1 of 5
Photo credit: Brantley Gutierrez
Amos Lee
2 of 5
Boosie Badazz
3 of 5
Photo credit: John Peets
Eric Church
4 of 5
Mumford And Sons
5 of 5
The Pixies
Lil Baby returns to The Rave, while Mumford & Sons promise “a groundbreaking new show” at Fiserv Forum.
Thursday, March 28
Thou w/ Emma Ruth Rundle and Social Caterpillar @ Company Brewing, 9 p.m.
Working from a DIY template, the Baton Rouge metal group Thou has built their following by pushing the boundaries of sludge metal, experimenting with outside styles that underscore the band’s heaviness. The band also does a mean Nirvana cover: They’ve released several of them on tribute albums for the record label Robotic Empire, including a vicious “Floyd the Barber.” They released their latest album, Magus, last year for Sacred Bones Records. They’ll share this show with another artist who plays with metal in some expected ways. She’s a member of the heavy post-rock bands Red Sparowes and Marriages, but she does some of her most haunting work under her own name. She released her most recent collection of uneasy folk, On Dark Horses, last year on Sargent House.
Friday, March 29
Boosie Badazz
Boosie Badazz & Friends w/ Webbie and Mo3 @ The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.
Formerly known as Lil Boosie, the rapper Boosie Badazz is no stranger to Milwaukee—in fact, in 2017, he was even given honorary keys to the city. That unlikely honor was the Common Council’s way of recognizing him for a visit he made in 2016 to the Mary Ryan Boys and Girls Club on Sherman Boulevard, where, according to the proclamation, Boosie “encouraged the kids in the audience to figure out what they do best, master it, chase their dreams and never give up.” Since being released from prison in 2014 after a five-year stint, the distinctively drawled Louisiana rapper has continued working at his usual aggressive pace, serving up a steady stream of new mixtapes and albums of trunk-rattling Southern rap.
|
|
Photo credit: John Peets
Eric Church
Eric Church @ Fiserv Forum, 8 p.m.
Country singer Eric Church carries himself like a rock star in concert—the guy is a fan of pyrotechnics—but in the studio, he’s a far more complex creature. Without straying too far from commercial country radio’s norms, his records have flirted with honky tonk and outlaw country (Merle Haggard guested on his blockbuster 2006 debut Sinners Like Me), as well as rustic folk music. His 2015 album Mr. Misunderstood was his greatest commercial gambit yet, a record that looks as much to the mellow, low-key sounds of modern alt-country and Americana as it does to country radio. It featured guest appearances from blues singer Susan Tedeschi and Rhiannon Giddens of the old-time country band Carolina Chocolate Drops. Amazingly for a country star of his stature, his 2018 follow-up Desperate Man doubled down even further on modesty, keeping the emphasis firmly on Church’s intimate songwriting. (Also Saturday, March 30.)
Saturday, March 30
Lil Baby w/ City Girls, Blueface, Jordan Hollywood, Rylo Rodriguez, Marlo and 42 Dugg @ The Rave, 8 p.m.
Thanks to an early co-sign from fellow Atlanta rapper Young Thug, Lil Baby hit the ground running after serving two years in prison on drug charges. Less than a year after his release, he’d cemented himself as one of the city’s hottest rappers, thanks to mixtapes like last year’s Too Hard, which showcased his melodic voice and vivid storytelling. It didn’t take long for the world outside of Atlanta to recognize his talent, either. He enjoyed a breakthrough 2018, thanks to his official debut album Harder Than Ever and its Drake-assisted single “Yes Indeed,” then he furthered his profile with Drip Harder, a hit mixtape that partnered Baby with fellow Atlantan Gunna. Its single “Drip Too Hard” became his highest charting track yet. Also on this bill is Blueface, a California rapper who’s quickly becoming one of rap’s most debated acts, thanks to his unusual, off-beat flow. His breakout hit “Thotiana” has been remixed repeatedly, with one particularly notable version featuring YG and Cardi B.
Photo credit: Benjamin Weatherston
Verve Pipe
Verve Pipe w/ Daniel Rey @ The Back Room at Colectivo, 8 p.m.
