BIG TOURING & MAJOR VENUE SHOWS 🎸

1. Black Veil Brides w/ Caskets, Archers & Holy Wars
   The Rave/Eagles Club, Milwaukee | Thursday, Sept. 3 | 6:35 PM
   Black Veil Brides bring their theatrical blend of hard rock, heavy metal, and post-hardcore to Milwaukee, backed by three modern rock acts. Caskets lean into emotional post-hardcore and metalcore, Wisconsin’s own, Archers, deliver melodic alternative rock with a heavier punch, and Holy Wars bring a darker, atmospheric alternative-rock sound. A seriously solid Thursday road trip for fans of big hooks and bigger guitars.
2.  Chad Gray w/ Butcher Babies & Devil’s Cut
   The Rave/Eagles Club, Milwaukee | Saturday, Sept. 5 | 7:00 PM
   Chad Gray brings his unmistakable aggressive vocals and modern-metal/hard-rock sound to The Rave for a Saturday night built for heavy music fans. Butcher Babies add a vicious combination of groove metal, metalcore, and dual-vocal attack, while Devil’s Cut rounds out the bill with a darker, riff-heavy metal sound. If you want your Saturday night considerably heavier, point the car toward Milwaukee.
3.  Hatebreed w/ Terror, Incantation, Gates To Hell, Torture & Creeping Death
   The Rave/Eagles Club, Milwaukee | Sunday, Sept. 6 | 4:45 PM
   Sunday gets BRUTAL. Hardcore-metal legends Hatebreed headline a stacked extreme-metal bill featuring Terror’s relentless hardcore, Incantation’s old-school death metal, Gates To Hell’s brutal death-metal attack, Torture’s crushing extreme metal, and Creeping Death’s old-school death-metal influence. With an early 4:45 PM start, you can get absolutely destroyed in the pit and still make it home before Monday comes knocking.
4. SLAYER w/ Down, Suicidal Tendencies & Hatebreed 💀
   Mystic Lake Amphitheater, Shakopee, MN | Friday, Sept. 4 | 7:00 PM
   The outlaw road-trip pick of the week. Slayer’s legendary thrash-metal attack headlines a monster bill featuring Down’s sludge-heavy Southern metal, Suicidal Tendencies’ skate-punk/crossover thrash, and Hatebreed’s crushing hardcore metal. It’s outside the usual Madison radius, but for a lineup this stacked, the extra miles are worth it.

EMERGING & LOCAL BANDS 🥁

1. Aranda w/ Shallowside, Janus & Embers Rise
   The Annex, Madison | Saturday, September 5 | 8:00 PM
   This is your home-field pick of the week. Aranda brings melodic hard rock, heavy riffs, and active-rock-sized hooks to The Annex, with Madison-area favorites Shallowside, Janus, and Embers Rise filling out the bill. Four bands, one small room, and a great chance to catch some serious local talent before they get even bigger.
2. Stonedtember w/ PLANT, Blunt, Droids Attack, & Switchblade Monkeys 
   Crucible, Madison | Friday, September 4 | 8:00 PM
   Stonedtember brings a heavy local lineup to Crucible with PLANT, Blunt, Droids Attack, and Switchblade Monkeys. Expect thick riffs, stoner-metal grooves, psychedelic heaviness, and plenty of fuzz for anyone who likes their Friday nights loud and dirty.
3. Crying At Work w/ Snart, Ritual Coil & Diskonekt 
   Gamma Ray, Madison | Sunday, September 6 | 8:00 PM
   Crying At Work closes out the week at Gamma Ray with Snart, Ritual Coil, and Diskonekt. This is a deep dive into Madison’s heavier underground, with punk, hardcore, alternative, and experimental edges all colliding in a small-room setting.
4. Bikes, Bands & Beer — Wednesday & Thursday gives you a couple of ways to get the engines and amps running:
   Motor Night @ Kurnicki’s in Cross Plains
   Wheel Wednesdays @ NV Corners in Sun Prairie
   Bike Night Series @ Bowl-A-Vard in Madison

