Best Stand-Up Switch-Up
The Laughing Tap
Opening a live comedy venue in Walker’s Point two months before the 2020 COVID shutdown sounds like a surefire way to bomb – bad. And yet Milwaukee’s Laughing Tap thrived, so much so that this year, they moved to a new, larger, spruced-up spot Downtown that’s been selling out shows its first few months. 761 N. Jefferson St. – Archer Parquette
Best Summer Beat
Milwaukee Hittaz
Odds are high that you’ve heard this drum line, even if the name isn’t familiar. They’re a group of passionate drummers from all backgrounds, ages and experience levels whose energetic performances are guaranteed to make you stop and smile. Look for them on the sidelines – not the big stages – at nearly every festival in town. – Chelsea Mamerow
Best Milwaukee Moment
Song Sung Blue
BY EVAN MUSIL
The fact that Song Sung Blue even exists sounds like something from a Hollywood movie: two sweethearts from middle America who never gave up on their musical dreams having their story brought to life on the silver screen.
It’s certainly the biggest spotlight to ever shine on Mike and Claire Sardina, aka Lightning & Thunder. The charming Neil Diamond-Patsy Cline tribute act were festival frequents in the ’90s until Mike’s untimely death in 2006. That might’ve been the end – until director Craig Brewer saw a documentary by Greg Kohs and was inspired by their pursuit of the extraordinary. Then, he cast Hugh Jackman (him?!) and Kate Hudson (her?!) as the couple.
The buzz behind the movie turned intoxicating last December when Jackman touched down in Milwaukee and made a day of our fair city, serving Kopp’s custard and surprising a school choir before attending a packed premiere at the Oriental Theatre. The movie didn’t disappoint: It’s feel-good but not cloying, fun and funny and surprisingly moving. Hudson had an Oscar-nominated turn, but the real-life Thunder stole the show at the screening. In fact, the true highlight of all this fanfare might have been the theater full of fans cheering for the real Claire Sardina, who looked up and said, “I love you, Lightning.”
Nominate Somebody Now!
Best Season
The Milwaukee Rep
What an amazing 2025-26. Come From Away opened the renovated Joe and Ellen Checota Powerhouse Theater with a burst of energy and talent and became the highest-grossing production in the Rep’s history. McNeal by Ayad Akhtar grappled with AI’s myriad ethical and creative questions, amidst inventive staging and insightful direction by artistic director Mark Clements. And the one-woman show, Frida … A Self Portrait, gut-wrenchingly brought to life the struggles and artistry of Frida Kahlo. Bravo and encore! – Carole Nicksin
Best Sign People Are Reading
The Romance Revival
You’ll see it if you drive along a certain stretch of North Avenue: Tons of eager readers lining up for events or toting around literature from Milwaukee’s two romance bookstores, Thirst Books (5209 W. North Ave.) and The Well Red Damsel (6429 W. North Ave.). The genre’s growing popularity is proof people still crave human experiences and perspectives printed on paper. – Evan Musil
Best Community Art Project
Art Intersection MKE
On the Near West Side lies an oasis of art and community. Large outdoor paintings and sculptures surround a bioswale, next to greenery and a gathering space where events abound. There’s more to come; the engine of the park, Derrick Cainion, and the people who’ve rallied around him show no signs of slowing down. 3542 W. Vliet St. – EM
Best New Concert Hall
The Argo
Housed in Whitefish Bay’s former Fox Bay Theater, this sleek, locally owned, 700-capacity venue combines a full-service bar, a kitchen with a Dan Jacobs-curated menu, and a litany of local bands and occasional national headliners. Not only does the North Shore no longer need to venture south for a solid concert, there’s good reason for the rest of the city to head north. 334 E. Silver Spring Dr. – EM
Best Blockbuster Exhibition
The Whole World Is a Mystery’ at MAM
Making its only Midwest stop at the Milwaukee Art Museum, this mysterious collection of paintings by surrealist artist Gertrude Abercrombie was endlessly inviting. One could spend hours with one work – constructing a narrative and puzzling the mood of an inscrutable owl, a lonesome cloud, a bright rose. – EM
Best Artistic Collaboration
Violins of Hope
Never had so many of Milwaukee’s arts institutions come together, and the occasion was singular and inspiring. Instruments from Jewish musicians who endured the Holocaust were brought to concert halls, theaters, galleries and schools across Wisconsin to tell stories of resistance and music’s capacity to unify. – EM
Evan’s Best
Our culture editor’s picks of the 2025-26 season
BY EVAN MUSIL
Best Exhibitions
Widline Cadet at MAM and the 2026 Wisconsin Artists Biennial
These two shows resonated for opposite reasons. The biennial at the Museum of Wisconsin Art presented a breadth of perspectives in all sorts of mediums that felt like a social recharge. Meanwhile, Haitian artist Cadet’s solo exhibition of largely photographs offered one world in totality – explorations of family, routine and interiority that exuded the care we must build for our own lives.
Best Surprise Show
Tosa West’s Dear Evan Hansen
Throughout the performance, I asked myself: “Is this really a high school production?” Indeed it was: the first-ever school rendition of the smash-hit musical. The teen actors commanded the stage, especially lead actor Evan Hryniewicki, whose powerful voice rang out most of the show.
Best Concert
Waxahatchee & MJ Lenderman
Two warm, aching voices weaving together, backed by hushed acoustics and wailing pedal steel on a Riverside Theater stage dressed like a lived-in living room. This intimate joint set by the indie rock favorites felt like no other concert of theirs I’ve seen, and the sense of just how special it was was palpable.
Best Developing Project
Hellenika
Back in January, Milwaukee composer Kyle Thomas Hanneken gathered 20 performers and an eager audience to stage the first reading of his ambitious 30-song musical about Socrates. It was more magnetic than any tale about ancient Greek philosophy has a right to be. With themes of democracy and critical thinking, Hellenika landed thanks to Hanneken’s infectious enthusiasm, and the night was another clear reminder of the talent rising from our city.
