Courtesy of The Decemberists and EMI
The Decemberists @ The Riverside Theater, March 25
Thursday, March 19
Buddy Guy @ Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, 8 p.m.
Even deep into his 70s, Buddy Guy remains a sought-out collaborator for musicians like Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. There’s a good reason for that: Guy was their father. He invented the modern day blues-rock axeman. With all of the attention paid to his more high-voltage work, it can be very easy to overlook how talented a pure bluesman Guy can be. His 2010 album Living Proof affirmed him as not only one of the genre’s great guitarists, but also one of its great songwriters. One of his most explicitly autobiographical works, it also became his highest charting album ever. He followed it up in 2013 with the soulful, double-disc Rhythm & Blues. (Also Friday, March 20.)
Friday, March 20
Cornmeal @ Shank Hall, 9 p.m.
From their humble beginnings as a house band in Chicago, the progressive-bluegrass ensemble Cornmeal grew an audience that allowed them to play high-profile festivals like Bonnaroo with some of the legends of traditional bluegrass, including David Grisman, John Hartford and The Del McCoury Band. After recording three studio albums—the latest and most accomplished of which is 2006’s self-produced Feet First—the band released a pair of live albums, Live in Chicago, IL, Vol. 1 and Vol. II, which includes the 20-minute jam “Troubled Land.”
Saturday, March 21
Bob’s Burgers Live @ The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.
A refreshing respite from the misanthropic tone of the Seth MacFarlane cartoons that have often surrounded it on Fox’s Sunday night animation block, “Bob’s Burgers” has been celebrated as a return to the understated warmth of “The Simpsons’” early years. Though it’s never been a ratings smash, it quickly built a loyal following thanks to the remarkable comedic pedigree of its cast, H. Jon Benjamin, John Roberts, Kirsten Schaal, Eugene Mirman, Dan Mintz and Larry Murphy, who collectively have done voice work, acting or writing for dozens of funny projects. They’ll all appear at the Riverside Theater for an evening that promises stand-up sets, audience Q&As and a live table read.
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Sunday, March 22
Bel Canto Chorus @ St. Dominic Catholic Parish, Brookfield, 3 p.m.
For its latest performance, Bel Canto Chorus is tackling what some consider to be one of the most difficult pieces of music ever, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. It’s not just the demanding score that poses a challenge with this piece—it’s the sheer logistics of bringing together so many players. Bel Canto’s performance will unite two choruses, six soloists and two orchestras. This will be the company’s first time attempting the piece, which hasn’t been performed in Milwaukee since 2002, when the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Choir presented it in German.
Vince Gill & Friends @ Milwaukee Theatre, 8 p.m.
Veteran country star Vince Gill has a greater sense of country music’s history than many of his contemporaries, which is clear from his most recent album Bakersfield, a celebration of the classic Bakersfield sound with covers of 10 Buck Owens and Merle Haggard songs. That reverence for the past also comes through on Gill’s latest tour, an old-school collaborative affair that’ll see him share the stage with singers Ashley Monroe (of Pistol Annies), Charlie Worsham and his daughter, Jenny Gill. They’ll all take turns singing and backing each other, Grand Ole Opry style.
A Stevie Wonder Tribute featuring Christopher’s Project @ Shank Hall, 7 p.m.
Led by saxophonist Chris Pipkins, Christopher’s Project has performed at festivals and events around the city and Midwest, delivering smooth covers of jazz and funk hits with a healthy dose of soul, along with original compositions. For this show, the group turns its attention to the vast songbook of Stevie Wonder, the pioneering pop and R&B star who earlier this year received a star-studded Grammy tribute.
Tuesday, March 24
TV on the Radio w/ Nostalghia @ The Pabst Theater, 8:30 p.m.
TV on the Radio hasn’t performed in Milwaukee since 2011 and a lot has happened in the interim. The Brooklyn art-rock band took a short hiatus to work on various solo projects then returned this year with a solid new album, Seeds, their first since the death of their bassist Gerard Smith. It’s an unusual album for TV on the Radio in the sense that it isn’t very unusual at all. Picking up where 2011’s relaxed Nine Types of Light left off, Seeds is the band’s most straightforward record yet, seamlessly fusing soul and indie-rock without the turbulence that marked their earlier releases. A sense of loss permeates the album, but the overarching mood is one of comfort.
Gregg Allman @ Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, 8 p.m.
It goes without saying that Gregg Allman’s solo career hasn’t always lived up to the high standards he set with his legendary Southern rock band, The Allman Brothers. In fact, one of his early solo albums, Two The Hard Way, recorded with his then-wife Cher, is universally regarded as one of the worst albums of all time. But as Allman sobered up in the ’90s, he got his groove back, reforming The Allman Brothers to great acclaim, much of it from a new generation of jam-music fans that hadn’t even been born during the Allman Brothers’ early run. Last year Allman was at the receiving end of an all-star tribute album, All My Friends: Celebrating The Songs & Voice of Gregg Allman, which featured performances from Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Robert Randolph, Keb Mo, Dr. John, Pat Monahan, John Hiatt, Taj Mahal, Widespread Panic, Trace Adkins, Vince Gill, Martina McBride, Eric Church, Jackson Browne, Zac Brown and many others. (Also Wednesday, March 25.)
Wednesday, March 25
The Decemberists w/ Alvvays @ The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.
The Decemberists introduced themselves in the early ’00s as indie-rock iconoclasts, distinguishing themselves with ornate, chamber-pop arrangements, hyper-literary lyrics and often elaborate, sprawling concept albums. But on their last couple of releases, the group has scaled things back a bit. 2011’s The King is Dead was their breeziest, most easy-going album in years—all good cheer and early R.E.M. jangle—and their latest record What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World picks up from there, with some of the band’s poppiest tunes yet. Behind those lovely sounds there are some seriously conflicted feelings, though. Lead singer Colin Meloy wrote these songs in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre and many tracks find him writing from an unusually personal, solemn place.
