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WI State Fair attendee eating a Loaded Twister Dog
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Margo Price
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Photo credit: Amanda Lillian Mills
Nickel&Rose
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Tom Bailey
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Richard “Kinky” Friedman
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Kool Keith
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The Wisconsin State Fair returns while Center Street Daze captures Riverwest at its finest and a new festival debuts at the Summerfest grounds.
Thursday, Aug. 2
WI State Fair attendee eating a Loaded Twister Dog
Wisconsin State Fair @ Wisconsin State Fair Grounds, 8 a.m.
And we’re off. A state tradition dating back to 1851, the Wisconsin State Fair returns for another 11 marathon days of amusement rides, music, animal showcases, deep-fried novelties and caloric indulgences. For this year’s opening day, guests can get in for just $2 when they donate two cans of pears or peaches. Two popular Milwaukee acts, soul-rock singer Abby Jeanne and rockers Tigernite will co-headline an 8 p.m. bill at the fair’s Associated Bank Amphitheater, while country artist Montgomery Gentry headlines the venue’s ticketed Main Stage. The fair runs through Sunday, Aug. 12.
Kool Keith
Kool Keith w/ Rizenhower The Great Poupon, Guerilla Ghost and Taiyamo Denku @ Riverwest Public House, 8 p.m.
Kool Keith may or may not have actually been institutionalized for mental illness, but regardless of its veracity, that story became one of hip-hop’s most powerful rumors. It’s easy to see why so many people believe it: Years before Lil Wayne made lunatic rhymes fashionable, Keith was rapping in dense, manic and utterly off-the-wall imagery, first as the engine behind the golden-age Bronx rap crew the Ultramagnetic MC’s and then as the demented mind behind Dr. Octagon, his gynecologist-in-space epic with producer Dan the Automator. Keith has bounced between myriad personas since that career-defining project, among them Black Elvis, Dr. Dooom, Reverand Tom, Mr. Nogatco and Tashan Dorrsett. He’s not much for quality control, but even his shakiest albums occasionally recapture the bizarre spark that made Dr. Octagon such an instant underground phenomenon.
Editor's Note: Police Shut Down Kool Keith's Riverwest Public House Show
Margo Price
Margo Price w/ Count This Penny @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m.
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“A little pain never hurt anyone,” Margo Price sings on her second album of sweet, old-school country, 2017’s All American Made, and she should know, because she’s experienced her share of it. Like Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette and the other country greats she draws from, Price draws from a deep well of personal tragedy, turning her losses into resilient, peppy tunes. It’s easy to see what Jack White saw in her when he signed her as the first country artist on his label Third Man Records. Price’s latest album also features a cameo from the legendary Willie Nelson on the track “Learning to Lose.”
Friday, Aug. 3
Colin Quinn @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m.
In the years since he left “Saturday Night Live,” where he manned the “Weekend Update” desk in the late ’90s after Norm Macdonald was fired for making too many OJ Simpson jokes, New York comedian Colin Quinn has appeared in movies like Grown Ups, That’s My Boy and Trainwreck, where he played Amy Schumer’s father. But mostly he’s continued doing standup, releasing a series of specials for HBO and Netflix. Back on the road after suffering a heart attack earlier this year, the 59-year-old comedy veteran headlines this show as part of the Milwaukee Comedy Festival, which runs at multiple venues through Sunday, Aug. 5.
Saturday, Aug. 4
Center Street Daze @ Center Street, 11 a.m.
No event captures the quirky, communal spirit that makes the Riverwest neighborhood such a treasure quite like Center Street Daze. The festival celebrates its 21th year this weekend with a full day of music—at The Uptowner, Jazz Gallery, High Dive, Company Brewing, Quarters Rock ‘n’ Roll Palace and Club Timbuktu, with bands and DJs including Adi Amour, Voots Warning, Ruth B8r Ginsburg, Taj Raiden, Klassik, El Escapado, Slaughter Party, Andy Noble and Selector Max—and a ton of quirky tournaments and competitions, which in recent years have included pushcart races, street pool tournaments, dodgeball and pinball. Riverwest Radio will also be broadcasting live throughout the day.
Black Arts Fest @ Summerfest Grounds
Filling the void left behind by the African World Festival, which hosted its last event at the Summerfest grounds in 2013, this year the venue debuts a new African American arts festival called Black Arts Fest MKE. In addition to dance presentations and workshops, children’s activities, art displays and local vendors, the event will feature a variety of music including gospel, blues and Motown, and headliners including 84-year-old blues legend Bobby Rush, the pioneering R&B trio Tony! Toni! Toné!, hip-hop legend MC Lyte, former “American Idol” contestant Naima Adedapo, and Milwaukee’s premier Prince tribute band, The Prince Experience.
Monday, Aug. 6
Richard “Kinky” Friedman
Kinky Friedman w/ Jim Hoehn @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
Singer, novelist, satirist and occasional political candidate Richard “Kinky” Friedman doesn’t like to limit himself when it comes to his career options. After playing music with his first band, King Arthur and the Carrots, at the University of Texas at Austin, Friedman served two years in the Peace Corps, where he met his road manager Dylan Ferrero. Since then, the veteran entertainer has refined his sardonic country rock as a solo act and with various backing band lineups, producing controversial numbers like “They Ain’t Makin’ Jews Like Jesus Anymore” and comedic songs such as “Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed.”
Wednesday, Aug. 8
WebsterX: Choose Your Own Adventure @ Heart Haus, 8 p.m.
Milwaukee rapper WebsterX has been busy this summer, releasing a series of new singles as part of a campaign he’s dubbed his “Restless Summer.” He’ll return to performing later this month with a show at Tiefenthaler Park on Saturday, Aug. 25, but first he’s presenting this art installation/immersive experience featuring a variety of artists and musicians from around the city, including Malcolm McCrae, Q The Sun, Siren, B~Free, Quinten Farr and WC Tank. It’s at a pop-up location called the Heart Haus (727 N. Milwaukee St.) and will feature drinks from Enlightened Brewing and Gathering Place Brewing. Admission is free for attendees 21 and over, though an RSVP is required.
Photo credit: Amanda Lillian Mills
Nickel&Rose
Nickel&Rose w/ Mama’s Broke @ Anodyne Coffee, 8 p.m.
Two duos that explore the boundaries of roots music share this bill at Anodyne Coffee. As Mama’s Broke, Canadian songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Amy Lou and Lisa Maria create a pastiche of Americana, blues and Celtic music, while incorporating elements of dance into their performances. They’re joined here by Milwaukee’s Nickle&Rose, the pairing of upright bassist Johanna Rose and guitarist Carl Nichols, who sing songs of heartbreak, resilience and acceptance. They’ll release their new EP Americana in September.
Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey @ Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, 8 p.m.
Unlike many of the bigger pop groups of the ’80s, Thompson Twins never cashed in with reunion tours after breaking up. Known for their hit “Hold Me Now,” the new wave group never regrouped after their 1993 breakup, and for more than two decades, frontman Tom Bailey avoided performing their songs live, as he focused on a new career scoring film. In recent years he’s been back on the road, though, and now he has some new music to perform along with those old Thompson Twins hits. This year he released his first solo album, and first new record in a quarter century: Science Fiction, which he recorded on his laptop while touring the world.
