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Credit: Janice Vogt
SistaStrings and Nickel&Rose
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Flatbush Zombies
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Wild Pink
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Photo credit: Jimmy Fontaine
All Time Low
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Annuel AA
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Photo credit: Steve Lankford
George Winston
Milwaukee music staples Mark Waldoch and Testa Rosa have lined up something special for their latest holiday bill.
Thursday, Dec. 20
Wild Pink
Wild Pink w/ Thompson Springs @ The Back Room at Colectivo, 8 p.m.
For whatever reason, slowcore hasn’t been passed down from generation to generation the way that some sub-genres of indie-rock have been, but the Brooklyn trio Wild Pink show how powerful those sounds can still be when they’re done right. Drawing on the distinctive, purposeful pacing of bands like Red House Painters and Codeine, theirs is a particularly crisp, muscular take on the style. The group followed up their 2017 self-titled debut album with a louder, more assured record this year called Yolk in the Fur. Like many of the most exciting indie-rock records of the last couple of years, both were released on the label Tiny Engines.
Friday, Dec. 21
Photo credit: Ebru Yildiz
Rhett Miller
Rhett Miller w/ Trapper Schoepp @ The Back Room at Colectivo, 8 p.m.
Rhett Miller never let his solo ambitions get in the way of his alt-country band Old 97’s, even after he found considerable critical and commercial success with his 2002 solo debut The Instigator. He’s continued writing and recording with Old 97’s while juggling a solo career on the side. His most recent solo records—including 2015’s The Traveler, an inward-leaning indie-pop album recorded with assistance from R.E.M.’s Peter Buck and members of The Decemberists, and this year’s plainspoken The Messenger—give him a chance to take a breather from Old 97’s breathless rock ’n’ roll and showcase some of his most personal songs. He’ll be joined on this bill by a kindred spirit: Milwaukee’s Trapper Schoepp, who has a new album planned for early next year.
Flatbush Zombies
Flatbush Zombies w/ Denzel Curry and A$AP Twelvyy @ The Rave, 8 p.m.
New York may no longer be hip-hop’s creative center, but there’s still no shortage of young talent coming out of the city. Flatbush Zombies have been one of the better acts to emerge from Brooklyn over the last few years, a group with a clear appreciation for the genre’s past and a clear vision for where they’d like to take it going forward. On their 2016 debut album 3001: A Laced Odyssey, they resurrect the gritty horrorcore sound pioneered by The Gravediggaz then put their own bleakly psychedelic spin on it, creating an album that feels strangely out of time. The band’s new sophomore album Vacation in Hell is even more expansive, and features guest spots from Joey Badass, Jadakiss, A$AP Twelvyy, Bun B and, most memorably, the alternative band Portugal. The Man. Flatbush Zombies return to the Rave after a sold-out show there in May.
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Saturday, Dec. 22
Mark Waldoch and Testa Rosa Holiday Special @ The Cooperage, 8 p.m.
Each year local Milwaukee music scene fixtures Mark Waldoch and Testa Rosa curate a holiday bill filled with surprise collaborations, covers and originals. And unlike the holiday specials you grew up watching on TV, these specials don’t repeat themselves. This year the musicians have organized a fresh lineup featuring Chris Rosenau, Lex Allen, Barry Clark, Caley Conway, Mike Noyce, Jeff Mitchell, Rae Cassidy and Joe Crockett, as well as the live debut of L’Resorts, the new project from Jaill’s Vincent Kircher and Lady Cannon’s Martha Cannon. The group released a debut EP of dreamy, tropical-inspired throwback pop called Christmas is a Time For Dreaming earlier this month.
Credit: Janice Vogt
SistaStrings and Nickel&Rose
SistaStrings and Nickel&Rose @ Anodyne Coffee, 8 p.m.
Though sisters Monique and Chauntee Ross of the string duo SistaStrings approach their music from a classical background, their sound has proven exceptionally portable. They dabble in R&B, hip-hop, jazz and rock as well, and they’ve performed with artists from all of those worlds. Lately their drive for collaboration has led to performances with another Milwaukee duo, the folk enthusiasts Nickel&Rose, who this year released their breakout EP Americana to exceptional reviews around Milwaukee and beyond. After playing together at the Washington Park concert series this summer, the two acts put together this show, which will feature individual sets from both groups then end with a combined set.
Photo credit: Jimmy Fontaine
All Time Low
All Time Low w/ The Maine and The Wrecks @ The Rave, 7 p.m.
Who said emo is something you outgrow? All Time Low first received national attention in 2003, when its members were still in high school, but adulthood hasn’t stopped the quartet from continuing to wallow in teen-like angst—albeit to a new background of R&B sounds. Their seventh studio album, The Last Young Renegade, came out last year to favorable reviews, including one from Rolling Stone which, noting the band’s newfound pop influence, commended them for broadening their sound “without jeopardizing what has made them so appealing to young listeners for more than a decade.” They’ve got some experience playing Milwaukee: This will be their 17th performance at the Rave, and they’ll be joined by The Maine, who will be playing the venue for the 14th time.
Sunday, Dec. 23
Annuel AA
One of the biggest stories in music this year was the rise of Latin trap, which crossed over to American charts in a big way. One of the guys leading that charge was Anuel AA, a Puerto Rican rapper with a reggaeton-inspired flow. His debut Real Hasta La Muerte premiered at number one on Billboard’s Latin albums chart, and just a month later he scored a number one on the Latin Songs chart with his 6ix9ine collaboration “Bebe.” More recently he was featured on Meek Mill’s new album Championships, on one of the album standouts “Uptown Vibes.”
Photo credit: Steve Lankford
George Winston
George Winston @ Marcus Center, 7 p.m.
A pioneer of a R&B-inspired playing style he’s dubbed “rural folk piano,” pianist George Winston has released 14 albums of solo piano, including his latest, Spring Carousel, a cancer research benefit album released on RCA Records. For this performance, though, Winston will draw from the two tribute albums he recorded to Vince Guaraldi, the famed jazz pianist beloved for his soundtrack to the “Charlie Brown Christmas” special. The show will also highlight other seasonal music.
