This Week in MKE Music Sept. 24-30, 2026

Here are the shows we are looking forward to this week.

by

This Week in MKE Music

Thursday, Sept. 24

Artists Who Care Concert @ Tripoli Shrine Center, 6:30 p.m.

Here is a full night of music benefiting the children and families served by the Tripoli Shriners Transportation Fund. Artists have donated their performance so more proceeds can support transportation for Shriners children and their families. Louisiana gumbo, food and beverages will be available.

Music from Big Shoulders Brass Band (Chicago), Amber Weekes – Jazz Diva (Los Angeles), Laura Rain – Soul of Detroit (Detroit), The Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass (Philadelphia) and MOJO & The Bayou Gypsies (Louisiana)

More info https://tripolishrine.com/tripoli-shriners/about/events/ArtMID/6872/ArticleID/771/Artists-Who-Care-Concert-Click-Here-for-Details

They Might Be Giants @ The Pabst Theater, 7 p.m. (Friday is sold out.)

Renowned for their live shows, They Might Be Giants has now expanded to an eight-piece band, including a three-piece horn section. Spontaneous and sprawling, TMBG is back on the road with a show that is ever-evolving. The first set of each night spotlights a different album, while the second set will draw from every era of their career—from the earliest days of Dial-A-Song and the platinum album Flood to their brand new 2026 releases.

Friday, Sept. 25

RW Jazz Fest – various locations

John Coltrane was born on Sept. 23 and Miles died on Sept. 26. Together and separate they helped define jazz music. For one night Center Street in Riverwest becomes Milwaukee’s jazz epicenter. Performances include:

Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts

  • 926 E. Center St.
  • 6-8 p.m. Milwaukee Jazz Institute Student Ensemble
  • 8-10 p.m. Ben Dameron Quartet

Bar Centro

  • 804 E. Center St.
  • 7-8 p.m. DJ Mosh Wah
  • 8 p.m. - Faith Hatch

Club Timbuktu

  • 520 E. Center St.
  • WEPA Trio 6-8 p.m.
  • Carlos Adames 8-10 p.m.

Diaspora

  • 735 E. Center St.
  • Gil Jazz 6-8 p.m.
  • Manty Ellis Tribute with Sam Belton 8-10 p.m.
  • After-fest Jazz Jam 10-12 p.m.

Keep the Shepherd Free

Support Milwaukee's locally owned free weekly magazine.

LEARN MORE

More info here. 

Spidora w/ Won’t Stay Dead and Bad Year @ Sabbatic, 9 p.m.

Spidora brings moody heavy post punk psyched out in a tropicalia way from Milwaukee by way of Brazil. Bring your Portuguese to English dictionary! Chicago’s Won’t Stay Dead deliver spooky horror gothic punk that you can dance to, and Milwaukee’s Bad Year tops off the show with danceable/brooding melodic punk.

Saturday, Sept. 26

Franklin Jonas & The Byzantines w/ Polyglam @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.

With influences including Gillian Welch, Dave Rawlings, Dan Reeder, and Ruston Kelly, Franklin Jonas’ music blends intimate lyricism with Americana storytelling. His songs capture the grit of what’s been lived and the glow of what’s still to come.

Carving his own path with a sound rooted in storytelling, reflection, and renewal, after releasing his debut EP Sewer Rat in his early twenties, Jonas took a step back from releasing music to discover his voice, his influences, and his sense of self.

That exploration gave rise to his new project, Franklin Jonas & The Byzantines—inspired by the idea that life can be rebuilt after collapse, just as the Roman Empire lived on in Byzantium for a thousand years after its supposed fall.

Kings of Soul @ MSO, also Sunday

Principal Pops Conductor Byron Stripling returns, opening the season with a concert honoring the true kings of classic soul. Groove to the greatest hits from legendary artists Marvin Gaye, Jackie Wilson, James Brown, Otis Redding, The Temptations, Al Green, Barry White, and Curtis Mayfield, including “Soul Man,” “Shop Around,” “Stand By Me,” and more.

More info here.

