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3rd Annual Lonely Hearts HonkyTonk

Fri 02/14/25
5:00PM
All Ages
music
PWYC (a fundraiser for Milwaukee Freedom Fund)
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Event

Beta Feature: Screenshot Flyers

1:1 Square 9:16 Portrait
Sad country songs with Kati Katchever, J.R. Wesley, The Krause Family Trio, Ellie Jackson, The Spine Stealers, and Maximiano
DJ Mike Mildew spinning vinyl in the bar
Pay-what-you-can at the door
A portion of proceeds to benefit the Milwaukee Freedom Fund
The Milwaukee Freedom Fund is part of a movement to end pretrial detention and ultimately mass incarceration. We pay bail for people primarily in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We support people who are most impacted by structural violence. Paying bail for folks that can not afford to, restores the presumption of innocence, reunites families, and challenges a system that criminalizes race and poverty. We pay bail as a direct action toward bail abolition. Through community political education, releasing people from pre-trial detention and supporting abolition and protester efforts, Milwaukee Freedom Fund builds on a legacy of Black liberation and fights for a humane and just future.

Show Lineup

Ellie Jackson

(Milwaukee, WI)
Genre: Indie Rock

With the support of a rotating cast of bandmates, Ellie Jackson delivers determined vulnerability and emotional exploration through guitars, stories, amplification and a careful balance of harmony and dissonance. Ellie blurs the lines between poetry, literature, activism, music, comedy, conversation, and hopes you leave braver than you arrived. 

Official Website

Maximiano

(Milwaukee, WI)
Genre: Alternative, Americana, Folk

Ever since the release of their critically acclaimed debut album, “The Real Truth”, Maximiano’s music has reached indie, folk, and americana scenes all across the country. The Milwaukee, WI based singer, songwriter, producer, engineer, and multi-instrumentalist toured extensively in support of “The Real Truth,” which The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel named the 3rd Best Album of 2024, calling it “one of the most piercing and emotionally resonant collections of songs… a towering artistic achievement.”

Maximiano performed 107 shows in 28 cities across 15 states in 2025 while still finding time to produce, mix, and collaborate with 30 artists and bands. In the midst of this hard work, Maximiano had a brief period of rest when their friends asked them to dog sit in the Hudson Valley region of New York. During that ten day span, Maximiano wrote their new album, “Rokeby,” named for the area that inspired the songs.

“Rokeby,” which Maximiano wrote, produced, arranged, recorded, and mixed, expands upon the lush production of “The Real Truth” in its first half before refocusing around the raw intimacy of performance in the stripped back second half. Every song on the album, no matter the production style, is driven by Maximiano’s trademark songwriting style: “honest, vulnerable, and altogether beautiful,” (Milwaukee Record).

The album is rooted in peace, community, and opposition to technocratic fascism so, in line with these beliefs, it will not be released on Spotify. Additionally, in solidarity with every artist who suffers under the streaming model, only the first half of the record will be available on other streaming platforms. The full record will be available on Bandcamp, vinyl, and CD on April 1st.

Donate Direct to Artist

J.R. Wesley

(Milwaukee, WI)
Genre: Folk, Indie
Official Website

The Spine Stealers

(Madison, WI)
Genre: Americana, Folk

The Spine Stealers are a two-gal duo making “spooky folk” influenced by the north-wood Wisconsin pines, 24/7 truck stop diners, heartbreak and dark lakes. Kate and Emma started learning guitar together around bonfires in their shared hometown during the height of the pandemic, soon writing songs inspired by lonesome winters, the heartaches of nostalgia and broken ideas of love. The duo started frequenting open mics in July of 2022, which led them to a whirlwind first year as performers. It began with opening for Dead Horses at Madison’s Majestic Theater for Folk Fest 2023, then winning the 2023 Blue Ox Music Festival Virtual Band Competition, and releasing their first ever EP, “River Teeth Tapes” in July, 2023. 2024 brought the release of several singles, a feature in DAYBREAK magazine, and most proudly, the recording of their debut album “If the Sky Falls, Beyond the Sidewalks”, released in October, 2024. The duo is making a name in the Midwestern folk scene, and anxiously await the introduction of their sound to new corners of the country during upcoming tours.

Official Website

Krause Family Trio

Genre: Americana