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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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Photo credit: Levi Walton
Dinosaur Jr.
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Bob Forrest
Indian Summer, the Third Ward Art Festival, Silver City International Festival and Harbor Fest give Milwaukee plenty of reasons to head outdoors this weekend.
Thursday, Sept. 6
American Idol: Live! w/ Forever in Your Mind @ The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.
It couldn’t help but feel anticlimactic when ABC launched a reboot of “American Idol” just a few years after the once-iconic singing competition finished its 15-season run on Fox. “American Idol” had already been running on fumes for a half decade, and ABC’s reboot with hosts Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie wasn’t able to recapture the buzz the show had in its early years, when it was a bona fide phenomenon. Nonetheless, the show has been renewed for another season and, just like in the good old days, is celebrating the end of its most recent season with a tour featuring its finalists, including winner Maddie Poppe. Season eight winner Kris Allen will also perform.
Friday, Sept. 7
Indian Summer @ Summerfest Grounds
Each year Indian Summer wraps up Milwaukee’s summer run of outdoor ethnic festivals with by celebrating the rich cultural heritage of Great Lakes Native American communities. Along with the daily pow-wows, attractions include Native American arts and craft demonstrations, storytelling demonstrations, amateur boxing, an array of dance performances, a tribal farmers market, yoga, and lacrosse games, all of which are best enjoyed while snacking on some fry bread or other traditional foods like bison, walleye, wild rice and hominy soup. And for those who didn’t get their fill this summer, there will be a fireworks display Saturday night at 10 p.m. (Through Sunday, Sept. 9.)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar @ Marcus Center, 8 p.m.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar needs to introduction, especially here in Milwaukee where he was the face of the Milwaukee Bucks. Over his 20 seasons in the NBA, the towering player broke seemingly every record there was to break, retiring in 1989 as the league’s all-time leader in points scored, games played, blocked shots and defensive rebounds at the time. In this program, titled Becoming Kareem after the book of the same name, Abdul-Jabbar will discuss his legendary career, his love of music and his long involvement in social justice with Emmy-winning sports commentator Roy Firestone. Wisconsin sportscaster Bill Michaels will host the event.
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Bob Forrest
Don’t Die Wisconsin: “A Night with Bob” @ Todd Wehr Conference Center, 7 p.m.
One of the most important ways to combat the opioid epidemic is simply by talking about it in order to erase the stigma of addiction. That’s the approach taken by “Don’t Die Wisconsin,” a weekly podcast about the heroin and opioid epidemic. The podcast hosts two events this weekend: A Friday night conversation with Thelonious Monster singer and “Celebrity Rehab” alum Bob Forrest at MSOE’s Todd Wehr Conference Center featuring Aids Resource Center of Wisconsin spokesperson Mat Hazelberg and alderman Michael Murphy. They’ll discuss the city’s effort to combat addiction and the spread of hepatitis C and HIV among Milwaukee drug users. Then on Saturday Club Garibaldi will host a benefit concert for the Aids Resource Center featuring music from Liv Mueller, Bob Forrest and Xposed 4-Heads. The Aids Resource Center will provide Narcan training at the event.
Saturday, Sept. 8
Silver City International Festival @ National Avenue, noon-5 p.m.
National Avenue is one of the most ethnically diverse and culturally rich stretches of Milwaukee, featuring restaurants and businesses representing the art and cuisine of countries from all over the globe. The annual Silver City International Festival on National Avenue from 33rd to 35th Streets showcases what the neighborhood has to offer. In addition to global cuisine, the event features live art, music, children’s activities and dance performances from Salsa Power, Escamilla Entertainment, Sindoolaa and Salsabrosa Dance Company.
Harbor Fest and Riverkeeper Boat Parade @ UWM School of Freshwater Sciences, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
For years Milwaukee’s harbor was one of those parts of the city that people instinctively avoided, but the city’s non-profit Harbor District, along with some business and community leaders, has been making a big push to turn the area into an inviting public plaza. As part of the push to reintroduce the city to the harbor, the organization is hosting this free, family-friendly festival outside of UWM’s School of Freshwater Sciences (600 E. Greenfield Ave.) featuring a boat parade, paddling lessons, fishing lessons, a bike tour, games, music and refreshments. If you haven’t been to the harbor recently, you’re likely to be surprised by how inviting it has become. The boat parade begins at noon and will feature large floats from local artists, which will include snails, sea monsters and a giant, beer-devouring robot. The parade will be viewable from Harbor Fest as well as many riverfront bars and restaurants, some of which will be hosting viewing parties.
Third Ward Art Festival @ Historic Third Ward, 10 a.m.
The Third Ward is Milwaukee’s most arts-dense district. For the seventh year in a row, the neighborhood will celebrate that reputation with the Third Ward Art Festival along Broadway Street between St. Paul and Menomonee Streets. The free, two-day juried festival will showcase more than 140 artists, including three dozen from Wisconsin, covering nearly every medium imaginable, from painting, drawing, photography, print-making and furniture to glass, fiber and ceramics. Attendees will be able to purchase work and chat with the artists. There will also be youth activities, crepes and live music. (Through Sunday, Sept. 9.)
Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band @ BMO Harris Pavilion, 8 p.m.
The most approachable member of The Beatles, Ringo Starr balanced out a band with a larger-than-life reputation with his down-to-earth presence. Like the rest of the Fab Four, Starr has released his share of solo albums, and even saw some chart success with singles like “It Don’t Come Easy” and “Back Off Boogaloo,” but his most enduring project has been his All Starr Band, a rotating cast of musicians he’s toured off and on with since the late ’80s. This year’s cast includes Colin Hay of Men at Work, Steve Lukather of Toto (whose hit “Africa” is currently enjoying a resurgence thanks to a viral Weezer cover), Gregg Rolie of Santana and Journey, Graham Gouldman of 10cc, Warren Ham and Gregg Bissonette. Expect to hear a sampling of songs from each musicians’ discography, as well as a heap of Beatles favorites.
Tuesday, Sept. 11
Photo credit: Levi Walton
Dinosaur Jr.
Dinosaur Jr. @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m.
The bad news: Mastodon’s tour with Dinosaur Jr., which was to include a Milwaukee stop on this date, has been canceled due to an unspecified “critical situation with a member of the Mastodon family.” The good news: Dinosaur Jr. is going to keep touring anyway, hence this short-notice concert at Turner Hall Ballroom. After a famously acrimonious split between frontman J Mascis and bassist Lou Barlow, the band’s original lineup reunited and made up for lost time on their roiling 2007 comeback album Beyond, which they followed with a remarkable trio of albums that were even better, including 2009’s Farm and 2016’s Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not. Farm in particular stands up to the band’s heyday work, which is high praise indeed. All alt-rock reunions should be as fruitful as this one.
