ABOUT Joe

When Joe Richter hits the stage with his band, he looks like a friendly, totally Regular Joe. But he makes it instantly clear that he’s a pro at the keyboards, a soulful singer creating positive vibes and a writer of songs with shimmering melodies and refrains.

Richter’s own material focuses primarily on that timeless topic of love. He and his band’s arrangements travel a straight-ahead pop/rock road with frequent detours through the singer-songwriter space. His sweet spot is the sounds of the 1970s and early 1980s from the likes of Van Morrison, Stevie Nicks (yes he hits the notes) and John Waite.

In fact, Joe says he played on repeat the Waite’s 1984 hit “I Ain’t Missing You At All” as a teen.

Richter puts on no airs with his music and performances choosing a sincere, heartfelt approach that’s infectious. He exudes a joy in his performances and shares that love of music making with his band and his audiences.

Despite Joe’s youthful energy, he’s a veteran of stages in the Milwaukee area, as well as several appearances in Chicago.

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Beyond Joe’s solo work, his most notable singing gig involved performing lead vocals for ace guitarist Daryl Stuermer the hits of two acts Daryl played for: Genesis and Phil Collins.

In 2024, Joe was a guest lead vocalist with Steely Dan tribute band Steely Dane at Milwaukee’s historic Pabst Theater. That led to an invitation for Joe to join 14 other musicians as the vocalist as they played jazz influenced re-imagined yacht rock arrangements including classics by the Eagles, Gino Vannelli and Seals & Crofts.

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Highly regarded and versatile singer-songwriter Willy Porter is a mentor to Joe. Willy worked on one of Joe’s records, adding guitar tracking on Joe’s original "Happy Tears."

Joe credits his tenure as a board operator at Milwaukee radio stations classic rock WKLH-FM and Jammin 98.3 with giving him a deep sense of the musician he wanted to become — and the music he wanted to play.

Joe also has appeared on Milwaukee television program “The Morning Blend” several times for interviews and live performances.

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Joe’s recorded output started with “Grace” in 2012, an acoustic album recorded in Nashville.  His next recording was “Revival” in 2018 with his full band.

The members of the Joe Richter Band besides Joe on vocals, keys and guitar are: John Calarco on drums, John Wheeler on bass, Dave Adler on keys and Joe Gorman on lead guitar.