The Verve Pipe were one of dozens of alternative bands gobbled up by major labels in the wake of Nirvana’s success, and they made the most of their opportunity, releasing their grungy major-label debut Villains in 1996. It included their first hit, “Photograph,” and their signature song, “The Freshmen,” the melodramatic tale of a high schooler’s suicide. The band has released albums sporadically since, and although they were never able to recreate that album’s success, they’ve retained a loyal fanbase thanks in part to their intimate live shows. At this show, they’ll be joined by Daniel Rey, better known as Dejan Kralj of The Gufs.
Sunday, March 31
Mumford And Sons
Mumford & Sons w/ Cat Power @ Fiserv Forum, 7:30 p.m.
Perhaps it was inevitable, given their success and the risk of being boxed in by their distinctive, hard-strummed folk revival style, but Mumford & Sons sound a little bit less like Mumford & Sons with each album. By 2015’s Wilder Mind, a rich, lustrous album co-produced by Aaron Dessner (whose band The National loomed large over the record, Mumford & Sons were already toning down the folk signatures of their breakout debut Sigh No More, playing up electric instruments and letting the drums make their presence known. Their fourth and latest album Delta is even more electric, so much so that it often sounds indistinguishable from the bombastic, Imagine Dragons-style rock that dominates alternative radio right now. Maybe they’ll reconnect with their folk roots on this tour, which promises “a ground-breaking new show in the round.” They’re joined on the bill by indie-rock singer-songwriter Cat Power, who returned from a hiatus last year with an assertive, typically spellbinding new record, Wanderer.
Sherman Park Arts Festival Community Arts Day @ Mary Ryan Boys & Girls Club, 2-5 p.m.
The Milwaukee-based Jewish nonprofit organization RUACH has organized this event, now in its second year, which celebrates the diverse spirit of Sherman Park with an afternoon of all-ages arts and music. It’s free and open to the public. “Sherman Park, like many communities across America, is sometimes troubled by divisiveness and prejudice,” RUACH’s Executive Director Josh Richman said in a statement. “But Sherman Park is also illustrative in its successes of the great potential that people have to live happily side by side even if we are not all the same. The arts serve as a welcoming common bond that can bring people of different backgrounds together in harmony.”
Photo credit: Brantley Gutierrez
Amos Lee
Amos Lee @ The Riverside Theater, 7:30 p.m.
After working as an elementary school teacher for two years, Philly musician Amos Lee quit to devote himself to his soulful blues songwriting. His 2003 EP drew interest from fellow jazz composer Norah Jones and earned him an opening spot on her 2004 tour. Their rapport fostered future professional relations, particularly on his self-titled debut album, which was produced by Jones’ bassist and included her vocals and instrumentation. 2013’s Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song, widened his musical territory, introducing more pep into his songs, while 2016’s Spirit drew heavily from the spirit of ’70s soul and contemporary R&B. His latest, last year’s My New Moon, features some of his most political songs yet.
Monday, April 1
The Pixies
The Pixies w/ Basement @ The Rave, 8 p.m.
When The Pixies finally reunited in 2004, to great fanfare, they probably didn’t expect to still be on the road together 14 years later. These days, they have some new songs to play: After bassist Kim Deal left the band in 2013, they released a pair of full lengths, 2014’s uneven Indie Cindy and 2016’s (much better) Head Carrier. It shouldn’t be too surprising that the new music was received with cold reviews; there was no way any new music from the band could live up to enigmatic albums like Surfer Rosa or Doolittle, flawless LPs that helped lay the groundwork for an entire generation of alternative and indie bands. Nonetheless, Head Carrier in particular is the work of a band that, at the very least, is enjoying themselves. It may not be a classic, but after all these years, it’s reassuring that The Pixies still sound like The Pixies. The band dug deep into their songbook when they last played Milwaukee in July at Summerfest, sharing all sorts of loud and weird deep cuts from their early years. If they keep that intensity up, fans at this show are in for a treat.
Wednesday, April 3
Kevn Kinney and Friends @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
Kevn Kinney left behind Milwaukee in the ’80s to find success in Atlanta with his country-rock band Drivin N Cryin, but he’s returned here often, and regularly swings back through town to perform behind whatever recent music he’s released, be it solo or with Drivin N Cryin. Those solo albums have features guests like R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, Warren Haynes and John Popper. Recently one of his old Drivin N Cryin songs reached a new audience when a cover of “Straight to Hell,” from 1989’s Mystery Road, was included on Darius Rucker’s 2017 album When Was the Last Time (with guests Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan). What might Kinney have in store for this free show? It remains to be seen, but he certainly has no shortage of songs to pull from.
