Thursday, Nov. 20, Fastball @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m. Thanks to “The Way,” a ubiquitous single that nicely dovetailed with adultcontemporary radio’s renewed interest in Heartland-tinted rock, Fastball was among radio’s breakthrough stars of 1998. Though a couple of likable follow-up singles...

Southern Culture on the Skids @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m. Though Southern Culture on the Skids sings of mobile homes, boxsized motels, fried chicken and other phenomena mostly associated with the land south of the Mason-Dixon, the band would fit right in with Milwaukee’s punk- and rockabilly-loving music...

Thursday, Sept. 18, The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir @ The UWM Gasthaus, 8 p.m. Despite what their moniker promises, The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir isn’t from Scotland; they don’t play gospel; and, for that matter, they’re not a choir. They’re a Chicago co-ed indie pop ensemble with a warm, dreamy sound...

The music of Joy Wants Eternity won’t offer many surprises for those already acquainted with instrumental post-rock bands like Explosions in the Sky and Godspeed You! Black Emperor: Songs start off pensively before spiraling into gorgeous, controlled cacophonies. This Seattle outfit is nearly . . .

Thursday, Sept. 11, Neil Hamburger @ Cactus Club, 10 p.m. With his greasy comb-over, cheap tuxedo, poor comic timing and frequent, phlegmy coughing fits, Neil Hamburger’s sendup of bad stand-ups should be almost as tired as the bad stand-ups he’s mocking. But Hamburger’s shtick is really just a vehicle for his...

In a city where accordions are used almost exclusively for celebratory purposes, singer-songwriter Margaret Stutt has the audacity to use them to make sad music. With her latest project, Pezzettino, she alternates between piano and an accordion, sighing restless, lovelorn songs, touching on Tori Amos’ stark . . .

Portland’s Laura Gibson may only have started recording in recent years, but her rich, nylon-string Americana melodies enjoy a long history dating back to soft, comforting Depression-era fireside hymns. That’s not to say Gibson is entirely tethered to her country/blue grass roots. She crafts modern . . .

Friday, May 23, Milwaukee Bonecrushers vs. Rock River Raptors @ U.S. Cellular Arena, 7:30 p.m. “HERE TO STAY!” the Milwaukee Bonecrushers’ Web site defiantly declares, but the team has often seemed as unlikely to make it through its inaugural season as Hillary Clinton is to make it to the Democratic convention.

Cedarburg’s workaholic jam band Stealin’ Strings plays traditional bluegrass with liberal whiffs of prog-rock. In doing so, they’ve also coined a new sub-genre: “bluegressive rock.” They often open for the jam scene’s touring heavy hitters, but tonight they headline their own 10 p.m. show at the Stonefly Brewery.

Since the break-up of the Ani DiFranco-approved queercore folk duo Bitch and Animal, songstress Bitch has continued playing the electric violin (and bass and ukulele) for her solo career. Her solo albums haven’t strayed too far from familiar Bitch and Animal subject matter, like environmental, LGBT and international . . .