By Allen Halas OnMilwaukee Staff Writer Published Aug 13, 2024 at 5:50 PM

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Bay View’s Humboldt Park is no stranger to hosting big concerts, between Chill on the Hill, the new Vivarium in the Green concert series from Pabst Theater Group, and of course, WMSE’s Backyard BBQ. On Tuesday, 91.7 FM announced a series of upcoming events, which includes the already-announced 14th edition of the one-day festival, headlined by indie rock mainstays Guided By Voices.

This year’s Backyard BBQ takes place on Saturday, August 24th, with four local acts and WMSE DJ Faux Eyes getting things going before the long-running Ohio rockers close out the night. Milwaukee acts The Exotics, Jinksie, and singer/songwriters Newski and Buffalo Nichols will round out the lineup, with a mixture of surf, punk, indie and bluesy country. The day will also feature food trucks, craft beers on tap, and activities for the whole family before Guided By Voices takes the stage.

“We are thrilled that Guided by Voices will share their music with our community, but we’re equally pumped about the exceptional local talent that will share the stage,” said WMSE music director Sid McCain via statement. “Wear tight socks because we’ll knock them off on August 24th.”

The BBQ is just one of a series of events that WMSE is currently planning, alongside the return of their Local/Live series to Anodyne Coffee Roasters in Walker’s Point on September 10th, featuring Milwaukee’s own Graham Hunt, and a day party on September 17th (9/17) for 91.7 Day. In celebration of all things Frontier Radio, WMSE’s DJs will take over Bay View listening lounge Wiggle Room, spinning their favorite vinyl with a selection as diverse as the weekly lineup on the station. 

In addition to the live music events, WMSE will also host their regular Friday Night Freak Show at the Oriental Theatre beginning on September 20th. Quentin Tarantino classic "Reservoir Dogs” will open up the season, followed by a DJ set from Johnny Z from Friday morning mainstay the Chicken Shack. 

For more information on any of these events, check out the WMSE website for details about all of their upcoming programming. For even more live music, here’s who are hitting Brew City stages for the rest of August.