Enjoy a compilation of selected tracks by artists playing shows we're excited about in Madison during the week of July 6-13, 2017. For more information on these shows, read on under the Spotify playlist!
National Women’s Music Festival, Thursday-Sunday, July 6-9, Marriott-West, Middleton: Much more than just music, this annual fest also includes a marketplace, workshops, film screenings and a special limited-staging performance of Babe: An Olympian Musical (Saturday). This new work, with book and lyrics by Carolyn Gage and a score by Andrea Jill Higgins, tells the story of pro golfer Babe Didrickson. The evening concerts also include sets by women’s music pioneers Linda Tillery and Ferron, and rising stars MazzMuse and Violet & the Undercurrents.
Joe West’s Eclectic Trio, Thursday, July 6, Up North Pub, 7 pm: New Mexico, known as the Land of Enchantment, is a haven for misfits, weirdos and creative types like Joe West. A “theatrical folk” performer from Santa Fe, he’s a hero in his hometown, and for good reason — his rock- and country-influenced songs offer humorous windows into life’s dysfunctions and oddities. He’s touring the Midwest along with cellist Michael Kott and “vaudevillian blues man” Westin McDowell. As a trio, they have been called “one of the most charming and quirky bands in the American Southwest.”
Cymbals Eat Guitars, Friday, July 7, UW Memorial Union Terrace, 9 pm: Taking their name from an old Lou Reed quote describing The Velvet Underground, Cymbals Eat Guitars also share Reed’s fluid vision of what rock can be. The Staten Island four-piece plays a frenetic mix of indie rock, post-punk, and emo that’s earned them slots opening for artists as disparate as Bob Mould and Brand New. Their most recent release, Pretty Years, came out in 2016.
Catfish River Music Festival, Friday-Sunday, July 7-9, Rotary Park, Stoughton: The Catfish River Music Festival features major Midwestern folk, country and blues-rock acts for a three-day festival outside the beautiful Stoughton Opera House. Headliners include touring roots-psych rockers Super Doppler (Friday), Neil Young cover band Shakey (Saturday) and Americana heavyweights WheelHouse on Sunday — capped off by fireworks at dusk. There will be local food and beverages and a diverse array of vendors. The festival benefits the Opera House Friends Association. For the full schedule, visit catfishrivermusicfest.com.
Hot Summer Gays, Saturday, July 8, The Wisco, 5 pm: Queer Pressure and Dyke Dive, two of the coolest pop-up parties in town, are coming together to showcase some of the best queer musical talent in Wisconsin. Expect glittery, lo-fi garage rock from Ladyscissors, soulful alt-folk-rock from Imaginary Watermelon, crunchy riot grrrl grunge from Sassy Come Home and fun dance grooves from DJ Millb0t. Two outstanding Milwaukee acts are also on the bill — alternative hip-hop up-and-comer ZED KENZO and sexy dance-pop partyboy Rio Turbo. People of all identities are welcome at this ages 21 and up show.
Free Hot Lunch, Saturday, July 8, Barrymore Theatre, 8 pm: Local comedic folk-trio heroes Free Hot Lunch are re-uniting for another round of “tongue-in-jowl, Jimmy-Buffett-meets-the-Marx-Brothers ditties.” Their music puts a humorous spin on an eclectic bunch of familiar folk tunes, but their harmonies and instrumental skills are no joke. Free Hot Lunch was a Madison regular from ‘79 to ‘94, and its members have been re-uniting periodically every few years since. With special guest, internationally recognized jazz violinist Randy Sabien.
Mountain Goats, Saturday, July 8, Majestic Theatre, 9 pm: The famously idiosyncratic folk-punkers are touring with a new keyboard-based album, Goths. Bandleader John Darnielle is a DIY trailblazer, and his lyrics are among the smartest in American pop music. Visit the Music section of isthmus.com for a Q&A with drummer Jon Wurster, who leads a double life as a podcast comedy star with Tom Sharpling on The Best Show. With The Lonelyhearts. Sold out.
Penthouse Sweets, Saturday, July 8, Mickey's Tavern, 10:30 pm: Guitar rock fans shouldn't miss this show, featuring a trio of bands deserving lighters held aloft (or just your PBRs). Long-running Chicago quartet Penthouse Sweets resurfaced in April with the excellent new long-player In the House of the Penthouse Sweets. Madison's Rocket Bureau is the home recording project of songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/producer Kyle Motor, brought to life with a full band. Barely Losing is a LaCrosse quartet including former members of Mudride and Shot to Hell, and also has a new EP out (Razors & Switchblades).
Madison Early Music Festival, July 8-15, UW Campus venues: The UW-Madison Arts institute is hosting the 18th annual Madison Early Music Festival, this year focused on music in Don Quixote — a classic rife with references to high and low 16th-century Spanish culture. The festival is a unique chance to deepen any reading of the epic, with workshops, lectures and concerts recreating what music may have sounded like centuries ago during the Spanish Habsburg Dynasty. Evening concerts in Mills Hall include Piffaro, the Renaissance Band; Barcelona guitarist Xaxier Diaz-Latorre, playing early plucked instruments; and Spanish Renaissance music by Sonnambula. Full schedule at artsinstitute.wisc.edu/memf.
