Summer is in full swing, and once again Madison will enjoy a lively weekend slate of activities. The calendar includes: Oregon Summer Fest, Capital Lakes DragonFest, Drums on Parade, and Sangerfest; an opening for Carl Corey and Lisa Koch at the Watrous Gallery and Rooftop Cinema at MMoCA; productions of Hamlet and Another Part of the Forest; performances by the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society and Frank Catalano Quartet; more live music from Brian Stace, Jess Yoakum, Steez, the Melvins with Totimoshi, Nester, and Zola Jesus; and, the Tenney/Lapham Art Walk.
Friday 6.25
NOTEWORTHY: Crazy Horse leads Sioux in wiping out Custer's army at Little Big Horn, 1876.
BIRTHDAYS: Grammy- & Oscar-winning singer Carly Simon, 1945; Canadian comedian Mike Myers, 1963.
Kiser Fireman's Park, Oregon, 4:30 pm-1 am. Also Thursday (5-10 pm), Saturday (10 am-1 am) & Sunday (10 am-6 pm), June 24, 26 & 27
The southern burb celebrates itself, and why not? There's a softball tournament, a carnival and music of Holeshot, Screamin' Cucumbers, Mighty Short Bus and Tony Rocker.
James Watrous Gallery of the Wisconsin Academy, Overture Center, through Aug. 8
Hudson, Wis.'s Corey takes large-scale photographs of everyday sights like grain elevators and swimming pools, while Madison's Koch explores themes of time and water in her glass sculpture. See for yourself, and meet the artists, at tonight's reception (5:30-7:30 pm).
MadCap Studios, 7 pm. Also Saturday, June 26, 7 pm
The members of the youth-oriented theater company present what they're promising will be an immersive staging of Shakespeare's play, a lively take on the old boy-meets-girl routine.
Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society
Stoughton Opera House, 7:30 pm. Also Saturday, June 26, at Overture Center's Playhouse (7:30 pm) & Sunday, June 27, at Taliesin, Spring Green (2:30 & 6:30 pm)
The wry chamber ensemble winds up its novel-themed series with two programs. Tonight (and Sunday afternoon in Spring Green) it's A Tale of Two Cities, with music of Debussy, Chopin, Arnold Bax and more. Saturday in Stoughton (and Sunday night in Spring Green): East of Eden, with music of Samuel Barber, Schumann and Gareth Farr, among others.
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, 9:30 pm
The experimental-film series, held way up high in the museum's sculpture garden, concludes its June run with mind-blowing animated films by Al Jarnow. Featured on The Electric Company and Sesame Street, his work entertained a generation of children.
Restaurant Magnus, 9:30 pm. Also Saturday, June 26, 9:30 pm
The hard-blowing Chicago saxophonist drove the crowd wild at the Isthmus Jazz Festival earlier this month. He plays complex modern jazz you can dance to.
Saturday 6.26
FULL MOON
NOTEWORTHY: President John F. Kennedy declares "Ich bin ein Berliner" during visit to West Berlin, 1963.
BIRTHDAYS: Clash/Big Audio Dynamite singer-guitarist Mick Jones, 1955; three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond, 1961.
Vilas Park, 8 am-5 pm
In the inaugural running of this increasingly popular Midwestern event, teams of paddlers race long, ornate dragon boats for awards including. The festival benefits TeamSurvivor Madison, a group for women survivors of cancer.
Middleton High School, 6:30 pm
The Madison Scouts host drum corps from around the Midwest, here to make noise in a Drum Corps International regional event. The volume level will prepare you for the booming at Rhythm & Booms.
Overture Hall, 7:30 pm
Sangerfest means "singers festival" to you and me, and the Norwegian Singers Association of America has been holding these confabs every other year since 1892. Tonight's concert features a 225-member chorus performing Norwegian and other Scandinavian music, plus additional selections. The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra accompanies them.
American Players Theatre, Spring Green, 8 pm. Also Wednesday, June 30, 7:30 pm
Lillian Hellman's 1946 drama, a prequel to The Little Foxes, marks the first production of an American woman playwright at APT. It's a vivid portrait of a well-off Alabama family, some years after the Civil War. These are nasty people.
Scatz, Middleton, 8 pm
The Wisconsin country singer makes a Middleton appearance, fresh from a stint at Nashville's legendary CMA Music Festival, formerly known as Fan Fair. Find out if he has what the Music City wants.
Mother Fool's Coffeehouse, 8 pm
Somewhere between Patty Griffin and Ani DiFranco lie the folk-rock tunes of this Chicago-based songwriter, who launched her career by taking her tour to all sorts of out-of-the-way coffee shops and living rooms with the help of a Greyhound Bus.
UW Memorial Union Terrace, 9 pm
"Steez," a slang term combining "easy" and "style," is the perfect adjective to describe the local five-piece of the same name, which will make the Terrace sizzle with funky, jazz-inspired jam-rock.
High Noon Saloon, 10 pm
The Melvins, the sludge-rock torchbearers, have inspired countless other acts, from Nirvana to Tool to Mastodon. This visit to Madison is likely to feature two drummers, Dale Crover and Coady Willis, and lots of material from their brand-new album, The Bride Screamed Murder. Cali trio Totimoshi starts with a heavy, Melvins-inspired sound, then adds Latin influences and Shellac-style bursts of distortion. Find out more about the band in this week's Tour Stop.
Alchemy Cafe, 10 pm
The local post-rock band play a selection of songs from their new EP, In the Heliosphere, which they release at this free show. With Seuss.
Frequency, 10 pm
Madison's own noise-meets-goth songstress, Nika Roza Danilova, has been touring the globe in recent weeks. Learn about her sound in the music column, and check out a video from her new EP, Stridulum, in a MadTracks review. With Dada Trash Collage and Jabon.
Sunday 6.27
NOTEWORTHY: Stonewall riots erupt, 1969.
BIRTHDAYS: Cowboy Junkies vocalist Margo Timmins, 1961.
Thirteen artists in the near east side's unusually creative Tenney/Lapham area open their home studios to strollers. Pick up a walking map at 408 Washburn Place, one of the studios on the tour.