For its second year back after taking its 40th anniversary season off in 2017, due to what was called "a paucity of artists," Alpine Valley Music Theater in East Troy has some big names on offer.
Live Nation, which operates Alpine Valley, aimed to spend the 2017 summer gussying up the 37,000-seat venue, which opened in 1977. Last year the idyllic venue hosted Dead & Company, Zac Brown Band and Brad Paisley.
This year, so far, you catch perennial favorites like Dave Matthews Band in early July and Buffett again later in the month. In between, Phish returns for a three-night stand and in August, Hootie & the Blowfish and Barenaked Ladies perform.
The Who hosts yet another farewell tour that stops in the rolling hills of southeastern Wisconsin in early September.
Tickets for all shows are available at Ticketmaster.
Here’s the schedule as it currently stands:
Dave Matthews Band
July 5-6
Tickets go on sale Feb. 22
Phish
July 12-14
Tickets go on sale Jan. 26
Jimmy Buffett
July 20
On sale now
Hootie & the Blowfish
with Barenaked Ladies
Aug. 23
On sale now
The Who: Moving On!
Sept. 8
Tickets go on sale Jan. 24
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
