Since his 2006 debut as the “senior British correspondent” on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” John Oliver has emerged as one of the program's breakout stars, anchoring his segments with a mix of dry humor...

From their humble, late-'90s beginnings in the swamplands of northern Florida, the blues-funk group Mofro quickly rose through word of mouth in the receptive jam band circuit. The band's 2001 Fog City debut, Blackwater, paid homage to...

Twin Cities producer Ryan Olson was one of the driving creative forces behind Gayngs, the sprawling 25-member soft-rock collective that included members of The Rosebuds, Megafaun and Bon Iver. His latest project features a much smaller cast...

The hard-boogieing Southern rock act JJ Grey & Mofro will return to Milwaukee later this month for a Jan. 19 performance at the Turner Hall Ballroom. In advance of that show, the venue...

Comedian Moshe Kasher's thick glasses and effete mannerisms seem to tease a much different, softer style of comedy than the kind he actually delivers. Instead of riffing on the neuroses you might expect, Kasher barrels forward with a surprisingly...

The familiar songbook of U2, as performed by the Midwest tribute band U2Zoo, will be juxtaposed against the beautiful background of the Floral Show Dome at the Mitchell Park Conservatory. The performance is part of the Domes...

The local modern-rock station FM 102.1 has some exciting acts for its annual holiday show. Headliners Cage the Elephant have been alt-radio staples since their breakout hit “Ain't No Rest for the Wicked,” from their 2008 self-titled debut album, a funky...

After two albums of deranged, abrasively noisy psychedelic art-pop, including 2009's densely packed Worldwild, Brooklyn's Pterodactyl has made its catchiest, most accessible record yet with its newest release, Spills Out. It's still a jittery, deeply...

Though they amassed an impressive body of work in their own right, the stoner rock band Kyuss has become known mostly for its many offshoot bands—Them Crooked Vultures, Queens of the Stone Age and Eagles...

Expert remix artist Steve Aoki—also a club promoter, a record producer and the founder of Dim Mak Records—injects tricked-out trance beats into even the most tame tracks to create thumping house...

Brothers Scott and Seth began recording as The Avett Brothers in 2000, roughly at the beginning of the modern roots-revival movement jump started by Oh Brother Where Art Thou?, and in the decade since, with bassist Bob Crawford and cellist Joe...

From their humble beginnings as a house band in Chicago, the progressive-bluegrass ensemble Cornmeal grew an audience that allowed them to play high-profile festivals like Bonnaroo...

Even by the anything-goes standard of modern world music, Delhi 2 Dublin's fusion of world sounds is pretty eccentric. The Canadian sextet electrifies traditional Celtic and Indian bhangra music with turntables and electronic sitars, rock guitars...

The post-Pulp Fiction surf-rock revival spawned plenty of instrumental surf bands, but Nashville's Los Straitjackets didn't have...

Nashville songwriter Will Hoge set out to become a history teacher, but he left Western Kentucky University to pursue music. The rustic, soulful roots-rock sound of his independently released album Live at the Exit/In drew attention from Atlantic...

A singer-songwriter with a reverence for classic rock 'n' roll, Buddy Holly glasses and porkpie hats, Marshall Crenshaw emerged shortly after Elvis Costello, so it's a testament to his songwriting gifts that he wasn't immediately dismissed...

It shouldn't be too surprising that Pizzle has revealed himself to be one of Milwaukee's most pop-savvy rappers with his new album, Fame in Vain. . His Packerscheering Wiz Khalifa remake “Green and Yellow,” with Prophetic, was ubiquitous on local...

Before the Atlanta soul/rock/hip-hop group The Constellations landed on Virgin Records, they were receiving regular radio play in, of all places, Milwaukee. Radio Milwaukee took an interest in the band, spinning their Cee Lo-assisted single...

An adult spin on the classic high-school debate club format, Milwaukee's Hot Blind Debates adds an extra element of uncertainty (debaters are selected at random) and a whole lot of booze (spectators are given kazoos or confetti and encouraged to be loud). A fund-raiser for...

The daughter of Fleetwood Mac producer Ken Caillat, clean-scrubbed adult alternative “it girl” Colbie Caillat offers a fluffy alternative for “Grey's Anatomy” viewers who find Norah Jones too heavy or Jason Mraz too dark. Caillat's preciousness can sometimes get the best of her...

Milwaukee's popular Irish Fest features 16 stages of music and entertainment, with a full lineup of Celtic musicians both traditional and anything but, including the bands Gaelic Storm, Frogwater, The Henry Girls, The Clumsy Lovers and The Red Hot Chilli Pipers...

It didn't take long for the Milwaukee indie-rock group Sat. Nite Duets to find an audience for their scruffy mix of lo-fi pop, quirky pop and free-spirited Pavement-isms. Released for free on Bandcamp, the band's debut EP, One Nite Only, earned praise...

For the last decade “American Idol” has been a pop-culture juggernaut, creating stars like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Chris Daughtry. Though in recent seasons the show has been unable to produce any sensations like Adam Lambert, it has still drawn ratings that any other TV show...

One of Milwaukee's largest ethnic festivals, German Fest features dancers, live polka music, historical displays, mask-carving, a blacksmith, a genealogist, and almost criminally adorable dachshund races, but the biggest draw is, as always, the food. Among the vittles: schnitzel...

The city's endless appetite for comfort foods like Italian sausage, eggplant spiedini, fried zucchini, pasta and calzones ensures that Festa Italiana is consistently among the most highly attended of Milwaukee's many summer ethnic festivals. Among the attractions at this year's festival are an Italian piazza, chef demonstrations, dance performances...