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Milwaukee’s newest live entertainment hub, The Argo, will officially open its doors next month inside the historic Fox Bay Theater in Whitefish Bay, anchoring a full-scale renovation of the 1949 Art Deco building and marking the debut of a new mid-size venue for the region’s touring circuit.
The 700-capacity space — which includes a full bar and restaurant, ballroom, and flexible event areas for private rentals, weddings, and community programming — will host its first public concert on Dec. 5 with performances by local artists Chris Haise Band and Zach Pietrini alongside Nashville alt-pop trio VEAUX. The event doubles as a fundraiser benefiting Milwaukee music education programs.
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The following night (Dec. 6), Milwaukee rock favorites Goran and Morgan of The Gufs will headline The Argo’s grand-opening celebration, marking the 30th anniversary of their 1995 album Collide.
More than 40 concerts are booked between December and spring 2026, with a mix of touring acts, regional artists and thematic dance parties. Highlights include Grateful Dead tribute act Another One, bluegrass veterans NewFound Road, Minnesota rock band Remo Drive, punk mainstays The Casualties and bluegrass singer Dan Tyminski. A rotating Wednesday swing-jazz residency will feature groups including The Flood, The Sazerac 5, Micro Brew Swing Band and Old Sam & The Teardrops.
The Argo’s ownership group — Andrew J. Coate, Adam Powers and Josh Bryant — completed the venue build-out in under five months after receiving revitalization approval earlier this year. The team has instituted a permanent give-back model, pledging $1 from every ticket sold to support music-industry wellness, with an emphasis on mental health, sustainability and career longevity.
“We’ve lived every angle of this industry — we’ve seen the best of it, we’ve felt the burnout,” Coate says. “The Argo is our way of tipping the scales back toward the good — for our peers, for our city, and for the next generation coming up behind us.”
Talent buying for the venue will be handled exclusively by Knitting Factory Entertainment’s live division, Knitting Factory Presents, led by SVP James Irvine. “This is just the start for The Argo,” Irvine says. “The space is built the right way — production, hospitality, artist amenities — and it has the backbone to become a real destination for touring artists.”
The venue’s bar and kitchen will be helmed by chef Dan Jacobs — a five-time James Beard semifinalist, 2024 nominee and co-owner of Milwaukee restaurants EsterEv and DanDan. The restaurant will soft-open Dec. 5 with a limited menu and will operate independently from ticketed events, allowing locals to dine without attending a show.
Additional partners include exclusive ticketing provider Eventbrite, developer New Land Enterprises and design-build firm Three Sixty Design, whose past work includes Café Centraal and the Milwaukee Athletic Club.
“After months perfecting this venue and the customer experience, we’re finally ready to show our faces to Milwaukee and the world,” Coate adds. “We’re looking to become a must-stop for local artists, prominent touring acts and fans of almost every kind of music.”
