Enjoy a compilation of selected tracks by artists playing shows we're excited about in Madison during the week of May 24-31, 2018. For more information on these shows, read on under the playlist or check out all this week's Isthmus Picks.
Nu-Blu, Thursday, May 24, North Street Cabaret, 8 pm: Siler City, North Carolina’s bluegrass power-couple Carolyn and Daniel Routh lead the Americana group Nu-Blu, which released a sixth album, Vagabonds, last year. The three-piece band features expert mandolin, fiddle and banjo finger-picking alongside Carolyn’s classic vocal twang singing of long nights and lost loves, including on the rosy ballad “A Fool and Her Heart.”
Here Come the Mummies, Thursday, May 24, Majestic Theatre, 8:30 pm: They may be dead, but you need to see Here Come the Mummies live. The Nashville-based funk collective performs in character, and no one knows the true identity of the Mummies. But their chops are impeccable, and rumor has it there are several Grammy winners in the band. Those who like theatrics and booty shakin’ shouldn’t miss this. With Porky’s Groove Machine.
Luke Arvid (album release), Thursday, May 24, High Noon Saloon, 9 pm: As both a solo artist and a member of The Fingers, Luke Arvid is deeply entrenched in Madison’s Americana scene. Now, the always-inventive alt-country troubadour is celebrating the release of Greenmoth, his fourth full-length, and he’s offering audiences a pretty sweet deal: A cool $10 buys you a ticket to the show and the album. With Robby Schiller (of Blueheels) and Nick Brown Band.
Buffalo Gospel, Friday, May 25, High Noon Saloon, 9:30 pm: Milwaukee-based old-school country band Buffalo Gospel comes to Madison to celebrate the release of a new album, On the First Bell. Songwriter and lead singer Nick Ricci draws on traditions of folk music to forge ballads about blue-collar life, like the winding and sentimental title track. The band jumps expertly between high energy and sweet sadness. With Them Coulee Boys, Lost Lakes.
Sun Speak + Space Junk, Friday, May 25, Arts + Literature Laboratory, 8 pm: Guitarist Matt Gold and drummer Nate Friedman are Sun Speak, a Chicago-based project creating (mostly) instrumental soundscapes that can build from introspective, chiming chording to frenzied improv. You’re likely to hear more fiery improvisation when Space Junk takes the stage. The Madison trio includes bassist John Christensen, trumpeter Paul Dietrich and guitarist Louka Patenaude.
World’s Largest Brat Fest, Friday-Monday, May 25-28, Alliant Energy Center: This year’s supersized Memorial Day weekend grill-out introduces the “corn brat” (like a corn dog but with a brat, natch), and brings back fireworks on Sunday night. As you fill your tummy with brats, fill your ears with music at four stages featuring performers from country to metal to contemporary Christian. This year’s headliners include former Staind frontman-turned-outlaw country singer Aaron Lewis (Friday, 8 pm), Southern rockers Black Stone Cherry (Sunday, 8 pm) and jangle-rockers Gin Blossoms (Monday, 4:30 pm). And a smorgasbord of local and regional bands makes for a full weekend for music fans. Find the full schedule at bratfest.com.
Wurst Times, Saturday, May 26, Brass Ring, Brink Lounge and High Noon, 11 am-midnight: During its eight seasons as an alternative to the World’s Largest Brat Fest, Wurst Times has maintained its focus on local brats (from Hoesley’s Meats of New Glarus) and local fundraising (the MAMAs, Guitars for Vets and Wil-Mar Center). It’s also become a reliable annual showcase of the local music scene. This year’s four stages include longtime favorites Natty Nation (6:15 pm), The Getaway Drivers (9 pm) and Droids Attack (6 pm), as well as newer crushes like folk rockers Imaginary Watermelon (2:15 pm), Sam Ness (4:45 pm) and 2017 Rockonsin champs Distant Cuzins (3:15 pm).
The Begowatts, Saturday, May 26, The Frequency, 8 pm: Madison’s local blues rockers are saying goodbye after six years. The four-piece band is inspired by the likes of Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones, innovating a classic sound across two albums, most recently 2017’s Grand Charade. The opening track, “Why We Don’t Dance,” is a psychedelic banger, with distorted guitars, gravelly vocals and tons of reverb. This is your last chance to catch the band’s notoriously energetic live show for yourself. A local lineup of Nester, Rocket Bureau and Bronson Wisconsin help send the band off.
Clay Lyons & Pawan Benjamin, Sunday, May 27, North Street Cabaret, 7:30 pm: Two super-talented former Madisonians and graduates of prestigious East Coast music schools reunite for what will certainly be a memorable jazz homecoming. Alto saxophonist Lyons, a graduate of Berklee College of Music, has performed in Europe, Japan, Hong Kong and Panama and spent two years touring with Spiritual Rez; Pawan Benjamin (flute, tenor sax) has collaborated with Roscoe Mitchell and Bill T. Jones. Both have played with a host of international stars. The two saxes will hit North Street Cabaret with John Christensen (bass) and Miguel Hurtado (drums). The last time Lyons and Benjamin played together was as part of the High School Jazz All Stars at the Isthmus Jazz Festival 12 years ago. See the whiz kids all grown up.
Insomnium, Sunday, May 27, High Noon Saloon, 8 pm: The veteran Finnish melodic death metal band Insomnium — yes, death metal can be melodic — anchors this impressive evening of somber heavy metal. At recent shows, Insomnium has performed the 2016 concept album Winter’s Gate in its entirety, plus encores stretching to eight songs. The melancholic 40-minute single-song album tells the tale of Viking explorers in search of a fabled Irish island. Insomnium make music both brutal and beautiful, which is one reason the band has survived since 1997. Also on the bill: Houston’s Oceans of Slumber (progressive metal), Madison’s Bereft (doom metal) and Milwaukee’s Uhtcearu (blackened death metal).
Ka Baird, Wednesday, May 30, Communication, 7:30 pm: On her 2017 album Sapropelic Pycnic, New York City-based multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Ka Baird (a former Madison resident) pushes the boundaries of experimental neoclassical music, bringing avant garde improvisational style and mind-bending electronic manipulation to primal rhythms and melodies. Taralie Peterson, who played with Baird in the Madison psych-folk outfit Spires That In The Sunset Rise, shares the bill, performing from her solo project Louise Bock. Madison’s Cult House sound will spin records before the show and between sets.
Parquet Courts, Wednesday, May 30, Majestic Theatre, 8:30 pm: The New York City post-punk band, once peppered with hints of western country and noise rock, is changing up their approach yet again on their latest album, Wide Awake. The title track adds in funk grooves and an infectious pop-chorus, elevating a self-aware goofiness the band used to keep in check, as they did on their more serious breakthrough album, Light Up Gold. With London-based punks (and Rough Trade Records labelmates) Goat Girl.
Gin, Chocolate & Bottle Rockets, hursday, May 31, Brink Lounge, 7:30 pm: Featuring three of Madison’s finest vocalists — Beth Kille, Shawndell Marks and Jen Farley — this pop-folk trio is celebrating the release of its much-anticipated sophomore album, Lean. The follow-up to 2014’s self-titled EP, Lean showcases tight, three-part harmonies, sleek production and deeply honest songwriting in the group’s most ambitious work yet. With Imaginary Watermelon.
Find the full rundown of this week's Isthmus Picks here.
