Milwaukee PBS Digital
Rhythm Cafe MKE | ILA ROSE | VOL64 - Milkweed
Feb 11, 2026
Season 4
Episode 71
Milwaukee PBS
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Wisconsin singer-songwriter ILa Rose returns with her hauntingly beautiful original song, “Milkweed.”
Rooted in poetic lyricism and intimate folk-pop storytelling, Milkweed explores love, loss, and the feeling of being left behind after giving too much of yourself away. Inspired by personal experiences and the fragility of connection, Ila compares herself to milkweed — nourishing, delicate, and easily forgotten once the butterflies have flown.
Written during a season of reflection and refined through creative workshops, Milkweed captures that bittersweet tension between tenderness and pain, between wanting to be loved and learning to protect your own heart. With evocative lyrics and Ila’s signature emotional honesty, this song is both cathartic and quietly empowering.
🎶 “I was milkweed three feet high. I gave my love, he took the bite. Now he’s full on thistle — I’m left starving. Butterflies are fickle.”
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