{"id":5402,"date":"2026-08-17T09:40:47","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T14:40:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musomadison.com\/home\/?p=5402"},"modified":"2026-08-17T09:46:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T14:46:28","slug":"lil-rev-live-at-muso","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musomadison.com\/home\/lil-rev-live-at-muso\/","title":{"rendered":"Lil’ Rev Live at Muso"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Lil’ Rev Live at Muso – 10\/23\/2026, 7PM-9PM:<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Muso is extremely proud to present Lil’ Rev live in concert on October 23, 2026 from 7PM-9PM. \u00a0He’ll be performing on guitar, ukulele, banjo, dulcimer, mandolin and harmonica that evening including: Blues, Bluegrass, Originals, Folk and much more!\u00a0<\/p>\n

Join Lil Rev in Madison for a fabulous night of music at MUSO, Madison’s premier listening room! Lil Rev will be presenting a variety of original and traditional music on guitar, mandolin, ukulele, harmonica and dulcimer. Tickets are $20 a head Purchase tickets here! Showtime is: 7pm Drinks and snacks are available. For more details email: Prent: music@musomadison.com<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The Lil Rev Story:\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>

I\u00a0grew up on the Northwest side of Milwaukee, WI which was a working class neighborhood in all its splendor.\u00a0<\/p>

I graduated from John Marshall High School in 1987\u00a0and The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee in 1993 {with a B.S. Degree in Community Education}.\u00a0<\/p>

My musical inspiration started when I was just a kid listening to my dad’s record collection and my mom singing Broadway show-tunes.\u00a0<\/p>

I had an early morning\u00a0paper route which afforded me the chance to purchase my first guitar, along with some\u00a0rock n roll records and a few guitar lessons to boot.<\/p>

That was over 40 years ago, and\u00a0I’ve\u00a0lived each day, \u00a0to listen to, \u00a0play, \u00a0perform and teach music any chance I can\u00a0get. It still amazes me all these years later that I am able to make my living doing what I love!\u00a0<\/p>

I first heard Bruce Springsteen sing Born to Run <\/strong><\/i>and Thunder Road<\/strong><\/i>\u00a0in 1979 {I was\u00a011 years old} and I’ve\u00a0never been quite the same ever since.<\/p>

Music had to be a part of my life, for some perhaps its a hobby, but for me it was an obsession.\u00a0<\/p>

After hearing\u00a0Woody Guthrie sing I Ain’t Got No Home,<\/strong><\/i> when I was 14,\u00a0I had to have an acoustic guitar! More importantly,\u00a0Woody<\/i>\u00a0posed a question in his music,\u00a0that has\u00a0always haunted\u00a0me….“What does it mean to be an American?<\/strong>” This is the same question, that, I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to answer in story\u00a0and song.\u00a0<\/p>

Eventually, I heard\u00a0Hank Williams,\u00a0Johnny Cash\u00a0<\/i>and Bob Dylan,<\/i>\u00a0and man,\u00a0once I did,\u00a0the deal was sealed, I was bound\u00a0to become a musician come hell or high water!\u00a0<\/p>

From 1993 until 2000, I toured the Midwest as a troubadour, performing at coffee shops, nursing homes, street corners, house concerts and community festivals both\u00a0solo and later on with the\u00a0Milwaukee Super group Frogwater.<\/i> During this time, I played at so many nursing homes, assisted living centers and veterans homes that my friends jokingly called me, The King of The Nursing Home Circuit!\u00a0<\/strong><\/i>\u00a0For the record,\u00a0I was, and am, proud of that title! I love being with our elders!<\/p>

Music has brought\u00a0romance, adventure, wisdom, sustenance and \u00a0fellowship into my life in a way that nothing else could have. It is the wellspring from which I drink each morning that I am blessed to wake unto a new day.\u00a0<\/p>

Milwaukee, WI was a great town to come of age in. With lots of bars, coffee shops and the lower east side street corners to busk\u00a0on summer nights.\u00a0<\/p>

From Folk Legends like the late Larry Penn, to musical heroes like Milwaukee’s Harp Master Jim Liban, all of these people inspired me and gave me something that could not have been had anywhere else but in Milwaukee.\u00a0To these folks, some living and some now gone on, I owe a debt of gratitude for encouraging me in some small way,\u00a0not to give up on the\u00a0music, even if,\u00a0\u00a0at\u00a0times it can be\u00a0challenging.\u00a0<\/p>

In the early 90’s I was given an old beat up ukulele by a fan. I didn’t know it at the time, but this act of kindness, would alter my life in ways I could never have imagined. With each passing year, I began to become more and more enamored with the instrument, researching, collecting ephemera, connecting with other players around the country and eventually recording ukulele records and writing books. I like to think it was all meant to be. The ukulele felt like being with an old friend and always left me a little lighter than when I first lifted it up into my arms. To this day, my work largely revolves around teaching, performing, writing and recording ukulele themed projects. I am particularly interested in the ukulele’s role in old time music and blues styles, but I also enjoy writing my own songs too.\u00a0<\/p>

As of 2020, my music career largely\u00a0revolves around touring North America, teaching at music camps, festivals, and concert series, as well as presenting my\u00a0one man musical history shows like: \u00a0Scraps of Quilting Music, \u00a0The American Uke Master Show, Jews n Blues,\u00a0and \u00a0The Jews of Tin Pan Alley, When Dylan Met Guthrie \u00a0<\/i>as well as my one man Uke history show: American Uke Master.\u00a0<\/p>

I perform about 125 shows a year, sometimes alone, and sometimes when I’m lucky,\u00a0my wife Jenna and daughter Mariela travel with me.\u00a0<\/p>

In addition to my solo endeavors, I occasionally work with my Irish\/Acoustic Eclectic trio, The Hudson Dusters with Will Branch on Guitar & Tim Dekker on fiddle.\u00a0<\/p>

For over 25 years now, i’ve maintained a close musical connection to guitarist John Nicholson of the Celtic duo\u00a0Frogwater<\/i>\u00a0(a band i was in for over 10 years). While John and i only do a rare gig together each year, it’s always heartfelt and magical. John and i share some deep roots and there’s no telling where we might go when on stage together.\u00a0<\/p>

When playing in Sheboygan, i am sometimes accompanied by or am accompanying local favorite Mike Ammons of The Water Street Hot Shots.\u00a0<\/p>

Thank you for taking the time to read\u00a0about my musical journey,\u00a0<\/p>

I do hope to see you at a class or concert,\u00a0<\/p>

As my harmonica mentor Jim Liban once told me…”It’s better to be seen than viewed.”<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>

Musically,\u00a0<\/p>

Lil Rev 10-27-25<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lil’ Rev Live at Muso – 10\/23\/2026, 7PM-9PM: Muso is extremely proud to present Lil’ Rev live in concert on October 23, 2026 from 7PM-9PM. \u00a0He’ll be performing on guitar, ukulele, banjo, dulcimer, mandolin and harmonica that evening including: Blues, Bluegrass, Originals, Folk and much more!\u00a0 Join Lil Rev in 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