Music Notes

If you didn’t make it to Austin last week for South By Southwest, you’re not alone. While Milwaukee Magazine couldn’t get to Texas for the behemoth festival (and even larger marketing event), we asked five local musicians to sum up their SXSW experiences to let those of us who couldn’t make it know what we missed. Graham Hunt, Midnight Reruns With thousands of bands playing and probably hundreds of thousands of people attending, SXSW this year proved to be a close to unbearably overwhelming experience for me. Here are some things I learned. – I saw a doppelganger of almost…

Monday, March 17: Whiskey of the Damned with Beer City Hearts, and The Atomic Spins at Turner Hall, 7 p.m. ($10) If you’ve had your fill of green-tinted beer and “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” swag, celebrate the St. Paddy’s season at Turner Hall with vaunted celtic rockers Whiskey of the Damned, who will release its new album Monsters Are Real in this fitting Irish holiday showcase. Beer City Hearts and The Atomic Spins open. (1032 N. 4th St., PabstTheater.org) Also: Squeezettes at Riverwest Public House, 7 p.m. (FREE) – (815 E. Locust St., RiverwestPublicHouse.WordPress.com) Tuesday, March 18: Islands with Escondido,…

Tuesday, March 11: Brett Dennen with Foy Vance at Turner Hall, 7 p.m. ($20) At just 34, Brett Dennen has amassed a career of a musician well beyond his years – in terms of both volume of work and quality. With seven releases under his belt (including 2013’s Smoke and Mirrors) in 10 years, the folk rocker is set apart from his brethren in a well-represented genre by way of his incredible vocal range and altogether upbeat catalog. Foy Vance opens. (1032 N. 4th St., PabstTheater.org) Thursday, March 13: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. at Turner Hall, 7 p.m. ($15) Among the best band names in…

With one member living in Chicago, another recording virtually every band in Milwaukee at his Howl Street studio and the band’s third bass player busy in a heft of other great local acts, Call Me Lightning’s production has slowed to a near halt since the veteran rockers released its particularly well-received third album, When I Am Gone My Blood Will Be Free, in 2010. Still, even a semi-operational Call Me Lightning, justifiably, elicits excitement both locally and beyond. When the band streamed “Now We Have Begun” off its forthcoming Human Hell last fall, it was met with eager anticipation. Fittingly…

Though the low temperatures and early afternoon snow flurries proved that old “in like a lion” adage correct, March 1 found hundreds of music lovers flocking to 30 makeshift concert venues on (or in the vicinity of) Brady Street playing host to 80-some acts as part of NEWaukee’s second annual Eastside Music Tour. I was among the throngs of people crammed into coffee shops, wedged into taverns and huddled for warmth in a tent. With the variety of quality performers on the lineup – many of which with overlapping time slots – throughout the day, it’s unlikely any two Eastside…

Monday, March 3: Jared & The Mill with Zach Pietrini & The Broken Bones at Club Garibaldi, 8 p.m. – (2501 S. Superior St., ClubGaribaldis.com) Tuesday, March 4: 88Nine Radio Milwaukee Mardi Gras Party (with Herman Astro and Extra Crispy Brass Band) at Turner Hall, 6:30 p.m. ($14) Celebrate Fat Tuesday in distinct Milwaukee style with a Mardi Gras celebration at Turner Hall. Locals Herman Astro and Extra Crispy Brass Band will provide music. Maxie’s will supply the food. Cap the evening off with a slice of king cake. (1032 N. 4th St., PabstTheater.org) Also: Pink Martini with China Forbes,…

Every month, we count down the top 10 most exciting, surprising and just plain great moments in Milwaukee music. February was low on shows, but there was no shortage of things happening in the local scene. Here are 10 standout picks from February. 10. Kiings collaborates with Rae Cassidy Different month, same caliber of dazzling aural output from Milwaukee production duo, Kiings. This time Chris Siegel and Sean Foran collaborated with San Fermin’s Rae Cassidy. Pretty noises follow.  9. Gerald Walker holds over fans with new mixtape As a prelude to his forthcoming full-length Target, Milwaukee rapper Gerald Walker treated…

Tuesday, Feb. 25: Hellfyre Club at Mad Planet, 9 p.m. ($10) While still fairly young, Los Angeles label and hip-hop collective Hellfyre Club, is fast becoming a respected fixture in the rap community with its intellectual, artistically driven and grassroots cast that eschews redundant (and usually untrue) badass bravado and fiscal posturing in favor of Werner Herzog shoutouts, “Degrassi” references and lines about driving a “Ford Focus on 13s.” Hellfyre will send four of its members – Busdriver, Open Mike Eagle, Nocando and (Milwaukee ex-pat) Milo – to Mad Planet as part of its ongoing 30-show, two-country “Dorner vs. Tookie”…

Kellen Abston is a dreamer. The Riverwest-based performer has quickly made a name for himself as Klassik through his energetic showmanship and his intrinsic ability to meld genres. Following a year that found Klassik releasing YRP (his most celebrated album to date), winning some 88Nine hardware and playing out more than ever, Music Notes managed to take Abston away from his ambitious – though increasingly realistic by the day – plans for world domination long enough to talk about Klassik’s growth, his pop and jazz influences and what to expect from him in 2014 and beyond.   If you had to describe your music…

Tuesday, Feb. 18: Sigmund Snopek at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, 9 p.m. (FREE) It’s Tuesday at the tail end of winter. You know the drill. Chill On The Hill can’t come soon enough. (1001 E. Locust St., Linnemans.com) Wednesday, Feb. 19: IndieMKE2 at Turner Hall, 7 p.m. ($10) See some longstanding Milwaukee music standards – a cast that includes Semi-Twang, John Sieger & Greg Koch, Annie B & The Complication, Panalure, and Crooked Keys – and reap the immediate reward of supporting local bands with a copy of the Indie MKE 2 compilation. The CD is included with each ticket. (1032…