The Low Down @ Indeed Brewing Company, Noon

An all-day block party celebration of beer, live music, local food, and unique vendors outside of Indeed Brewing Company in Walker’s Point. Music includes DJ Ascot, Hanna Simone, Emmitt James, Totally Cashed and Chapped Lips. More info here https://indeedbrewing.com/event/the-low-down/

Third Space 10th Anniversary Party @ Third Space Brewing, Noon

Third Space Brewing turns 10 with a full day at the brewery honoring a decade in craft beer. From Noon-2 p.m. current members, current or former employees, and anyone wearing Third Space merch will receive one free beer.

Live music will be provided by Wire and Nail Duo, Litmus Vinyl, Derek Pritzl and Steph Lippert Project. Food trucks include MKE Bento, Twisted Plants and Pina Mexican Eats. More info https://thirdspacebrewing.com/events/

Lowlands 20th Anniversary Block Party @ Café Hollander, 2 p.m.

Live music featuring Tim Wright, Marr’lo Parada & Katy Ambrose, Reyna and Pxnch as Lowlands turns 20. Billed as a thank you to the East Side and every neighborhood a Lowlands restaurant calls home, it is an open invitation to gather, not just a party to watch. Guests can expect live music, festival snacks, and a full lineup of bier, wine, and cocktails, all in the spirit of building community.

Hungry Hearts @ Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, 8 p.m.

The fifth annual benefit for the American Heart Association presents a full night of artists interpreting the music of Bruce Springsteen. This year’s lineup includes Johnston Brothers, Maximiano, J.R. Wesley, Lily Slay and the Vertebrae, Kid Elephant and Chris Haise Band.

Unsane w/ The Crosses @ X-Ray Arcade, 6:30 p.m.

NYC’s Unsane has been at it since 1988; led by vocalist-guitarist Chris Spencer the trio blurs the lines between punk, metal, and noise. Which makes perfect sense to pair the evening with The Crosses, the Milwaukee punk outfit that features Die Kreuzen vocalist Dan Kubinski.

Sunday, Sept. 27

Fifth Annual Bean Plant Block Party @ Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co., Noon

The event will take place outside on Bruce Street between 2nd and 3rd Streets, featuring skateboard ramps and obstacles, beer from Indeed Brewing Co., vintage and locally made items, live music, food trucks and more. The event is free and open to the public, and skaters of all skill levels are encouraged to participate. Expect live music from Paper Flames, Breakup Tour, SS Web, Spectra and Perro Mundo.

Monday, Sept. 28

Amigo the Devil w/Liam St. John @ The Rave, 8 p.m.

Amigo the Devil’s songwriting has been described as influenced by the honesty of Leonard Cohen, the creativity of Tom Waits and the ruthlessness of Chavela Vargas.

Tuesday, Sept. 29

The Linda Lindas w/ VIAL and Scorched Waves @ Turner Hall, 8 p.m.

Gotta Get Out, the third album from The Linda Lindas is the sound of a band discovering itself. Historically, they have written individually and brought songs to the table. It was a process that served them well through their impressive, Ramones-esque debut Growing Up (2022) and its forceful follow-up No Obligation (2024). The two records took them from L.A. Chinatown all-ages scene mainstays to tours with Green Day and song placements in Inside Out 2. But for this one, they wanted something a little different.

“For the first time, we were presenting ideas to each other that weren’t fully formed. That was scary. But we worked through everything together and figured out the role each of us naturally plays,” Lucia de la Garza explains. “Writing together was a way to find our collective sound,” adds Eloise Wong. “Anything can work if we’re all shaping it together. We can write this slow indie song or a funky dance-y song. And it can all be for the band because we all worked on it together.”

Wednesday, Sept. 30

The Inspector Cluzo w/ April Dejon @ Cactus Club, 7 p.m.

The Inspector Cluzo story might be amazing. The French duo’s name was suggested by Fishbone’s Angelo Moore. With a style that has been called a fusion of funk and metal, the bass player-less duo’s label is called F*ckthebassplayer Records. With at least a dozen albums and EPS.

Additionally, the duo runs a 15-hectare self-sustaining organic family farm where they produce organic wheat and organic corn with their own free seeds, raise gray geese and other plants and animals. While they consider farming their focus, they split their time between the farm and their work as musician-composers.

Wielding (perhaps) the only chromatic mountain dulcimer in all of Milwaukee, April Dejon writes songs for angsty women and sad queers.