Friday, June 10
Filth Fest 4 @ multiple venues
Dozens of punk, folk and rock acts from around the Midwest will come together for Riverwest’s fourth annual Filth Fest, a vital three-day arts festival spotlighting queer voices and raising money for Milwaukee-area LGBT organizations. Participating venues this year include Riverside Tattoo, Club Timbuktu, People’s Books Cooperative and Falcon Bowl. In addition to the music, there will also be a barbecue, dance party, panels, workshops and a Trans Talk MKE film screening. Most venues are wheelchair accessible.
Avett Brothers w/Nineteen Thirteen @ BMO Harris Pavilion, 8 p.m.
Brothers Scott and Seth began recording as The Avett Brothers in 2000, roughly at the beginning of the modern roots-revival movement jump-started by the highly successful feature film, O Brother, Where Art Thou? In the 15 years since, with bassist Bob Crawford and cellist Joe Kwon, they’ve emerged as one of the movement’s biggest crossover acts. The North Carolina ensemble transcended their native folk and bluegrass scene by drawing from pop melodies and rock ’n’ roll—particularly at their rowdy live shows—before consolidating their critical reputation with 2007’s Emotionalism. Even better was 2009’s I and Love and You, a softer, more focused collection produced by Rick Rubin, who polished away the band’s rough edges to better emphasize their song craft. Rubin returned for the group’s follow-up albums: 2012’s The Carpenter and 2013’s Magpie and the Dandelion. They’ve got a new one on the way: Their ninth record, True Sadness, is due later this month.
Saturday, June 11
RuPaul’s Drag Race @ The Pabst Theater, 8 p.m.
Like so many reality TV shows, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” is one of those phenomena that you either get or you don’t. Those who are down with the show’s zany energy will be thrilled by this event, which features some of the most memorable drag queens from recent seasons, including BenDeLaCreme, Ivy Winters, Jinkx Monsoon, Ginger Minj, Katya, Manila Luzon, Sharon Needles and Violet Chachki. There will also be a pre-show meet and greet and a VIP shuttle to PrideFest.
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Mel Brooks @ The Riverside Theater, 7 p.m.
Mel Brooks is just weeks away from turning 90, but he still has a legitimate claim to being one of the funniest men alive. Lately he’s been on a bit of a victory tour, and as part of that he stops by the Riverside Theater to host a screening of his most celebrated film, the raucous western, Blazing Saddles. He’ll also participate in a conversation and Q&A session about the making of the movie and, more generally, his long career in comedy.
MPM BioBlitz @ Grant Park, 10 a.m.
There’s a lot more wildlife in Grant Park than just squirrels and the occasional deer. For its BioBlitz event, scientists working in conjunction with the Milwaukee Public Museum will spend 24 hours in the park documenting as many species of plants and animals as they can. There’s a public component to the event, too: From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, families and science lovers are invited to Grant Park’s 5A picnic area to cavort with the scientists, search for microscopic creatures and take in a pop-up museum.
Sunday, June 12
Locust Street Festival of Music and Art @ Locust Street, 11 a.m.
We’re living in the golden age of Milwaukee street festivals. We really are. There are more of them than ever before, and they’re booking better lineups than ever before. But after all these years, Riverwest’s annual Locust Street Festival remains one of the very best, with six stages of music celebrating the neighborhood’s rich history of incubating local music. Among the highlights this year are Space Raft, Foreign Goods, Joseph Huber, Platinum Boys, The Delta Routine, Cree Myles, Ladders, The WhiskeyBelles, Tigernite, Zed Kenzo and Queen Tut—but really, there’s something worth seeing during literally every half hour of this day-long event.
Lil Wayne w/Jeezy and O.T. Genasis @ UW-Panther Arena, 7 p.m.
These are odd times for Lil Wayne. The artist who not all that long ago could make a legitimate claim to being the biggest rapper in the world now finds himself locked in label limbo, a self-described “prisoner” struggling to release his long-promised latest album, Tha Carter V while locked in a bitter feud with his one-time mentor and father figure, Birdman. The good news is that the rapper does some of his best work when he’s boxed in, and his recent mixtapes and guest appearances (including a standout verse on the new Chance The Rapper album) have shown a level of fire and emotional sophistication he hasn’t demonstrated in years. If he does ever get the chance to release a new album, it could be a good one.
Wednesday, June 15
A$AP Ferg w/Tory Lanez @ The Rave, 8 p.m.
A$AP Rocky may be the star of the A$AP Mob crew, but A$AP Ferg is the one with two great albums under his belt. The follow-up to his awesomely bleak 2013 debut Trap Lord, his latest record is Always Strive and Prosper, a uniquely personal album about Ferg’s humble upbringing and the friends and family members who shaped him. It bangs, yes—everything that Ferg records bangs—but it also pulls at the heartstrings. It’s one of the most unexpectedly thoughtful, moving rap albums of 2016.
Modern Baseball w/Joyce Manor and Thin Lips@ The Rave, 7:30 p.m.
Modern Baseball introduced themselves as one of the snarkiest and most biting groups of the modern emo revival movement, but over time they’ve proven themselves more than just the sum of their zingers, scene-specific jokes and buoyant pop-punk hooks. Their latest record, Holy Ghost, touches on singer Brendan Lukens’ battles with mental illness and features some of the band’s most grandiose, arena-ready songs yet. They’re no longer just a niche act; this is a group ready for the big time.
The Lumineers w/SOAK and Sleepwalkers @ BMO Harris Pavilion, 8 p.m.
Proving that old-timey fedoras and suspenders never go out of style, Denver’s acoustic folk-rock trio, The Lumineers, shot up the charts in 2013, thanks in part to constant radio play and TV commercial exposure for their foot-stomping hit “Ho Hey.” With so many bands copying that sound in the wake of its success, the group wisely moved on to different, more subtle territory on their latest record, Cleopatra, with mellower songs and moodier tempos. This show was originally scheduled for the Riverside Theater before being moved outdoors to the BMO Harris Pavilion.
NEWaukee Night Market @ Wisconsin Avenue, 5 p.m.
Testifying to the renewed interest in shopping and congregating downtown, NEWaukee’s monthly night markets pack a stretch of West Wisconsin Avenue between 2nd and 4th streets four times each summer. There are plenty of local arts and crafts to browse, along with a diverse array of food trucks and a beer garden for thirsty patrons. This first installment of 2016 will also feature music from True Skool DJs, walking tours with Adam Carr, and performances from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.
