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EventLong Mama’s music blisters with the heart and grit of someone who has lost hard, loved harder, and licked her burns until they stung then silvered. In a drafty attic just west of the Milwaukee River she grew up on, you’ll find songwriter Kat Wodtke (Wood-key) raking through notebooks in search of a salve: words, stories, and sounds to temper the dumpster fires we never mean to light.
Milwaukee duo Jesse Walker’s Hitch sings through the anthology of American music with an ear for diamonds in the rough. Both focused equally on innovation as well as preservation, bassist/banjoist Eston Bennett and guitarist Andrew Koenig provide a sound authentic to those old melodies and themselves.
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.
A Boot Stompin’ Finger Pickin’ Folkie
A highway-kind traveler combining a touch of the high and lonesome hollers of the Appalachian hill people with the low-down, dusty grooves of the cosmic cowboys, Dandy has created a unique songwriter banquet sure to satisfy the hunger of any weary passerby. A boot stompin’ finger picker with remnant hollers of the greats of our past – Don’t be afraid to stop awhile, and fill up your plate, there’s plenty to go around.
Steph Lippert is a Milwaukee pianist, trombonist, singer-songwriter, and music educator. She moved here in 2010 to pursue studies in Collaborative Piano and Trombone performance. Since 2010, she has worked actively as an accompanist for local churches, schools, and instrumentalists. In addition, she enjoys teaching privately, djing under the name Gramma Matrix, and serves on the board of the Civic Music Association of Milwaukee. Other local bands you may see her perform with include The Brew City Big Band, L’Resorts, Lady Cannon, Ruth B8r Ginsburg, and her own band which she started in March of 2021, The Steph Lippert Project.
