With Memorial Day weekend in the rear view mirror, it’s time to look forward to the upcoming festival season. Milwaukee, The City of Festivals™, has quite a few of them going on this year. But while the unofficial kick-offs to the season (Pridefest and Locust Street Festival) are still a week away, a new celebration helps bring the summer spirit to the city a little early.
The inaugural Tasty Fest brings the party to Riverwest this weekend, featuring 23 bands over four days at three different venues. The event is curated by local label Tasty Tapes, which has put out releases by The Rashita Joneses and Filter Free Rodeo.
The lineup is loaded with the very best the music scene has to offer, including SIN BAD, Surgeons in Heat, NO/NO, Tigernite, Klassik and Sat. Nite Duets. (For a sampling of the artists, you can listen to the Soundcloud playlist below)
Tickets to the shows range from $7-$8, but if you bring three non-perishable food items for Hunger Task Force, the cost will be lowered to $5. Four-day passes can be purchased online for $20, which includes a CD copy of the festival compilation. For a full listing of the schedule, please see below.
Thursday, June 2 – Riverwest Public House Cooperative, 7 p.m. ($7)
Friday, June 3 – Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, 7 p.m. ($8)
Saturday, June 4 – Mad Planet, 7 p.m. ($8)
Sunday, June 5 – Mad Planet, 6 p.m. ($8)
Stream of the Week
Avant garde percussionist Jon Mueller released a new effort last week and it’s as encompassing and thrilling as anything that came before it. Tongues finds Mueller experimenting with looping voices in unknown languages as well as various bass drums and percussion. The vocal cadences set about a trance-like state that persists throughout the two-song 35-minute epic. William Ryan Fritch, the San Francisco-based composer who arranged Ensemble, adds sarangi that was played through a piano and Cory Allen contributes harmonium, tanpura and “ceremonial breath (learned from shamans in the Amazon rainforest),” according to Mueller’s bandcamp page.
This Week in Live Music
Wednesday, June 1: Purity Ring at The Pabst Theater, 8 p.m. ($25) – (144 E. Wells St., PabstTheater.org)
Also: Fishbone with Andy Frasco and the UN and Downtown Brown at Shank Hall, 8 p.m. ($20) – (1434 N. Farwell Ave., ShankHall.com)
Thursday, June 2: Curren$y at the Rave, 8 p.m. ($21) – (2401 W. Wisconsin Ave., TheRave.com)
Also: The Young Revelators with Ladders, Antler House, Tapebenders and SIN BAD at Riverwest Public House, 8 p.m. ($7) – (2800 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., FranksPowerPlant.com)
Friday, June 3: Aretha Franklin at The Riverside Theater, 7:30 p.m. ($55.75-$145.75) – (116 W. Wisconsin Ave., PabstTheater.org)
Also: Surgeons In Heat with NO/NO, Sat. Nite Duets, Body Futures, The Grovelers and Lunar Bedrooms at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, 8 p.m. ($8) – (1001 E. Locust St., Linnemans.com)
And: Tonbi Claw (album release) with Perennial and Behind The Weekend at Riverwest Public House, 8 p.m. ($5) – (2800 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., FranksPowerPlant.com)
And: The Neighbourhood with Kevin Abstract and JAHKOY at The Pabst Theater, 8 p.m. ($28 advance; $30 door) – (144 E. Wells St., PabstTheater.org)
And: Gallery Flow featuring Rusty P’s, Vincent VanGreat, J.J. Jabber, Mammyth at Cactus Club, 9 p.m. ($7) – (2496 S. Wentworth Ave., CactusClubMilwaukee.com)
And: Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound at Walker’s Point Anodyne Coffee, 8 p.m. ($10 advance; $12 door) – (224 W. Bruce St., AnodyneCoffee.com)
Saturday, June 4: Sturgill Simpson at The Riverside Theater, 8:30 p.m. ($27.50 advance; $32.50 door) – (116 W. Wisconsin Ave., PabstTheater.org)
Also: Tasty Fest featuring Tigernite, Slow Walker, The Rashita Joneses, Faux Fiction, The Pukes and Indonesian Junk at Mad Planet, 7 p.m. ($8) – (533 E. Center St, Mad-Planet.net)
And: Sugar Stems with Jaill and Trash Scouts at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, 9 p.m. ($5) – (1001 E. Locust St., Linnemans.com)
Sunday, June 5: Tasty Fest featuring Klassik, No No Yeah Okay, Mortgage Freeman, Brat Sounds, The Old Prospectors and The Bang Bang at Mad Planet, 6 p.m. ($8) – (533 E. Center St, Mad-Planet.net)
Also: Brett Harris at Cactus Club, 9 p.m. – (2496 S. Wentworth Ave., CactusClubMilwaukee.com)
