Originally posted to The ACE | MKE - Wix on October 13, 2019.
If you’re looking for something new to jam to on your way to work, look no further. Think Arctic Monkeys meets soft rock Strokes, then makes a baby with the Black Keys. This stunning four-piece band considers themselves bar-rock and aims to make their hometown proud with their sound.
From the outskirts of Milwaukee comes The Keystones, born in “the very same place as the electric guitar itself,” (thanks, Spotify) and quickly gaining popularity not only locally but across the country. Harnessing thousands of monthly listeners from New York to LA, the garage-meets-grunge quartet has been blessing our ears since 2016. They continue to thrive this year, steadily booking local weekend gigs and even taking the Rebel Stage for the past three years at Summerfest in Milwaukee, nicknamed “the World’s Largest Music Festival”.
The alternative-sounding rock band has given us hit after hit, each one unique. Their sound varies, but one thing remains consistent: they rock hard. And, apparently, they rock floral Hawaiian shirts. Like, a lot.
Brothers Jack and Matt Sherman from small-town Waukesha, Wisconsin, grew up with long-time childhood friend Eddie Curran, and the trio took nightly jam sessions and turned them into bar gigs. Joined by Jake Lutzke, the group found their way into a proper recording studio and have been making music ever since.
With friends and family alike, the group was able to soar to new heights. Enterprise Films, fueled by bassist Eddie and his twin sister Kelley Curran, has been able to create incredible music videos for the group, and thanks to YouTube publicity from music channel Spaceuntravel, their name has gotten out.
The group recently surpassed 100,000 streams on Spotify, and continue to gain staggering increases in monthly listeners every single day. Along with Wisconsin-livin’ band White Knuckles, the Keystones took on Carroll University as recently as Saturday night and are performing a private house show this evening with group Mo Lowda & The Humble. The Keystones have taken on venues as large as The Rave in downtown Milwaukee, and are known for getting everyone up on their feet.
At this time, the band is unsigned but their debut EP (we’ve been blessed by annual single releases thus far), “I Like The Keystones”, is said to be in the works for release later this year. This clip is from the White Knuckles' Instagram story from Saturday evening.
Their songs vary from Young the Giant-esque to Volbeat undertones. From chorus to album art, each single has been absolutely spot on. Initially I had listed two songs as my favourites, but truly I love all four I’ve listed below… But if I had to choose one top choice, it’d be “Everything I Hate to Lose”.
You can find these guys on YouTube, Facebook, Spotify, and Apple Music… Basically anywhere. They’re about to be huge. Links are embedded below for your listening pleasure so you can, *ahem*, kNoW tHeM bEfOrE tHeY’rE fAmOuS.
Their recent releases:
Everything I Hate to Lose (2019)
Listen on Spotify • Apple Music • YouTube
(This is their brand new single -- it was released just two weeks ago; also happens to have a kick ass music video, too)
2010 (2019)
Listen on Spotify • Apple Music • YouTube
Miss Connection (2019)
Listen on Spotify • Apple Music • YouTube
Different (2018)
Listen on Spotify • Apple Music • YouTube