 BAR-HEAVY LATE-NIGHT ROUTES 🍻

• Wednesday is your low-pressure night: Hit a bike night, grab some food and a beer, check out the local bands, and use it as your pregame for the weekend.
• Thursday is Milwaukee-bound: If you’re making the trip for Black Veil Brides, give yourself plenty of time for dinner and drinks before the show and keep the post-show plan simple—the drive back to Madison is enough adventure.
• Friday has two very different lanes: Stay local for Stonedtember at Crucible or go full metal road warrior for SLAYER in Minnesota.
• Saturday is stacked: Catch Aranda at The Annex in Madison or point the car toward Milwaukee for Chad Gray. Pick a direction and make the night count.
• Sunday gets heavy early: Start at Crying At Work at Gamma Ray for a dive into Madison’s underground rock and punk scene, or head to Milwaukee for Hatebreed and a massive extreme-metal lineup. Either way, you can get your Sunday dose of loud music and still make it home at a reasonable(ish) hour.

 ROCK LIFESTYLE THINGS TO DO 🤘

• Make Wednesday bike night your official end-of-summer ritual: bikes, burgers, beer, and live music.
• Hit a record store before the weekend shows and grab something new for the road-trip playlist.
• Take a low-key jukebox night when the calendar goes thin instead of forcing a weak pick.
• Build a downtown Madison run around a show ticket, a late bite, and one no-rush last stop.
• Use the lighter early-week nights to reload on band tees, records, and all the stuff that somehow follows you home.
• If you are road-tripping, make the playlist half current heavy stuff and half old-school ripper tracks so the interstate behaves itself.

WHERE TO GO BY NIGHT 🌙

MON (AUG 31): Recovery Mode
No major qualifying rock show tonight. Spin some records, grab some food, and start figuring out which direction you’re driving later this week.

TUE (SEP 1): Jukebox Night
Keep it simple with a dive bar, a cold drink, and a jukebox loaded with questionable musical decisions. Save the energy—and the gas money—for Thursday.

WED (SEP 2): Bike Night Pregame
Take your pick between Motor Night @ Kurnicki’s, or Wheel Wednesday @ NV Corners, Local bands, motorcycles, burgers, beer—consider it your official warmup.

THU (SEP 3): Black Veil Brides
Point the car toward Milwaukee for Black Veil Brides w/ Caskets, Archers & Holy Wars at The Rave. The 6:35 PM start makes this a proper road-trip night, so don’t leave Madison at the last damn minute.

FRI (SEP 4): Stonedtember OR SLAYER
Stay local for Stonedtember with PLANT, Blunt, Droids Attack & Switchblade Monkeys at Crucible, or load up the car and make the long haul to Minnesota for SLAYER w/ Down, Suicidal Tendencies & Hatebreed. One is a killer local metal night—the other is an all-out road warrior mission.

SAT (SEP 5): Aranda OR Chad Gray
Keep it local with Aranda w/ Shallowside, Janus & Embers Rise at The Annex, or head to Milwaukee for Chad Gray w/ Butcher Babies & Devil’s Cut. Either way, Saturday has enough amps to keep you busy.

SUN (SEP 6): Hatebreed OR Crying At Work
Finish the week hard with Crying At Work at Gamma Ray for a dive into Madison’s underground rock and punk scene or road-trip to Milwaukee for Hatebreed at The Rave alongside Terror, Incantation, Gates To Hell, Torture & Creeping Death. An early 4:45 PM start means you can get your Sunday dose of brutality without completely destroying Monday.

MON (SEP 7): Soak It Up
Soak up Monday – it’s your last holiday of the summer! Take it easy, grab a cold one, fire up the grill, and enjoy the long weekend before the real-world grind kicks back in.

Live music. Local bands. Loud nights. No regrets. 🤘

Sources

• WJJO Events Calendar
• The Annex
• Gamma Ray Bar
• The Sylvee Calendar
• High Noon Saloon Calendar
• The Rave / Eagles Club Concert Calendar
• Crucible Calendar
• The Cardinal Bar Events
• Atwood Music Hall Shows
• Breese Stevens Field Upcoming Events
• Orpheum Rock Calendar