The Argo
Three Sixty
The Argo
Three Sixty
A calendar of upcoming dates at Argo is below:
Dec 05 Public Soft Opening ft. VEAUX w/ Zach Pietrini, Chris Haise BandDec 06 Public Grand Opening ft. Goran & Morgan of The Gufs Celebrating 30th Anniversary of CollideDec 10 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring Old Sam & The TeardropsDec 12 The First Wave (80’s New Wave Tribute)Dec 13 Birth-Tay (Taylor Swift Dancy Party)Dec 17 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring. The FloodDec 19 Another One (Grateful Dead Tribute)Dec 20 Second Hand News (Fleetwood Mac Tribute)Dec 24 Free Holiday Film ScreeningDec 26 Free Holiday Film ScreeningDec 27 Free Holiday Film ScreeningDec 28 Free Holiday Film ScreeningDec 31 Steve Beguhn Presents “New YearS’ teve”January 2026Jan 07 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring The Sazerac 5Jan 09 An Evening with Field ReportJan 10 Gabriel HarrisJan 11 School of Rock ShorewoodJan 17 Violet WilderJan 14 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring Old Sam & The TeardropsJan 23 The Midnight PurchaseJan 24 Pat McCurdyJan 28 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring Micro Brew Swing BandJan 30 Fool House (90s Dance Party)Jan 31 Hot In Herre (00’s Dance Party)February 2026Feb 04 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring The Sazerac 5Feb 11 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring Old Sam & The TeardropsFeb 12 NewFound RoadFeb 15 Whitefish Bay High School Music ClubFeb 18 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring The FloodFeb 20 Remo DriveFeb 25 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring Micro Brew Swing BandFeb 28 Jump (Van Halen Tribute)March 2026Mar 04 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring The Sazerac 5Mar 07 ScythianMar 11 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring Old Sam & The TeardropsMar 18 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring Micro Brew Swing BandMar 25 Swing Jazz Wednesday featuring Micro Brew Swing BandMar 28 Bangers Before BedComing SoonApr 03 Not Quite Brothers (Classic Rock Tribute)Apr 10 Smells Like NirvanaMay 16 The CasualtiesMay 29 Dan TyminskiJun 18 Thurston Howell (Yacht Rock Tribute)Aug 8 The Pork Tornadoes
The Knitting Factory brand is returning to Los Angeles after more than a decade.
The new venue, Knitting Factory NoHo, will open on the second floor of the Federal Bar in North Hollywood. The venue is a 300-plus-capacity room that offers a patio and expansive local views from the historic building. Formerly a bank, the Federal Bar building was built in 1929 and has high-beamed ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows.
Since Knitting Factory Hollywood closed in 2009, Knitting Factory Entertainment (KFE) CEO Morgan Margolis has developed a hospitality division of the company. In Los Angeles alone, this includes The Federal Bar, El Tejano, Thirsty Merchant, Cantiki and Boomtown Brewery partnerships. KFE is also behind the Desert Daze festival with partner Phil Pirrone. Additionally, the company remains a longtime partner with local promoter and Spaceland Presents CEO Mitchell Frank on the Regent Theatre in Downtown L.A.
“While this is a more intimate venue than our partner venue, Regent Theatre (1,000 cap.), our team plans to bring incredible live experiences for musicians, comedians, artists, and fans alike, as our company has been doing for decades,” said Margolis in a statement. “In North Hollywood specifically, we’ve been in the area since The Federal Bar opened with a private performance from jazz legend Stanley Clarke in January 2011, and there is an appetite for more music-based programming as the neighborhood continues to grow into a distinct residential and entertainment district.”
Knitting Factory
Morgan Margolis
The space above the Federal Bar previously hosted private events and live shows from artists including John Doe, Kurt Vile, Big Thief, Ducktails, Cayucas, Sea Wolf, Chuck Prophet, Jenny O. and Motopony. Existing facilities are currently undergoing major renovations, including raising and widening the stage, improving sightlines, and upgrading audio-visual production. The new venue also hides a classic speakeasy, which will operate as a private VIP bar and green room.
Veteran music curator Chris Diaz will serve as Knitting Factory Noho’s consultant talent booker. Diaz got his start as a sound engineer and local booker at Knitting Factory Hollywood. Diaz moved from sound engineer to senior talent booker, moving to New York after Knitting Factory Hollywood closed to program the newly opened Knitting Factory Brooklyn. He returned to Los Angeles in 2013 to book two venues for California promoter Goldenvoice — The Roxy Theatre on the Sunset Strip and The Glass House Concert Hall in Pomona — before booking for Spaceland Presents at The Regent Theatre.
“Working with Knitting Factory Entertainment again, and specifically with Morgan, is like being reunited with a long-lost family member,” said Diaz. “It is very exciting to be a part of bringing this legendary brand back to Los Angeles, to help ensure its future legacy.”
Programming for the new L.A. venue is set to begin later this year. The news of the new North Hollywood location comes after the closure of Knitting Factory Brooklyn and the announcement of a new Knitting Factory venue that will open in New York’s East Village neighborhood in early 2023.
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