It’s not surprising that summer in Milwaukee orbits around the city’s most prominent music festival, yep, you guessed it, Summerfest. For these two weeks, Milwaukee becomes a destination for suburbanites and our friendly southern neighbors to bask in the lake breeze while enjoying a wide variety of musical entertainment. The festival can be a really fun time under the right circumstances, but 11 days can certainly be a bit tiresome.
Not helping that exhaustion is the fact there are very few other options around town, as many area music venues shut down rather than run in opposition of The World’s Largest Music Festival™. That’s why there are no shows at the Rave, the Riverside Theater, the Pabst Theater or Turner Hall Ballroom over the next couple weeks.
You have to look at the smaller club venues for some musical relief from the big crowds and drunk college dudes in muscle tees. (There’s a more detailed listing of anti-Summerfest shows provided near the end of this post). But if you still want to bask in the sun and catch some tunes while avoiding the overwhelming masses and even worse the over-priced Miller Lites, check out the 9th annual Pabst Street Party at Burnhearts, 2599 S. Logan Ave., on Saturday, July 2.
The Bay View event provides a refreshing oasis to Summerfest and even puts together a solid bill of local music that rivals any ground stage line-up that festival is offering. The party goes from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. and includes performances from New Boyz Club, Tigernite, Space Raft, WebsterX and Direct Hit!.
Another staple of the yearly get-together are the Korbel Brandy Slushes available at the bar’s adjacent garage, which is dubbed Brandyland for the day. Plus, Burnhearts always slings delicious and eclectic craft beers outside and offer even more choices inside the bar. There are also plenty of good food options, with vendors including Goodkind, Classic Slice and Honeypie. To top it off, there’s an entire arts and crafts section, featuring the works of local handmade artists.
So, if you find yourself staring at the bottom of a Miller Lite plastic cup, pizza cone in hand, wandering through the Summerfest merch tent, being annoyingly bumped into by passerbys, you know where to go.
Pabst Street Festival takes place at Burnhearts, 2599 S. Logan Ave., on Saturday July 2 from 12 p.m.-8 p.m.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjYiA9FIrXE
Streams of the Week
Last week was a notable one for the city’s thriving hip hop scene. We finally got the anticipated debut albums from Mike Regal and Vincent VanGREAT — two that seem likely to make some year-end music lists. Both artists pull double-duty as rappers and producers, which give the albums a seamless direction.
Regal’s Premonitions is a lively and emotional listen. It’s an album that confronts current societal problems, especially gun violence, right upfront. A moving opening skit on “Tales from the Strip” underscores the tension that follows. The passion resonating from Regal’s voice on “Ocean Front ft. CAMB” is palpable. “Stories that they would never know be haunting my mind/ But they inspire every rhyme” Regal raps.
Vincent VanGREAT balances the playful and serious on UnGREATful. One moment he’s re-living neon-clad ‘90s television on “Bel-Air” and the next he’s lamenting a corrupt police force on “Radical.” On closer “To the Stars, he ultimately leaves with an uplifting message: “Keep a smile on your face/ Don’t let the game break ya.”
This Week in Live Music
Monday, June 27: Suppression with Short Walk, LIFES and Infliction Rate at Quarter’s Rock ‘n Roll Palace, 7 p.m. – (900 E. Center St.)
Tuesday, June 28: Chill on the Hill featuring AUTOmatic with Evan Christian and The Stinkies and Jay Matthes at Humboldt Park, 6 p.m. (FREE) – (3000 S. Howell Ave., http://www.bayviewneighborhood.org/chill_on_the_hill)
Also: Chakara Blu with The Farout Farm, We Are One and Chalant at Cactus Club, 9 p.m. ($5) – (2496 S. Wentworth Ave., CactusClubMilwaukee.com)
And: Cairns with Spit-Take at High Dive, 9:30 p.m. – (701 E. Center St., HighDiveMKE.com)
And: WORK with Prairie Empire and Bum Ileum at Company Brewing, 9:30 p.m. – (735 E. Center St., CompanyBrewing.com)
Wednesday, June 29: Arms with Rebel Scum and Falter at Bremen Cafe, 7 p.m. (FREE) – (901 E. Clarke St., BremenCafe.com)
Also: River Rhythms featuring The Rad Trads at Pere Marquette Park, 6:30 p.m. (FREE) – (900 N. Plankinton Ave., Westown.org)
Thursday, June 30: Jazz in the Park featuring Leroy Airmaster with Junior Brantley at Cathedral Square Park, 6 p.m. (FREE) – (825 N. Jefferson St., http://www.easttown.com/events/jazz-in-the-park)
Friday, July 1: Pale Dian with Stargazer Lilies, Brief Candles and Heat Death at Quarter’s Rock ‘n Roll Palace, 8 p.m. – (900 E. Center St.)
Saturday, July 2: Pabst Street Party featuring WebsterX, Space Raft, Tigernite and New Boyz Club at Burnhearts, noon (FREE)
Also: Milwaukee Boat Line Cruise featuring Soul Low at Vista King, 8:30 p.m. ($22.99) – (101 W. Michigan St., MKEBoat.com)
And: Dent with Gamma Pope and Gauss at High Dive, 9 p.m. (FREE) – (701 E. Center St., HighDiveMKE.com)
Sunday, July 3: Undergang with Spectral Voice, Ossuary and Pigsblood at Quarter’s Rock ‘n Roll Palace, 7:30 p.m. – (900 E. Center St.)
