A new year is upon us…

Written By Ben Titus

2025 has been… well, a LOT. Lots of gigs, opportunities, triumphs, defeats, music made, bands lost, ad the list goes on. Going into 2026, things will look a bit different for me in terms of getting out there. That said- I’ve got a good feeling about this year. In some ways it’s building on what’s come before, and in others, it’s as clean of a slate as I’ve had in quite sometime.

  • New Things-

    • Hopelessly Devoted- A Tribute to Olivia Newton John- My first show with this group is Saturday, January 3rd at 7pm at Shotzy’s II. It’s been a wholly different style of music than I’m used to, but it’s been a cool change. Plus, it gets my 4 string basses back into rotation. As much as I love my Skjold Drakkar basses, they are a bit overkill for something that a P-Bass with flats can easily do!

    • Pretty When She’s Angry- This is a 4-piece with some great musicans covering 80s thru 2000s rock and pop. I actually played my first gig with these guys back in November, but this year is when it kicks into higher gear. The first show of 2026 is Friday, January 16 at 8:00 at Swagger Sports Bar and Grille in Franklin.

    • Sideman/Subbing Work- with my schedule a bit more open, it’s time to explore some new territory and/or revisit some things I haven’t gotten to do much of… funky fusion stuff especially! If you need a bassist, please hit me up!

    • Accugroove Endorsement- I’m happy to have recently joined the Accugroove family officially! With a lot of the new stuff I’m up to, I can’t always count on in-ears or large PA, so I now have two cabinets for ultimate flexibility and purest tone possible. Give their website a look- https://accugroovellc.com

  • Continuing Exploits-

    • Milwaukee Alpenblaser- I’ve been playing with this traditional Bavarian folk group for a bit over a year now, and it’s been a refreshing change. Upright bass with 4 clarinets, a trombone, and a buttonbox? Plus free beer and still earning $$$? Yes please.

    • Pocket Cue IV- I’m happy to be a part of my 3rd Pocket Cue event happening on January 31st at Rallypoint/Steel Tank Brewing Co.. This is a benefit concert for Music6s, which raises money to battle PTSD for Military Vets and Active Duty, Law Enforcement, Firefighters, and Medical First Responders. Over 65 musicians will be participating this year. Bassists and drummers pick the songs that have a special meaning for us, and everyone else jumps in to perform them. It’s an amazing community building event as well as fundraiser.

    • Musicals- I’m still directing shows for Slinger HS and Brookfield Academy. BA’s production of The Little Mermaid opens Friday, February 27 at Hamilton Sussex High School Performing Arts Center. Slinger’s show is TBA, but it opens November 5.

    • Ben Titus Project shows- I always do 1-2 of these a year, either as a solo/duo doing a mixture of my originals and jazzy/funky covers, or as a quartet playing stuff that borders on free jazz sometimes. These are the best ‘musical palette cleansers’ I can think of!

    • Milwaukee School of Languages- with the help of my colleagues and supportive admin, we launched the MSL Hawks Players and put on 2 productions in 7 months! Hairspray the Musical went better than any first musical should ever go, and our first play in well over a decade, All In The Timing, kept that momentum moving while getting students involved in all aspects of the show, from sound and lights to makeup to sets and more! Our next musical will be April 2027, but we’ll have a fall ‘One Night Only’ production as well. Oh yeah, and I still teach grades 6-12 bands and orchestras too.

  • In The Rearview-

    • Big Spoon- Yep, after close to 11 years, Big Spoon is on ‘indefinite hiatus’. Lots of factors went into this, from growing families to work schedules, but the short version is that there’s nothing on the horizon for this group for the foreseeable future. It was a huge part of me getting comfortable after moving to Wisconsin in 2013, and I met my wife as a result of it, so I’ll be thankful for that time. Maybe we’ll revisit it at some point, who knows?

I’ll be updating the website to reflect all of these shenanigans, so please stay tuned and I hope to see you out there!

Ben

PS- since I don’t know how to add watermarks yet- special shoutout to Charlie Grenier for taking the new headshot-styled photos! Find him on Facebook for photography needs!

Ben Titus
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