It used to be that the months following Christmas were the driest stretch of the year for music fans in Milwaukee who usually had to wait until the first signs of spring before the concert calendar came to life again. These days, the city’s concert calendar never stays dark for too long, though, and once again this winter, Milwaukee has some big shows lined up to help tide us over until the weather turns tolerable again.
The Fiserv Forum continues its star-studded inaugural year with a parade of marquee shows, including Bob Seger (Thursday, Jan. 24); Panic! at the Disco (Sunday, Jan. 27); KISS (Friday, March 1); and Mumford and Sons (Sunday, March 31). But perhaps its most headline-grabbing one is Elton John, who will likely be playing Milwaukee for the final time as part of his Goodbye Yellow Brick Road farewell tour on Tuesday, Feb. 19. The 71-year-old songwriting legend began the tour last fall and says he expects it to last three years.
The Miller High Life Theatre can always be counted on to bring in some impressive R&B bills, and in March, it’ll host its most anticipated in years, when Mariah Carey headlines the venue on Friday, Mar. 15. Amazingly, it’ll be Carey’s first Milwaukee show ever, and her timing couldn’t be better. She’s touring behind Caution, her strongest record in nearly a decade.
Not to be outdone, The Rave has booked its own show from a R&B pioneer rarely seen in the city. The ground-breaking neo-soul singer Erykah Badu will play her first Milwaukee show in nearly 15 years at the venue’s Eagles Ballroom on Friday, Jan. 18. With any luck, she’ll have some new music to share. Save for a delightfully lowkey 2015 mixtape called But You Caint Use My Phone, the singer hasn’t released any new material since her knotty 2010 album New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh).
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The final weeks of winter also bring some returning favorites back to town. The New Power Generation was Prince’s longest-serving live band, backing the funk icon from 1990 to 2013 before rejoining him for his final studio album, 2015’s HitnRun Phase Two. Since his death in 2016, they’ve toured in his memory. They’ll return to Milwaukee for a headlining show at the Potawatomi Hotel & Casino’s Northern Lights Theater on Thursday, Feb. 21.
Just a week later, Shank Hall will welcome back one of its go-to draws—rock ‘n’ roll icon Jonathan Richman, on Friday, March 1. In the decades since he foreshadowed punk rock with his band, The Modern Lovers, Richman has toured relentlessly behind his humble, unscripted and utterly uplifting live show, joined by his longtime drummer, Tommy Larkins. Part comedian, part philosopher, he’s the rare performer who always leaves the audience feeling a little better about the world—and just the kind of pick-me-up we all could use after surviving another long Milwaukee winter.
