By Armando

It was another great night at Milwaukee on July 07, with jazz blues musician Jon Batiste gracing the Johnson Controls World Stage as one of the last, and one of the most memorable performances of the night the festival.

Jon Batiste of course is the always gleeful bandleader and musical director on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

This time, he joined forces with funk and soul band the Dap-Kings, the 11 member group who also recently performed with Kesha at the festival, as well as Amy Winehouse and Michael Bublé in the past.

Batiste looked and sounded every bit a seasoned performer and is one of the big surprises in the 11 day festival. You can tell he was very much at home on stage. He’s an incredible and exciting performer, working the stage and captivating the diverse crowd that was cheering and singing along.

By Armando

The Flaming Lips
photo: aiphotoimaging.com

On Friday night, the spark is as apparent as ever. Playing to a packed and excited fans at the Harley-Davidson Roadhouse in one of the most energetic stages in this year’s Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the band continued to be a pleasant surprise with a show that felt more like a big party.

Right from the start, when band opened their show with a cover of Richard Strauss’ “Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30”, the band put on a massive visual spectacle, with giant balloons rolling through the crowd amidst the festive rain of confetti.

This continued on with their usual tour opener “Race for the Prize,” the band’s first single from their 1999 ninth studio album The Soft Bulletin. With it sees lead singer Wayne Coyne lifting a big sign that said “**** Yeah Summerfest” which only hyped the crowd even more.

Throughout the night, the band played more than a dozen songs including “Fight Test”, a song from their 2003 EP of the same name, as well as “The W.A.N.D. (The Will Always Negates Defeat)” and “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power)”, both from their 2006 album “At War with the Mystics”.

Other outrageously fun highlights include Coyne playfully wearing gigantic globes which projected layers on each hand as a rendition of Star Spangled Banner played in the background, and on another with Coyne rolling through the crowd in a giant transparent bubble while the band played David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.”

The band closed the show with encore performance of “Do You Realize??”, undoubtedly one of the band’s more well known songs, thereby ending the night on a high note, proving once again that The Flaming Lips is still one of the most exciting bands right now.

Related: Summerfest 2018 Kicks Off Wednesday

By Armando

Machine Gunn Kelly took the stage at Milwaukee, performing a lively set on Thursday, July 5 at Miller Lite Oasis.

Kelly is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated performers in this year’s Summmerfest, drawing crowds and their energy into the festival grounds before the show even started.

A towering presence even at the massive stage, there is strength and confidence in his delivery, and in every song he performed. With his rapid-fire rap and overall stage persona, the rock elements of his work is palpable.

Kelly, whose real name is Richard Colson Baker, opened the show with “Wild Boy”, his lead single from his 2012 label debut EP “Half Naked & Almost Famous” and immediately followed up with “Golden God,” a more recent cut from his latest album “Bloom”.

The rapper performed Wake + Bake and Mind of a Stone back to back, occasionally smoking towards a snake prop on stage.

This was followed by his chart hit collaboration with Camila Cabello “Bad Things,” and although the “Havana” singer was not on stage, the song naturally sent the excited crowd to their feet.

He began to close the night with a “Till I Die” the lead single from his 2015 studio album “General Admission”, followed by latest single “27” from his most recent album “Bloom”, before ending the night with “Too Good to be True,” his collaboration with Danny Avila and The Vamps released earlier this year.

Kelly knows how to take control on every song, one after another, keeping everyone engaged with energetic and commanding presence, and interacting with front row fans, who followed Kelly’s every move, and his songs note per note.

By Armando

One might wander into a Kesha show unsure of what to expect. But on the 4th of July at Milwaukee’s Summerfest, the pop star was on full display, thrilling the packed crowds at Miller Lite Oasis stage with great hits and sensational stage energy.

Though the weather was somewhat unpredictable throughout the day, there was no question of the excitement Kesha brought into the festival as soon as she took the stage, literally sparkling as she come out from a UFO.

Kesha opened the night with a wild and spirited performance of “Woman,” her single from her third studio album from last year “Rainbow.”

“Every month is Pride Month,” Kesha screamed, then sends the crowd into a dance frenzy with her chart topping hit “We R Who We R,”. Throughout the night, Kesha chatter with fans, taking in the raucous cheers that never seemed to end throughout the whole show.

The hits continue throughout the night with “Timber”, “Die Young” and “Your Love Is My Drug”, all of which were top 5 hits that kept the night’s adrenaline running.

By the time “Take It Off”, the party was in full swing and with some playful encouragement from Kesha, the shirts started flying to the stage. She then closed the main show set with “Blow” during which she fired up the spectacular confetti cannon.

Later, Kesha emerged for an encore of Praying, a moving performance that had the audience singing along. It was a soaring rendition, understandably an emotional one for the singer considering her recent personal struggles.

Kesha ended the fun and energetic show with, Tik Tok, undoubtedly one of her signature hits, also her debut single which topped the charts all around the globe.

It was a fitting closer, a soaring pop anthem that keeps fans’ energy and excitement long after the the singer’s spectacle has left the stage.

By Creative Media Times

Swim Deep’s second studio album “Mothers” from RCA

Following the announcement, the band shared some of their photos from the studio. Check them out here.

British indie rock band’s long-awaited album would be their follow up their sophomore album “Mothers”. Release in October 2015, the album was received positively by music critics.

The post also confirms the departure of Tom Higgins (guitar, keyboard) and Zachary Robinson (drums, percussion) though remains optimistic about the recent changes, adding “it’s been a great change, and we’ve been making waves with some incredible new friends who you’ll meet soon.”

It’s happenin x pic.twitter.com/Lk3Q5TIsy0

— SWIM DEEP ≈ (@SWIM_DEEP) July 2, 2018