In July 2007, Will Phalen and the Stereo Addicts held the first Midwestern Folk Rock Revival here in Brew City. On Saturday, Sept. 20, the group hosts the second installment of what now appears to be an annual event.
"My hope is that this series will continue to grow in the future and blossom into a semi-regular event that not only brings attention to Midwestern folk rock music but also to Milwaukee as a city with a rich and vibrant music scene," Phalen says.
To that end, this year's event, at 9 p.m. at Shank Hall, features performance by Phalen and the Stereo Addicts, Machine Records singer and songwriter Hayward Williams -- from Milwaukee -- and Farewell Milwaukee (formerly Montreal), an alt.country quartet from Minneapolis.
In the band's travels, Phalen has heard a lot of great Midwestern bands, he says, and that inspired music led him to create this event celebrating the music of the heartland.
"I've always been a huge fan of the Midwest in general ... the people, the cities, the landscape and culture. But the more I see and hear from Midwestern folk and rock groups, the more I am blown away by the level of talent and creativity coming out of this part of the country," says Phalen, who, with his band, released the "Vision and Revisions" CD last year.
"So, rather than just putting together another date at another local venue, I thought it would be fun to do something special that would shine a little spotlight on these amazing artists we have come to know through playing gigs and networking in the region."
Admission to the gig is $8.
Other gigs on tap this week include:
Also at Shank Hall this week are guitarist Leon Redbone on Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 8 p.m. ($25) and bluesman Bernard Allison on Friday, Sept. 26 at 8 ($15).
The UWM Union Gasthaus, which is hardly a rockin' venue generally speaking, hosts Chicago's Scotland Yard Gospel Choir on Thursday, Sept. 18. Admission to the all-ages gig is free. The band has shared stages with Ira Glass, Dave Eggers, Spoon and Arcade Fire, so check it out.
Later on, head over to The Mad Planet to check out The Detroit Cobras, who hit the stage at 11:30 p.m. Cover is $12.
The Miramar Theatre hosts Snapdragon Fest, Sept. 19-21. Read Julie Lawrence's Snapdragon Records story.
Twin Cities singer and songwriter Mason Jennings plays at The Pabst Theater on Friday, Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. Admission is $20 but $17.50 if you buy early. Jennings will certainly feature tunes from his sixth disc, "In the Ever," released by Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records label.
Over at The Rave, Bad Boy Bill is joined by La Dolce Vita, DJ Tony Tone, DJ Tsunami, DJ K Funk and DJ Nix-9 for a 9 p.m. gig on Friday, Sept. 19. The following night Emarosa plays with Burden Of A Day, In Fear and Faith, Attack Attack! and The Years Gone By At 6 p.m. Both shows are all ages.
You can see Lambs of Abortion and special guests Friday at the Cactus Club at 10 p.m., and Saviours, Herds and Mother Orchis play the same bat place at the same bat time on the following night.
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.
