You never know who you’ll meet at Cactus Club

Imagine watching The White Stripes perform in a 200-person capacity tavern, so intimate you can see the sweat rolling down Jack White’s face.

Since opening in 1996, Milwaukee’s Cactus Club has hosted bands like The White Stripes, Death Cab for Cutie, Spoon, Queens of the Stone Age, of Montreal, Bright Eyes and Interpol before they hit it big. What’s more, the Bay View club is considered a home away from home by the Grammy-nominated duo Sylvan Esso after a gig there in 2010.

With four to five bookings a week, next year’s best new artist might be here.

– Grace Gregg