Chris Fleming, Saturday, July 8, High Noon Saloon, 8 pm: Comedian Chris Fleming, famous for playing an overzealous matriarch on the YouTube series Gayle, savagely satirizes everyone from suburban moms to frat boys and urban farmers. Known for experimental takes on homophobes and polyamory, mockery of macho-men and a slew of impressions, Fleming’s stream-of-consciousness approach to comedy finds absurdity in the details of life, ensuring laughs for all of those who can laugh at themselves.
Love Water Not Oil tour, Sunday, July 9, Majestic Theatre, 7 pm: Resistance to the expansion of the Enbridge Energy oil pipeline — which runs through Wisconsin — takes a musical form at this concert to benefit indigenous environmental justice nonprofit Honor the Earth. Performers include world music collective Nahko & Medicine for the People, Native American singer-songwriter Annie Humphrey, and Indian-American violin virtuoso and composer Gingger Shankar.
Jarren Benton, Monday, July 10, The Frequency, 8 pm: If the start of another workweek has you craving angry, in-your-face raps, come for this one. You’ll find post-work relief in Jarren Benton’s always-agitated flow as he decimates other emcees while sharing his stories from the street and failed relationships. And his full-hearted ambition in the face of adversity is also highly relatable, especially on a Monday. Openers include the extra-amped Louisiana emcee Caleb Brown, lightning-fast lyricist Bingx from Seattle and a slew of local rappers: Chas, Yung Saint, Yung Delta, Rack the Ripper.
Lost Lakes + Backroom Harmony Band, Tuesday, July 11, Olbrich Gardens, 7 pm: The sounds of Americana music often call to mind the lush greenery of the American southeast, so it’s entirely fitting that one of Madison’s greenest locales is putting on a night of unrivaled Americana, Wisconsin style. Featuring Lost Lakes and the Backroom Harmony Band, plus special guests Evan Murdock and Josh Harty, these Madison outfits will offer roots music you’re unlikely to hear anywhere else.
La Fête de Marquette, Thursday-Sunday, July 13-16, Central Park: Big numbers at this year’s La Fête de Marquette. The annual French-flavored party produced by the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center features 30-plus bands on three stages spread over Central Park’s five acres. An expanded “Family Fete” area offers games and activities beneath the spinning shadow of the “Big Eli” antique Ferris wheel. And then there’s the music. Starting with Zydeco legend Terrance Simien on Thursday night and concluding with Prague’s electro-swing band Mydy Rabycan on Sunday night, the line-up has few soft spots. More highlights: Multiple Grammy nominee Roddie Romero & the Hub City All Stars bring their Cajun-country to the Ingersoll stage on Friday night; the Brearly Street “Moon Stage” is home to the annual Musique Electronique on Saturday, featuring Kevin Saunderson (with his partners in the Belleville Three, considered one of the originators of “Detroit Techno”); and Feufollet, young Cajun rock innovators from Lafayette, Louisiana, roll into town for a Sunday night set.
Angelica Garcia, Thursday, July 13, East Side Club, 6 pm: The songs on Medicine for Birds, Angelica Garcia’s arresting 2016 debut album, spin out like cotton candy — but beware the occasional razorblade. Guitars caress and scrape, strings sweep, percussion clatters and booms, all in service of Garcia’s shimmering, multi-layered vocal arrangements. If you have to put a genre label on this music, it’s Americana; recall Emmylou Harris’ Wrecking Ball and you’re in the neighborhood. Opening is Hope Simulator Pro, the re-emergence of genre-mixing musical seeker Jeremiah Nelson with a clutch of new electronic explorations.
Bad Bad Hats, Thursday, July 13, High Noon Saloon, 8 pm: Seeing as the members of Bad Bad Hats met while attending Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, it would be easy to describe their sound as “college rock”. But the trio — led by vocalist and guitarist Kerry Alexander — has a lot more going on than meets the eye. From '90s power pop aesthetics to Alexander’s often emotionally intense lyrics, Bad Bad Hats put the “party” back in “pity party.” With Heavy Looks.
Michelle Wolf, Thursday, July 13, Comedy Club on State, 8:30 pm: Michelle Wolf hit late-night TV as a performer in summer 2014 on Late Night with Seth Meyers, working for the show as a writer and regularly appearing as the recurring character “Grown-Up Annie.” Since 2016 she has been a writer and regular on-air contributor to The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, where her work has included recent sharp pieces on Megyn Kelly’s move to NBC and the expectations around the Wonder Woman film. With James Hodge, Rachael Soglin. ALSO: Friday-Saturday (8 & 10:30 pm), July 14-15.
Find the full rundown of this week's Isthmus Picks here.
