.

The musical family tree for this show includes ALL, Drag the River, A Vulture Wake, Allister, Hot Alice, Bad Planning and Goldwaite. Milwaukee’s Marc-Alan Prince celebrate the release of his new single “The Damned.”

Wednesday, March 11

Volumes w/ Notions, Catsclaw, Still Stayer @ X-Ray Arcade, 6 p.m.

Los Angeles’ Volumes stop in Cudahy with the release of their album The Mirror Touch. Fifteen years on, Michael Barr (vocals]), Raad Soudani (bass), Myke Terry (vocals) and Nick Ursich (drums) continue to fortify a full-on sensory assault with thick riffing, chilling soundscapes, and the venomous bite of its incomparable two-headed vocal hydra.