This Week in MKE Music: Oct. 2-8, 2025

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

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This Week in MKE Music

Malik Johnson at MAM, Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound CD release at Shank Hall, Beet Street in Bay View, Southern Culture on the Skids at Vivarium and more—This Week in Milwaukee Music!

Thursday, Oct. 2

Thursday Nights at MAM w/Malik Johnson @ Milwaukee Art Museum, 4 p.m.

Every Thursday night, meet up with friends for an artful evening together. Wander the galleries and ease into the weekend with live music and a bar in Windhover Hall. This evening’s musical guest is classically trained cellist, composer and music producer Malik Johnson, presented in partnership with WPR’s Pint-Sized Concert series.

Admission for Thursday Nights at MAM is pay-what-you-wish. A Museum ticket is needed to enter the exhibitions and collection galleries. Get yours at the admissions desk when you arrive—the amount you pay is up to you.

Friday, Oct. 3

Milwaukee Oktoberfest @ Henry Maier Festival Park, through Sunday

Milwaukee Oktoberfest moves to Henry Maier Festival Park, honoring Mayor Henry Maier’s vision of bringing Munich’s Oktoberfest spirit to Milwaukee with three days of German beer, brats, and music from Copper Box, The Squeezettes, Happy Shotskis and more.

For more events in the area, here's the Shepherd Express Oktoberfest Guide 2025

Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound CD release show @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.

“I’m the only one who didn’t go into the family business,” Paul Cebar jokes about his parents and sister, who all were teachers. Cebar’s notebooks, digital and otherwise, are filled with ideas. One never knows when an idea from 25 years ago will surface as relevant to project.

Get schooled, as Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound celebrate the release of the new album Paul Cebar, as Cebar, Reggie Bordeaux Mike Fredrickson and Bob Jennings work to fill Shank Hall’s dance floor.

Saturday, Oct. 4

Beet Street @ Wentworth and Potter Avenues, 1 p.m.

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The annual block party returns with tabling community partners and vendors, food and fun for the whole family. Local and international music acts include Brazilian psychedelic rock legends Os Mutantes along with Sophie Hunter, FTBK, Fellow Kinsman, Line Dancing and Klan 414.

Sunday, Oct. 5

The Art of Sheet Music @ Villa Terrace, through Jan. 18

The first hit song by a Milwaukeean was written by Charles K. Harris. His melancholic, romantic “After the Ball” sold five million copies—not records but sheet music. The success encouraged Harris to leave the Midwest in the 1890s and set himself up as a music publisher in New York’s “Tin Pan Alley,” a district named for the tinny sound of made-for-order tunes pounded out by aspiring writers on cheap pianos.

The success of “After the Ball” was an inspiration point for the Villa Terrace exhibition “The Beat Goes On! The Art and History of Sheet Music, 1897-1957.” “I started the exhibit with ‘After the Ball’ in mind because of its Milwaukee connection. We tried to draw on local sources when possible,” says Annemarie Sawkins, co-curator with Martha Chaiklin, the exhibit includes artifacts from songs commissioned for Milwaukee’s centennial celebration and concludes with sheet music, and an autographed electric guitar, from the “Wizard of Waukesha,” Les Paul. The exhibit will include special programming, more info here villaterrace.org/exhibitions_events/current_exhibition/?exid=38

The Beaches w/ Fightmaster @ The Rave, 8 p.m.

Canada’s The Beaches bring their No Hard Feelings Tour to Milwaukee. With the breakup song “Blame Brett,” the quartet hit big. Now the group digs deeper.

In an interview with the website them, Leandra Earl (guitar and keyboards) talked about writing the song “Lesbian of the Year.”

“I think since I’ve come out the discussion has been there. I think the first time we all thought about it was maybe a tour in 2020. I had just come out, I think. At a meet-and-greet, a fan was like, ‘You’re out and you post about being [queer] all the time, but when are you going to write a queer song?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, that’s so true.’ And Jordan [Miller] (vocals and bass) was like, ‘Yeah, we should be writing from each of our perspectives.’

I think [that is] what’s really great about this album. There are more ideas, and there’s a lot more that people can relate, to because there are four different personalities. I think it’s very inspiring to write music from that vantage point.”

Monday, Oct. 6

Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass @ Bradley Symphony Center, 7:30 p.m.

Enjoy an evening with Herb Alpert and his brandnew Tijuana Brass, touring for the first time in 35 years. As 2025 marks the 60th anniversary of their album, Whipped Cream & Other Delights, you'll groove to many of those great songs, in addition to other hits you know and love, including “The Lonely Bull”, “Spanish Flea,” “Taste of Honey,” “This Guy’s In Love With You,”, “What Now My Love,” and many others. The concert features a giant video screen that displays hundreds of classic photos, videos, art and various memorabilia from Alpert’s career.

Tuesday, Oct. 7

Milwaukee Guitar Club @ Puddler’s Hall, 6 p.m.

The Milwaukee Guitar Club Wants You!

Milwaukee Guitar Club meets on Tuesday nights 6-9:45p.m. in Puddler's Hall in Bay View. All acoustic instruments welcomed. Come join the fun of hanging out with other musicians. Learn a new song and lead songs (introduce the chords or bring sheets music to share). All styles of music.

Southern Culture on the Skids w/ The Exotics @ Vivarium, 8 p.m.

Some things you can just count on. Southern Culture on the Skids have been making regular stops in Milwaukee for decades. SCOTS concerts are reasons to be cheerful and this show pairs them with Milwaukee’s like-minded keepers of the flame of twang, The Exotics.

Wednesday, Oct. 8

Mutilation Barbecue w/ Dying Remains and Sacrificial @ Cactus Club, 6 p.m.

The Basement Collective, X-Ray Arcade present this midweek death metal extravaganza at Cactus Club. Maggot Stops recording artists Mutilation Barbecue (Cleveland) and Dying Remains (Calgary, Alberta) stop in Bay View as part of their Writhing in America. Milwaukee’s Sacrificial round out the bill.