‘Avant Garden of Love’ brings immersive Valentine’s weekend concert to Milwaukee
The Feb. 13-14 performance at Jan Serr Studio is an interactive theater experience — making for a bold twist on Valentine’s Day plans.
1140. VALENTINE’S DAY WEEKEND IS ALMOST HERE. AREN’T YOUR THING. MAYBE THIS NEXT THING IS PRESENT. MUSIC IS BRINGING AVANT GARDE OF LOVE TO MILWAUKEE. JOINING ME NOW IS COMPOSER AND SINGER COREY DARGEL. COREY, THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. THANKS FOR HAVING ME. SO THIS IS DIFFERENT. THIS IS NOT YOUR TYPICAL ROMANTIC CONCERT. I WAS TRYING TO FIND DIFFERENT WAYS OF WRITING SONGS ABOUT LOVE, AND SO I DECIDED TO ASK SOME AI CHAT BOTS HOW TO FIND TRUE LOVE AND HOW TO MAKE SURE IT’S NOT PRETEND LOVE. OKAY, THAT IS THAT IS DIFFERENT. THAT IS INTERESTING. WAIT, WHAT WAS THE ANSWER? WHAT DID THEY TELL YOU? OH, THEY TOLD ME LOTS OF THINGS. SO I TOOK SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY TOLD ME AND MADE A SONG FOR EACH THING. AND THAT’S WHAT PRESENT MUSIC AND I ARE GOING TO BE PERFORMING FOR YOU ALL FOR THE FIRST TIME. YEAH. OKAY. SO, I MEAN, TAKE ME THROUGH WHAT TYPE OF SHOW THIS IS. I MEAN, YOU’RE CALLING IT A TWISTED VALENTINE’S CABARET. SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? IT’S KIND OF LIKE A VARIETY SHOW. NOT QUITE AS NAUGHTY AS BURLESQUE, BUT EACH ACT IS A IS A DIFFERENT IDEA, A DIFFERENT AND THE OTHER, AND THE INSTRUMENTS ARE ALL MIKED, BUT THEY’RE CLASSICAL INSTRUMENTS. SO THESE ARE CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYERS, AND I’M A SINGER SONGWRITER, SO I’M SINGING WITH A MICROPHONE, NOT AN OPERATIC VOICE, BUT WE’RE ALL SINGING SONGS OR PLAYING SONGS ABOUT LOVE. IS THAT YOU? THAT’S YOU RIGHT THERE, RIGHT? THAT IS ME. OKAY. WHAT’S HAPPENING? WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THIS MOMENT? I THINK I’M IN A DREAM. I’M NOT SURE. NO, THAT’S WHAT I TELL YOU ABOUT THIS MOMENT. THIS IS ME. I USED TO WRITE CUSTOM MADE LOVE SONGS FOR FOR ORDINARY PEOPLE. ONE SIGNIFICANT OTHER TO THE OTHER SIGNIFICANT OTHER. AND SO THIS IS ME IN A MUSIC VIDEO SINGING ONE OF THOSE CUSTOM MADE LOVE SONGS. WOW. OKAY, THAT’S PRETTY COOL. SO THERE’S ALSO SOME AUDIENCE INTERACTION IN THE SHOW THAT YOU’RE DOING WITH MUSIC. YES, WE WILL BE MAKING A SALAD WITH THE AUDIENCE AND WE’LL ALL BE CONSUMING THE SALAD. NOT THE SAME BOWL, NOT FROM THE SAME BOWL. WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, COREY? SO PEOPLE IF PEOPLE COME TO THE CONCERT ON VALENTINE’S DAY, THEY MIGHT BE MISSING THE VALENTINE’S DAY RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE. OKAY, SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY’RE THAT THEY DO HAVE SOMETHING TO EAT IN CASE THEY’RE HUNGRY. OKAY. THERE’S EVEN A MOMENT WHERE YOU’RE WHERE YOU’RE PLAYING MUSIC ON VEGETABLES. YES, THAT’S PART OF THE SALAD. SALAD MAKING, THOUGH WE WILL NOT BE TOUCHING WHAT PEOPLE WILL BE EATING. SO YEAH, THOSE THOSE SALADS WILL BE OUR THE PERFORMERS SALADS TO EAT. YEAH. THIS IS NOT JUST FOR COUPLES, WHICH IS REALLY COOL. AS WE TALK ABOUT VALENTINE’S DAY. NO, WE BELIEVE IN LOVE IN EVERY, EACH AND EVERY FORMAT. SO EVERYONE IS WELCOME. AND WE HOPE THAT EVERYONE HAS FINDS SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE AND SOMETHING TO FEEL TENDER AND CONNECTED WITH EACH OTHER ABOUT AFTER THE SHOW. YEAH, I WAS JUST GOING TO ASK YOU, WHAT DO YOU HOPE THE AUDIENCE IS WHO COME OUT TO SEE THE SHOW? WHAT DO YOU WANT THEM TO WALK AWAY WITH? I PERSONALLY, AS A COMPOSER, AS A SINGER, I LIKE TO FIND DIFFERENT WAYS OF LOOKING AT LOVE. SO I LIKE TO FIND UNUSUAL PERSPECTIVES AND IDIOSYNCRATIC EXPERIENCES. AND SO I HOPE PEOPLE GO AWAY WITH A AN OPEN MIND AND A BROADER IDEA OF THE MANY WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN EXPERIENCE LOVE. I LOVE IT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE THANK YOU. YEAH. OF COURSE IVAN. GARDEN OF LOVE RUNS FEBRUARY 13TH AND FEBRUARY 14TH AT THE DANCE STUDIO ON PROSPEC
‘Avant Garden of Love’ brings immersive Valentine’s weekend concert to Milwaukee
The Feb. 13-14 performance at Jan Serr Studio is an interactive theater experience — making for a bold twist on Valentine’s Day plans.
Updated: 1:09 PM CST Feb 12, 2026
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Valentine’s Day weekend is almost here, and if dinner reservations aren’t your thing, there is a date night idea that’s anything but ordinary. Present Music is bringing “Avant Garden of Love” to Milwaukee. Composer and singer Corey Dargel joined 12 News at 11:00 to talk about the event that features live music, theatre, film, and even a giant onstage salad.
MILWAUKEE —
Valentine’s Day weekend is almost here, and if dinner reservations aren’t your thing, there is a date night idea that’s anything but ordinary. Present Music is bringing “Avant Garden of Love” to Milwaukee. Composer and singer Corey Dargel joined 12 News at 11:00 to talk about the event that features live music, theatre, film, and even a giant onstage salad.
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