Six must-see concerts in Milwaukee this week include Tim McGraw with Faith Hill, Wilco
TIM MCGRAW AND FAITH HILL
Style: Country hits from Nashville's star couple
Backstory: In 27 years, McGraw has amassed an impressive number of stats — 25 No. 1 singles on the country charts, 14 ACM Awards, 11 CMA Awards, 3 Grammys — making him one of the most popular and respected country stars. Hill, his wife of 21 years, has plenty of her own hardware (including 5 Grammys and 15 ACM Awards), plus eight No. 1 country singles. With their star power combined, McGraw and Hill had the third highest-grossing North American tour in 2006.
Why you should go: McGraw and Hill will play new material, including the lead single off a forthcoming duets album, and McGraw's "Humble and Kind," which won both the Grammy and CMA Award for best country song of the year. This is also Hill's first tour in a decade, and the collaborative aspect of the concert should bring out the best of both parties.
Opener: New country duo High Valley, making a Milwaukee stop just a few weeks before its headlining slot at Summerfest July 4.
Time and place:7:30 p.m. Friday, BMO Harris Bradley Center, 1001 N. 4th St.
Price:$66.50 to $116.50 at the box office, (800) 745-3000 and ticketmaster.com.
— Piet Levy,
plevy@journalsentinel.com
SEU JORGE
Style: The Spiders from Mars and other Bowie companions land in Rio.
Backstory: Whatever you think of writer-director Wes Anderson’s pretty-puzzle movies, his musical sense did lead him to Brazilian singer-songwriter Seu Jorge, who, as “Pelé dos Santos” in Anderson’s “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou,” contributed David Bowie covers on acoustic guitar and with Portuguese-language vocals. The rest of Jorge’s oeuvre is also impressive.
Why you should go: After Bowie’s death in 2016, Jorge decided to tour with those covers, collected on 2005’s “The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions,” so his current solo show is a kind of two-plane collaboration between Jorge and Bowie: The latter loved Jorge’s covers and the former will beautifully, starkly interpret and discuss Bowie’s myriad songs and effects.
Time and place:8 p.m. Friday, Pabst Theater, 144 E. Wells St.
Price:$35.50 at the box office, the Riverside Theater box office (116 W. Wisconsin Ave.), (414) 286-3663 and pabsttheater.org.
— Jon M. Gilbertson
MAXWELL
Style: “Neo soul” that’s earned the right to drop the “neo.”
Backstory: Gerald Maxwell Rivera’s sound can be buttery, but even his first LP, 1996’s “Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite,” experienced delays because of conflicts with record execs. The Brooklynite has also tested audience expectations, moving from 1980s influences to the murkier waters of “neo soul,” swimming near Erykah Badu and D’Angelo.
Why you should go: Last year, Maxwell released “blackSUMMERS’night,” the second part of a trilogy begun with 2009’s “BLACKsummers’night.” It’s a reminder that he’s been experimenting with R&B forms since Frank Ocean and Janelle Monae were learning their ABCs, and, on this “Summers’ Tour,” he could prove he’s still got that modern-swing thing.
Opener: New Orleans-born Ledisi, a jazzy singer-songwriter active almost as long as the headliner.
Time and place:8 p.m. Saturday, Riverside Theater, 116 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Price: $55.50 to $125.
— Jon M. Gilbertson
WILCO
Style: Americana-redefining songs played with lightly worn expertise.
Backstory: Wilco was one offshoot (Son Volt was the other) of Uncle Tupelo, an Illinois alt-country group among the subgenre’s best. Frontman Jeff Tweedy made Wilco sound like a continuation of UT until 1996’s “Being There” and 1999’s “Summerteeth” indicated messy ambition and broader realization, respectively.
Why you should go: After more than a decade with its most stable and talented lineup, Wilco has settled into folk-rock’s pastoral comforts, although many tracks on later full-lengths like 2011’s “The Whole Love” and 2016’s “Schmilco” contain the menace of gathering storm clouds and the musicianship of human tigers just waiting to unsheathe their claws onstage.
Opener: Canadian folk duo and second cousins Kacy & Clayton, whose forthcoming LP was produced by Tweedy.
Time and place: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Riverside Theater.
Price:$49.50 to $59.50.
— Jon M. Gilbertson
GLORIA TREVI Vs. ALEJANDRA GUZMAN
Style: Mexican pop and rock melodrama from two of Latin music’s most popularly florid divas.
Backstory: Detractors and fans have both referred to Gloria Trevi as the “Madonna of Mexico,” and she has had a similar penchant for challenging social and sexual niceties. Alejandra Guzmán has also sashayed toward controversy, and her family line includes father Enrique Guzmán, a pioneer of rock ‘n’ roll in Mexico.
Why you should go: Between them, Trevi and Guzmán have sold over 60 million records. Although the “Vs.” ads refer to the supposed rivalry between them, the two share stylistic points (Spanish vocals, electric guitars, grandiosity), starting decade (1980s) and birth year (a gentleman does not tell). They should get along even while one-upping each other.
Time and place:7 p.m. Sunday, Miller High Life Theatre, 500 W. Kilbourn Ave.
Price:$58 to $153 at the box office and through Ticketmaster.
— Jon M. Gilbertson
LOCAL SHOW SPOTLIGHT
Lakefront Festival of Art
Friday through Sunday, Milwaukee Art Museum, 700 N. Art Museum Drive. Visit mam.org for schedule and ticket info. Soul Low, Rx Drugs and Brett Newski are among the 12 acts playing the 55th annual event. — Piet Levy