Guitar Woman Sue Foley Enchants the Crowd at The ARGO in Milwaukee
Legendary blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, Sue Foley, came to the Milwaukee area for an evening of her special and unique blues at The ARGO in Whitefish Bay. Foley was accompanied by her longstanding bandmates, Jon Penner on bass and Arjuna “RJ” Contreras on drums.Appearing in an intimate cabaret setting at The ARGO, one of Milwaukee’s newest venues, Foley brought the best of her repertoire to the crowd.
Raised in Ottawa, Canada, Foley began playing the guitar at a young age and performed professionally beginning at age 16. Foley relocated to the Austin, Texas area where she began playing in her distinctive Texas blues style, influenced by artists such as Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Walking out on stage at the start of the show, Foley launched into “Sue’s Boogaloo,” a fitting instrumental introduction into her hard-driving guitar style.
Next up was “Hurricane Girl”—an apt description of the force of nature that Sue Foley represents.
Foley took the tempo down a bit with her next song, the iconic “The Ice Queen.” Exuding a smooth, mellow vibe, this song was quite laid back with Foley’s gentle, yet forceful vocals.
Foley next launched into a raucous cover of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Doyle Bramhall’s “The House Is Rockin’.”
Between songs, Foley talked about her career and the great women musicians who have influenced her music. Giving appropriate recognition to her influences was the inspiration behind her most recent release, One Guitar Woman: A Tribute to the Female Pioneers of Guitar,which was nominated for the 2025 GRAMMY® Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.
Foley is continuing that appreciation with her just-released book, “Guitar Women: Conversations & Life Lessons with Six-String Heroines,” containing her interviews with legendary women guitarists such as Bonnie Raitt, Nancy Wilson, and Joan Armatrading.
While watching Sue Foley perform, one witnesses an artist totally transfixed by her music. Intensely concentrating on her playing, with her eyes closed and a calm, almost peaceful look on her face, Foley is clearly one with her music. The listener can easily imagine that the audience and stage melts away from Foley’s mind, leaving only the essence of the notes she coaxes from the strings of her guitar.
Midway through the set, Foley’s bandmates left the stage permitting her to perform a couple of acoustic solos. She began by talking about some of the women musicians who have inspired her journey and selected a song in tribute to Charo, the Spanish-born singer, actress and flamenco guitarist best known in the US as an exuberant comedian.
Sue Foley is, obviously, a master on the guitar. However, when she began her tribute song to Charo, her flamenco guitar playing lifted the evening to another level. Focused and intense, Foley’s fingers flew over the guitar strings in a way that was simply sublime. The notes floated through the air weaving a rich tapestry and captivating the awe-struck crowd.
Foley held an entranced audience in her hands as she wove her way through her two Spanish guitar solos.
Foley played a couple of tunes off her album One Guitar Woman, including “Freight Train,” an early 20th century folk song written by Elizabeth Cotten.
Foley’s “Mediterranean Breakfast” was an instrumental combining a number of musical styles with Spanish flamenco being the most prominent.
Foley’s performance in Milwaukee occurred the night before her appearance at the Chicago Blues Festival. She said how excited she was to be making her first appearance at the festival. Rather than simply treating her night at the ARGO as a warm-up, Foley commented that, in her mind, she was actually playing before a crowd of 10,000+.
Foley ended her set with the energetic “Run” highlighting her edgy, south Texas-tinged vocals.
Wonderful Bluffer OpenerMilwaukee-based rock band, Wonderful Bluffer, opened for Sue Foley. Comprised of Alexandria Sherman (vocals), Joe Joe Scott (guitar), Alan “A.J.” Peal (drums), Adam Rimkus (bass), and Will Fox (keyboards), this incredibly talented band brought their particular wild ride of high energy rock and roll to warm up the audience. Joe Joe Scott was featured in a number of quite aggressive guitar solos offset by Will Fox’s striking keyboards. Shaking and dancing across the stage, Alexandria Sherman’s vocals were at times sharp and gritty and other times wailing and plaintive, as evidenced in “Wicked Grace.”
An impressive band worth following!
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Sue Foley will certainly be well known to dedicated and hard-core blues fans. For those becoming immersed in the genre or for those simply wanting to expand the range of blues artists to follow, Sue Foley is a must.
Keep up with Sue Foley and her tour dates by visiting her website: https://suefoley.com/
Information and news about Wonderful Bluffer is available here: https://www.wonderfulblufferband.com/
Related:
REVIEW: Sue Foley One Guitar Woman: A Tribute to the Female Pioneers of Guitar, https://americanahighways.org/2024/03/26/review-sue-foley-one-guitar/
REVIEW: Sue Foley Pinky’s Blues, https://americanahighways.org/2021/10/18/review-sue-foley-pinkys-blues/
SUE FOLEY SET LIST
6/5/2026
Sue’s Boogaloo
Hurricane Girl
Ice Queen
The House is Rockin’
Gaslight
Southern Men
Okie Dokie Stomp
2 acoustic solos
Freight Train
Jack O’ Diamond
Mediterranean Breakfast
Better
New Used Car
Barefoot Rock
Run
WONDERFUL BLUFFER SET LIST
6/5/2026
Rockford
Wicked Grace
Battle of Blair Mountain
Broken Man
Miscommunication
Bitter
Goddess of War