The Milwaukee PBS production of the Chicago/Midwest Emmy Award-Winning Violent Femmes: 40th Anniversary with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra will make its national debut on PBS stations across the country tonight Friday, December 13 at 9 PM ET with an encore broadcast at 10:15 PM ET. It is also available to stream on Violent Femmes: 40th Anniversary with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

A celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Violent Femmes’ iconic debut self-titled album, the documentary features the Femmes performing hits from the record including “Blister in the Sun,” “Kiss Off,” “Add It Up” and “Gone Daddy Gone” with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. It was produced and recorded by Milwaukee PBS at the Bradley Symphony Center on October 3, 2023 during the Violent Femmes’ 40th Anniversary tour. 

Once hailed as the “soundtrack to male puberty,” Violent Femmes’ first record amplified teenage angst and alienation in the 1980s with such songs as “Kiss Off,” “Add It Up,” and “Gone Daddy Gone,” written by Lead Vocalist and Guitarist Gordon Gano before he’d even gotten his driver’s license. The album, which was mostly autobiographical, would later prove to embody some of the most powerful anthems of a disenchanted youth that the world has ever known. And while it took 10 years to go Platinum and hit the Billboard Top 200, it has now sold three million copies worldwide and is still in rotation on today’s top rock stations, substantiating it as more than a simple battle cry for a misunderstood youth. Today, it stands as a pillar of an American underground movement, and one of the best early examples of alternative rock. 

“We’re excited to share this incredible concert with our audience as well as PBS stations around the country,” said Debbie Hamlett, general manager of Milwaukee PBS. “Listening to this amazing music with a ‘backup’ symphony is an experience I hope you’ll never forget!”

To view the trailer, visit https://video.nhpbs.org/video/trailer-umwskj/?utm_source=nhpbs-footer-v…

The Violent Femmes: 40th Anniversary with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concert will air on most PBS stations on December 13 and on remaining stations from December 14 until the end of the month. For a complete program schedule, visit https://whyy.org/tv/whyy-tv-schedule/.

For more information, visit https://vfemmes.com. 

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