Thai Thao (aka Thai Sounders) is headed to Milwaukee for the final stop on his farewell tour. The show, which marks the Hmong music legend’s retirement from live performance, is this Saturday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Riverside Theater. Sounders is stepping back from the mic after a 28-year career.
His farewell tour included stops in California, Michigan and Minnesota, but originally, did not visit Milwaukee, which is home to one of the largest Hmong communities in the US. After repeated requests, the team decided to cap the tour at the Riverside.
“Countless hours have been put together day-in and day-out for this show,” said Elvis Thao, the event’s emcee and a Hmong musician from Milwaukee, in an email to Milwaukee Magazine. “This thing … is a well-oiled machine.”
Opening acts will include other celebrated Hmong artists, Pagnia Xiong, the band SuddenRush and more, all singing Hmong songs. Thao describes it as an homage to Sounders’ pioneering career, as well as an exploration of the Hmong community’s “rich history in music.”
Thao encourages people of all backgrounds to come to the show. “Come and hear something different [that you’ve] never experienced before, from a community you perhaps never explored before,” he said. “We welcome you!”
Sounders hopes this show will inspire the next generation of Hmong musicians. “He’s passing on the torch,” Thao said.
Doors open at 6 p.m., and tickets are available here.
