Bay View Bash, McKinley Dixon, Lene Lovich, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Dream Theater and more—This Week in Milwaukee Music!
“Revolution Get Down” by The BellRays
Friday, Sept. 19
Outlaw Music Festival @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre (2699 County Road D, East Troy), 4 p.m.
“Pancho and Lefty” by Willie Nelson & Bob Dylan
A package tour that encompasses the modern history of American popular music. Past, present and future take the stage when Willie Nelson & Family, Bob Dylan, Sheryl Crow, Waxahatchee, Madeline Edwards play the storied outdoor venue.
McKinley Dixon w/Otto Benson and Ghais Guevara @ Falcon Bowl
“Magic, Alive!” by McKinley Dixon
“Magic, Alive!” is the wake-up call. BrooklynVegan called the album “a genre-blurring jazz-rap concept album about three kids that lose their best friend, fleshed out by layers of instrumentation, a star-studded indie-rap cast, and more.”
Saturday, Sept. 20
Bay View Bash @ between Potter and Clement on Kinnickinnic Avenue, 11 a.m.
“Propaganda Machine” by Abby Jeanne
The unofficial end of summer is marked by the annual street festival. Food, drink, vendors Punk Rock Yoga with Sarah from Healium and information booths—and five stages of entertainment. Music includes Diet Lite, Abby Jeanne And The Shadowband, The BellRays and Fox Face.
Hungry Hearts @ Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, 8 p.m.
The 4th Annual Hungry Hearts - A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen for the Benefit of the American Heart Association gathers seven acts for a deep dive into Springsteen’s catalog. Artists include Johnston Brothers, Maximiano, Pete Freeman, Soup Totes du Jour, Riverwest Aces, Kid Elephant and Chris Haise Band.
The Darkness w/Mark Daly @ The Rave, 8 p.m.
“Rock and Roll Party Cowboy” by The Darkness
Brooding, magnificent. Like the mighty mother condor sitting upon a rock egg in a nest of curly hair on the side of a powerful mountain. Glam metal never died, it just turned into The Darkness. While the band echoes the likes of AC/DC, Queen and Def Leppard, fans of Spinal Tap might also take note.
Lene Lovich w/ Video Sex Priest @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
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“Lucky Number” by Lene Lovich
Lene Lovich was among the first wave of artists to record for Stiff Records in the late ‘70s; “Lucky Number” was the featured cut from the quirky vocalist’s debut album Stateless. In 2023, Cherry Red Records released a four CD box set, Toy Box, containing material Lovich recorded for Stiff Records between 1978 and 1983. Her Milwaukee stop is part of Lovich’s first full North American tour in 35 years.
Sunday, Sept. 21
Puerto Rican Festival of Wisconsin @ Henry Maier Festival Park, 11 a.m.
Vibrant live music on two stages, Salsa classes, interactive workshops, and fun family-friendly activities. Over 90 vendors, Bomba y plena and authentic island cuisine—empanadillas, alcapurrias, pinchos, arroz con gandules and more.
He Is Legend w/ Eyes Set to Kill and Downswing @ X-Ray Arcade, 6 p.m.
“Wilderness” by Eyes Set To Kill
He Is Legend is described by AllMusic as a post-hardcore band originally known for their “blistering though surprisingly buoyant hybrid of metalcore and screamo before shifting into tones of rugged stoner metal and psych-infused hard rock.” They fully left their metalcore influences behind with the 2014 album Heavy Fruit, which added sludge metal and stoner rock on a foundation of hard rock.
Just like the beautiful flower, Eyes Set To Kill has gone through a metamorphosis. After years of being forced to conceal their aspirations, the Phoenix, Arizona-based collective finally reveal their true identity on their upcoming fourth studio album appropriately entitled White Lotus.
“It’s a symbolic name,” Alexia Rodriguez states. “We have a clear mind set, we have purity and we know exactly what we want to do with our music. We know who we are and where we want to go, and so we wanted to use a white lotus to symbolize how confident and focused we are. It’s a leap for us because we have a clearer vision of what we want.”
Since 2016, Downswing have steadily evolved into a powerhouse of modern metal and groove. The group’s current incarnation emphasizes big choruses, bigger breakdowns, atmosphere and emotion. “This is the first time it feels like we’re doing exactly what we want,” says vocalist Harrison Seanor, who joined the band in 2020. “We’re not chasing any specific trend or scene. We’re Downswing.”
Monday, Sept. 22
Wombo w/ Smut and Lunde @ Cactus Club, 7 p.m.
“Neon Bog” by Wombo
Louisville’s Wombo first had to tear apart standard practices of writing, workshopping material in their post-war basement rehearsal space were paused, as the band explored alternative writing processes for its third album Danger in Fives. “We really quickly threw a lot of paint down and it was almost the picture, but we still tweaked it for a year,” Cameron Lowe says. Cincinnati’s Smut and Milwaukee’s Lunde round out this festival of one-word bands.
Tuesday, Sept. 23
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings @ The Pabst Theater, 7:30 p.m.
“Look at Miss Ohio” by Gillian Welch & David Rawlings (LIVE at The Late Show)
Here’s a prediction: one day in the future Gillian Welch and David Rawlings will grace a commemorative U.S. postage stamp. Transcending the parameters of folk music since 1996, the duo’s career has been based on richly detailed songwriting and telepathic acoustic guitar interplay. As if they needed more inspiration, in 2020 the duo’s Nashville studio was struck and severely damaged by a tornado.
Wednesday, Sept. 24
Dream Theater – 40th Anniversary Tour w/ Parasomnia and A Change of Season @ Miller High Life Theatre, 8 p.m.
Photo by mark Maryanovich
Dream Theater
Dream Theater
With Dream Theater concerts plus intermission clocking in at three hours, audiences can expect to hear several songs from the new album as well as a generous selection of fan favorites.
Back in the mid-‘70s, progressive rock bands were roundly criticized for their excessive displays of instrumental virtuosity, shifting time signatures, banks of synthesizers and fondness for concept albums. Rolling Stone magazine’s most prominent critic Lester Bangs went so far as to blame them for “the insidious befoulment of all that was gutter pure in rock.” Years later, bands like Radiohead would wince any time the term showed up in reviews.
Dream Theater’s founding guitarist and co-producer John Petrucci—whose band started out in the mid-1980s and is often described as progressive metal—has no problem with either term. Over the course of 16 albums, the group’s music has combined, and at times, transcended both genres.
