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EVENTS ::
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May
3
Fri
WMSE Presents Los Straightjackets 30th Anniversary Tour @ Shank Hall
May 3 @ 8:00 pm – 11:45 pm

Los Straitjackets are the leading practitioners of the lost art of the guitar instrumental. Using the music of the Ventures, The Shadows, and with Link Wray and Dick Dale as a jumping off point, the band has taken their unique, high energy brand of original rock & roll around the world.

Clad in their trademark Lucha Libre Mexican wrestling masks, the ‘Jackets’ have delivered their trademark guitar licks to 16 albums, thousands of concerts and dozens of films and TV shows. Viva Los Straitjackets!

May
17
Fri
Milwaukee Metal Fest! @ Rave
May 17 @ 2:00 pm – May 19 @ 11:45 pm

After a successful return of Milwaukee Metal Festival in 2023, the iconic midwestern, multi-day event will kick off with a pre-party on May 16 while the main festival will run May 17 – 19 at The Rave/Eagles Club in Milwaukee, WI. The event promises to have more food, vendors, live podcasts and other surprises!

The festival returned to prominence in 2023 under the watchful eye of Hatebreed frontman and podcaster Jamey Jasta and Sound Talent Group’s Tim Borror, as well as the team at The Rave / Eagles Club, where so many of the original festivals took place.

May
18
Sat
The Decemberests @ Riverside Theater
May 18 @ 8:00 pm – 11:45 pm

For over 20 years, The Decemberists have been one of the most original, daring, and thrilling American rock bands. Founded in the year 2000, The Decemberists’ distinctive brand of hyper-literate folk-rock set them apart from the start with the release of their debut EP 5 Songs in 2001. Since then, the band has released nine full-length albums that are unbound by genre and highly ambitious, ranging from Americana-leaning storytelling epics to elements of 70’s prog and hard rock.

Now the enduring band is back with their first release in 6 years – Burial Ground.

 

May
28
Tue
Echo & The Bunnymen: Songs to Learn to Sing @ Pabst Theater
May 28 @ 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm

One of the most influential British bands in modern history returns to Milwaukee! Echo & the Bunnymen’s dark, swirling fusion of gloomy post-punk and -inspired psychedelia is driven by the majestic voice and outsized persona of singer Ian McCulloch and the frequently brilliant guitar work of Will Sergeant.

Songs to Learn & Sing is a compilation album by English rock band Echo & the Bunnymen, released on 11 November 1985 by Korova. Featuring all of the singles the band had released up to that poin.

Jun
21
Fri
THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS @ Pabst Theater Group
Jun 21 @ 6:30 pm – Jun 22 @ 11:30 pm

2 very different shows.
2 “Evening with” performances.
8 piece band. 3 horns. 2 sets. 0 openers.
Starts early. Gets loud.

They Might Be Giants are in top form and back on the road with their ever-evolving show. Featuring songs from the earliest days of their Dial-A-Song service, through their platinum album Flood, all the way to their Grammy-nominated album BOOK; each night is its own distinct celebration of the band’s singular songbook. Backed by their notorious live band now including a three-piece horn section, expect a spontaneous, sprawling, enthralling musical event unlike any other.

A limited number of multi-night ticket packages are available for purchase – that means reduced ticketing fees!

Jun
25
Tue
WMSE Presents Pallbearer @ Vivarium
Jun 25 @ 7:00 pm – 11:45 pm

“Mind Burns Alive” finds Pallbearer navigating the space between disquiet and serenity with a singular intensity. At times poetic and blistering, their fifth full length is a heartfelt meditation on isolation, trauma and mental breakdown, framed by the possibility of redemption and the quiet, aching beauty of escape.

Jul
29
Mon
WMSE Presents The Pretenders @ Riverside Theater
Jul 29 @ 7:30 pm – 11:45 pm

 

The Pretenders are BACK at the Riverside Theater for the first time since 2018 with music that’s melodic and bristling with rebellion. Fronted by singer/songwriter Chrissie Hynde, they expose the confessional underbelly of punk and new wave with an explosive combination of precision and flamboyance. Hits? Stop Your Sobbing, Brass in Pocket, Talk of the Town, Back on the Chain Gang, Time the Avenger, Middle of the Road, My City Was Gone and so many more. Their latest release Relentless continues the trend of innovation and attitude.

Aug
18
Sun
WMSE Presents Buddy Guy @ Riverside Theater
Aug 18 @ 8:00 pm – 11:45 pm

At age 86, Buddy Guy is a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, a major influence on rock titans like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, a pioneer of Chicago’s fabled West Side sound, and a living link to the city’s halcyon days of electric blues. These many years later, Buddy Guy remains a genuine American treasure and one of the final surviving connections to a historic era in the country’s musical evolution.

Aug
29
Thu
WMSE Presents Bikini Kill @ Riverside Theater
Aug 29 @ 7:30 pm – 11:45 pm

Legendary feminist punk band Bikini Kill has reunited for the first time since their break-up in 1997. Featuring the original iconic line-up and relive the Riot Grrrl Movement of the early 90’s with their confrontational and explosive live show.

Sep
4
Wed
WMSE PRESENTS KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD @ Miller High Life Theater
Sep 4 @ 8:00 pm – 11:45 pm

Welcome to ‘The Gizzverse’

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have built up a well-earned reputation as one of the most prolific, adventurous and inventive bands of all time, having released 25 albums since 2010.

With a sound ranging from expansive jazz-rock, to spaghetti Western soundscapes, semi-acoustic cosmic ballads, sci-fi prog, kaleidoscopic garage rock, thrash metal, explorations of microtonal tunings, kraut-rock and more…you’ll hear it all. Get ready.