This Week in MKE Music: Nov. 14-20, 2024

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

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A Mars Volta documentary, Patty Griffin, Hayes Carll & Lori Mckenna, Ex Fabula and HYFIN – AfterDark: For the Culture, Long May You Run – A Musical Tribute to Neil Young, Reverend Horton Heat, Klassik and more—This Week in Milwaukee Music!

Thursday, Nov. 14

A Mars Volta Documentary - Omar and Cedric: If This Ever Gets Weird @ Oriental Theatre, 9:15 p.m.

Since their breakout album in 2000, At the Drive-In— and then as their next incarnation, The Mars Volta— have redefined the progressive rock genre. Fronted by Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala, two outsiders from El Paso, Texas, their unique style fused jazz, punk rock, Latin influences and experimental sounds.

But their artistic success gave way to deep personal fissures that ended their musical partnership in 2013, and inflicted wounds that would take more than a decade to heal. Culled from hundreds of hours of footage filmed by Omar over the past 40 years, Omar and Cedric: If This Ever Gets Weird charts the duo’s journey as they navigate success, addiction, tragedy, betrayal, forgiveness and, ultimately, redemption.

Sam Catral @ Gibraltar, 8 p.m.

Kick off the weekend with jazz from guitarist Sam “the Voodoo Man” Catral.

Patty Griffin, Hayes Carll & Lori McKenna @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m.

The intimate eight city run will see Patty Griffin, Hayes Carll and Lori Mckenna performing together, sharing songs and stories from across their acclaimed careers. With a long list of accolades and awards among them, the songwriters share a lifelong dedication to their craft that results in snapshots vivid and rich in detail.

Friday, Nov. 15

Ex Fabula and HYFIN – AfterDark: For the Culture @ Radio Milwaukee, 6:30 p.m.

AfterDark: For the Culture is a space where everyone is welcome but Black and Brown narratives take center stage. Participants are invited to share experiences about their culture via personal stories, spoken word, and poetry. Through a shared mission based on connection, culture and true experiences; HYFIN and Ex Fabula have curated a space geared towards community cross-collaboration.

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Social Cig and Newski w/ Colin Bracewell @ Falcon Bowl, 7 p.m.

Author Brett Newski has just released his latest book Piss in the Wind: Misadventures of an Indie Troubadour (Vol. 1), recounting his adventures in Asia. Newski, the band recently released the EP Get It Figured Out. Social Cig co-headlines and Colin Bracewel opens. This show is also winter coat drive, so do someone else a favor if you can.

Saturday, Nov. 16

Long May You Run – A Musical Tribute to Neil Young, 7 p.m. @ Linneman's Riverwest Inn

A kaleidoscope of Milwaukee musicians gather for the 20th time to serenade and trample Neil Young’s body of work—songs he’s written since the early ‘60s in Canada. Tom Trisco, Dallas and Anja, Chris Haise Band, Mother Goose, Claire & Jimmy, Jim & Marty and Bella Brutto take part in this benefit for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.

Reverend Horton Heat w/ Jason D. Williams @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.

Longtime fans may recall Reverend Horton Heat’s first Milwaukee appearance at the Toad Café, nursing a root canal. He’s since made regular stops in town. Loaded .38s, space heaters, and big skies: Welcome to the lethal, littered landscape of Jim Heath’s imagination. True to his high evangelical calling, Jim is a Revelator, both revealing and reinterpreting the country-blues-rock roots of American music. He’s a time-travelling space-cowboy on an endless interstellar musical tour, and we are all the richer and “psychobillier” for getting to tag along.

Sunday, Nov. 17

Kelly Hunt @ White Lilac (5029 Sixth Ave. Kenosha), 6 p.m.

Memphis-raised singer-songwriter Kelly Hunt’s haunting, poetic folk sound has captivated audiences and critics alike. Described by No Depression as “the musical equivalent of a book you can’t put down,” Hunt reimagines folk and old-time music with an innovative twist on her Depression-era banjo and parlor guitar. Hunt stands proudly among folk greats like Gillian Welch and Rhiannon Giddens.

Monday, Nov. 18

Yours Until the Tour Is Over - Amigo the Devil w/ TK & The Holy Know-Nothings and Rattlesnake Milk @ The Rave, 7:45 p.m.

In the landscape of modern folk and alternative rock, Amigo the Devil channels a voice of unsettling beauty and raw truth. Within the corners of his haunting melodies is a tale as profound as the dirges he sings. Amigo the Devil remains enigmatic; he isn't one to bask in the limelight, choosing once again to let the music speak for itself.

Tuesday, Nov. 19

Klassik w/ Nelson Devereaux, AJ and Suko Pyramid @ Cactus Club. 7 p.m.

With a penchant for curation and collaboration, which he likens to that of one of his biggest inspirations, Quincy Jones, Klassik’s production is crafted with intent, beauty and depth of musicality. At the age of 10, he began studying saxophone with the Milwaukee jazz legend Berkeley Fudge, whose teachings provided the musical foundation that informs his work to this day. Klassik’s development continued through years of public arts schools, a (very) brief collegiate trip, and throughout all of this, an evolution from jazz saxophonist to producer, emcee, singer and all-around entertainer.

Classical Guitar @ UWM, Music Building, Recital Hall 175, 7:30 p.m.

Celebrate UWM’s Classical Guitar studio and enjoy solo and chamber music performances.

Wednesday, Nov. 20

Tall Heights w/ DUG @ Vivarium, 8 p.m.

With their 2024 release, “Softly Softly,” Tall Heights—Paul Wright (cello/vocals) and Tim Harrington (guitar/vocals)—reject isolation; both the universal experience of the early 2020s, and in sound recording where different instruments are recorded separately. Harrington explains, “The opposite of isolation in recording is bleed, where you hear the drums and guitar through the vocal mic because everything is happening in the same room. It’s risky because you can't easily change it later. You’re stuck with whatever you get. Bleeding is just the perfect word for it. It's scary and it sometimes hurts.”

Felix Martin w/ Ando San  @ X-Ray Arcade, 6:30 p.m.

Felix Martin and Ando San bring a night of math rock and jazz fusion to Cudahy. Felix Martin is a Venezuelan is based out of the elite Los Angeles music scene in California, whose unique and versatile style consists of an eclectic metal sound with Latin music and jazz fusion genre mixes. Ando San’s “Prog-hop” focuses heavily on progressive guitar and hip-hop beats.