Milwaukee Day Will Have Great Music

On April 14 our city will be going up, on a Tuesday! Yep, it’s that time of year, the day to celebrate Milwaukee’s “datesake” (4/14, aka our area code). What started as a joke between a group of friends has turned into an important annual observance of all things Brew City. Four years ago the group started to organize local concerts in earnest. This year all kinds of activities are happening around town, which kicked off Sunday with neighborhood clean-ups.

Tuesday’s festivities begin with a happy hour at City Hall from 5-8pm, co-sponsored by Yelp. It will feature new beers from Lakefront Brewery, a tasting table from Great Lakes Distillery, food from Simmer and Oscar’s, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Bucks, a Milwaukee-themed photo booth, plus a balloon drop and some words from hizzoner, Mayor Tom Barrett.

Headlining the official concert at Turner Hall Ballroom is Hugh Bob and the Hustle, a band that once ran roughshod over this town. Though the titular Hugh has moved to Nashville, he will reunite with his Hustle for a special evening in his old stomping grounds. Supporting acts include folk favorites Greatest Lakes and rising hip-hop star Webster X.

“I checked out Webster X at the insistence of a friend about a year ago and was really amazed by what I heard,” wrote organizer Andy Silverman. “Then like everyone in Milwaukee (maybe an exaggeration but only slightly) I saw the “doomsday” video and was blown away.”

Webster X has risen in the Milwaukee music scene off the strength of a free album released in late 2013 (Desperate Youth) and the “doomsday (feat. siren)” video, which premiered on Vice’s Noisey blog and has gathered over 34K views in less than three months. He brings a high-energy and engaging presence to the stage and is backed by a dynamic band. In a recent radio interview the Journal Sentinel’s Piet Levy said Webster X “might be the best live performer in the city.”

“It’s such an honor to be able to play a stage like Turner Hall on a day that screams pride for your city. All I got is pride for Milwaukee. I am me because of my environment and I couldn’t be happier with how things are turning out,” wrote Sam Ahmed, aka Webster X.

With a handful of other concerts happening around town on Tuesday organizer Timm Gable is excited that the spirit has spread beyond their official Turner Hall concert.

“Since day one we’ve encouraged everyone to celebrate Milwaukee Day in their own way. We put on some events based around things that we like and would love for people to come hang out with us – but ultimately we just want people to celebrate!” wrote Gable.

“I love the local music scene and every year we have some rather lengthy discussions on who we want to ask to play,” added Gable. “Looking back, we’ve had some pretty amazing MKE Day alums – Decibully, Juniper Tar, Whips, Cave Singers, Sat Night Duets, Northless, Moon Curse, Hearts of Stone, Icarus Himself, among others. And this year we’re really stoked to have Hugh Bob and the Hustle, Greatest Lakes and Webster X. It’s a diverse and pretty unique lineup, which I think is representative of the city we love.”