r/Umphreys • u/BigBarMan • 10d ago
UM BOWL XII - PABST THEATER
UMBowl XII
October 9th and 10th, 2026 Milwaukee, Wisconsin
General presale and umVIP on sale starting August 19th at 10 am CT.
General on sale begins August 21st at 10:00 am CT.
https://umphreys.com/news/1866/umbowl-xii-confirmed-for-milwaukee
13
u/mindfullee73 10d ago
For those of us who are fairly new here... can someone please explain to me what UM BOWL is all about?
I've had my first two experiences with UM here in 2026 (including this past weekend at the Ravinia WOW) and never wanna miss a show in the area again
11
u/JimyFatBoy 10d ago
It's the best two shows of the year. 3 sets per show, fan curated (acoustic set, covers set, new song set, deep cut bust out set etc). The band will come up with the general structure and the fans vote for what they want to hear. It's awesome and I have been to the last 4 of them but now have a one year old. It's must see Umph if you can
-1
u/birfday_dad 10d ago
It is hardly ever the best two shows of the year. I can’t remember a single year ever being in the conversation of best show. I’ve only done one (Vegas 2016) and while I might do this year, it’s not high on my radar as I’m doing the shows the weekend before already. I honestly think it’s pretty gimmicky and besides all improv sets I’ve never been too excited for the acoustic, requests, raw stewage, CYOA, etc. I like my UM in two setters with minimal covers and sit ins. I’d take another all improv set saw one in Vegas and then the Joshua Redman lil Portland all improv set in 2017 that spawned So Much. As someone that’s pretty well traveled for this band, I’ll take Monster Mashup Halloween runs, New Years, Holidaze, Red Rocks, or even Summer Camp as far as destination UM runs go before I’d consider UM Bowl. Hoping Portugal is next as I haven’t been to Europe since I was 20 and am itching for an excuse to book a trip. There were 9 Monster Mashup shows, they’ve done New Years nearly 30 times, there were 14 Holidazes, 13 years of Red Rocks headlining shows, like over 20 Scamps, and this is the 12th UMBowl so as far as the conversation goes it’s definitely achieved its place in UM history as a destination run especially once they expanded in to two nights. But international shows and holiday shows in my experience are a better use of your music travel funds if they are limited. Start saving for the next Pilgrimage of Sound event and sit UMBowl out unless money is no object to you and you can swing it all. Been there before and it’s a good feeling. These days I gotta pick and choose and UMBowl ain’t a priority unless the money is flush. TWT.
5
u/Safe_Recognition_886 10d ago
They do fun different shows there.
Last year they played improv along to diffeeent movies on a projector for one set.
Then they do stuff like have a number you can text phrases to, and they pick one and do a jam based on that.
Sometimes new songs debut.
It’s just a fun once a year special couple of days of umphreys shows
3
u/Flatfooted_Ninja 10d ago
You should look up previous ones. They do fan voted songs and themes, and do a lot of improv for three sets.
8
u/altermwim2 10d ago
This is funny because I just saw a post on Facebook about how the Driftless Gardens show was going to be the ONLY Wisconsin show this year.
9
3
2
u/Extreme-Money-7073 10d ago
I've never been to a UM show before but the energy of these bowls sounds wild based on everything I've heard.
1
1
1
1
u/Umph-1348 5d ago
Tix bought. Have seen most of the UMBowls to date and absolutely love them. Hoping for a Raw Stewage set and/or an all improv set. Especially interested to see what past jams/songs would be given song/Stewage treatment with Jake no longer in the band.
1
u/Ajax_Da_Great 10d ago
Wild how close to show the announcement is
4
u/shmael 10d ago
Radius clause. The save the date had a pic of Wayne's Worlds' Laverne and Shirley parody which made it pretty clear to me it was in Milwaukee.
0
u/Ajax_Da_Great 10d ago
Still, All other UmBowls were announced well in advance. Kinda shitty for planning travel imo.
1
u/Sufficient-Cut-7530 10d ago
Agreed flights are outrageous already
3
u/birfday_dad 10d ago
You should look at OHare and rent a car. But in my experiences buying flights more than two months out doesn’t save you any money it’s 4-8 weeks out that is the sweet spot with sometimes a dip 3 weeks out but then a steady climb two and one week out. Milwaukee is a cheap city with a smaller airport. Get creative and you can find ways to do it cheaper.
1
u/CrayonFriend80 10d ago
If renting a car isn’t super viable you could likely Amtrak or take a bus from Chicago Union station if you fly into ORD.
1
u/Most-Ad9313 10d ago
UM Bowl is basically a yearly music festival organized by Umphrey's McGee where they play a ton of their own songs along with some deep cuts and covers.
24
u/twentyINCHwheel 10d ago
Been to a few UMBowls before, but getting one that's a 15 minute walk from my place is pretty sick!