Autumn celebrations make for another bountiful weekend in Madison with the Wisconsin Science Festival, the Madison Parks Fall Festival, Dogtoberfest, and Pipers in the Prairie. The calendar also includes: the Brittany Run 5K; a talk by Adam Phillips, standup by Hannibal Buress and Jim Breuer; a Radiolab Live staging of In the Dark; performances by the Saint Thomas Choir, Imani Winds, and Con Vivo; El Reventonazo music festival; and, a bonanza of concerts by the likes of The Hold Steady, "Spider" John Koerner, Mission of Burma, Boy Dirt Car, The Kin, Laetitia Sadier, Ty Segall with Thee Oh Sees, Dirty Projectors, Hospitality with Teen, and Racing Heart.
Friday 9.28
Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery and other locations, through Sept. 30
More science than you can shake an electron microscope at. This second iteration of the family-friendly festival features even more explosions, plus reptiles, BadgerBOTS and a live radio production of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Learn about stem cells, the physics of football, and the science of making beer and chocolate; plus, find out if you're smarter than a monkey. See The Hold Steady
100 block of King Street, 5 pm
This free outdoor show will celebrate all sorts of achievements, from the Majestic Theatre's fifth year as a music venue to a successful run of Live on King Street concerts (see Music). With Henry Clay People and DJ Nick Nice.
Monona Terrace, 5:30 pm
The psychoanalyst, literary critic and essayist discusses "Freud's Impossible Life: An Introduction" in this Humanities Without Boundaries lecture. Phillips will talk about Freud's remarkable life and his views on the art of biography.
Overture Hall, 7:30 pm
One of the world's most revered Anglican choral groups will help the Madison Symphony Orchestra kick off its latest series of organ concerts.
Stoughton Opera House, 7:30 pm
One of Bob Dylan's early influences, this Minneapolis bluesman is also a consummate folk musician. His set could contain almost anything from his 50-year career, from country blues he recorded with Koerner, Ray & Glover in the early 1960s to selections from March 1963, his 2010 solo album.
Overture Center's Capitol Theater, 8 pm
This Seattle six-piece has helped make indie music as mainstream as ever by sharing its accessible folk-pop on network TV shows such as Chuck and How I Met Your Mother. With Blitzen Trapper and Bryan John Appleby.
Mills Hall at UW Humanities Building, 8 pm
This quintet of Grammy nominees will explore their Latin and African American heritage through an adventurous program of jazz tunes and contemporary classical works.
UW Union South Sett, 9 pm
This annual exploration of Latin American culture includes concerts by Cumbia Tokeson, a California group that pairs folk accordions with psychedelic guitars; Bompleneras, a Chicago ensemble that plays traditional Puerto Rican dance music; and La Otrabanda, a local group that imbues Venezuelan folk music with messages about social justice.
High Noon Saloon, 9:30 pm
Along with groups such as Gang of Four and the Mekons, this Boston band helped invent post-punk with anxiously insistent rhythms, unusual time signatures and a healthy obsession with the avant-garde. With Pink Mink and Bes Monde.
Dragonfly Lounge, 10 pm
This Milwaukee band baffled critics by banging on scrap metal in the early 1980s, then hammered the Midwestern noise-rock scene into shape soon afterward. With Golden Donna, Lens and Maths Balance Volumes.
Saturday 9.29
Starting at UW Campus lot 60 and following the Howard Temin Lakeshore Path, 9 am
The annual event is dedicated to Brittany Zimmermann, who was murdered in her downtown apartment in 2008. It raises awareness of the unsolved case, with proceeds going to Madison Area Crime Stoppers.
Elver Park, 9 am-3 pm
At this first-ever Parks event, you can get your craft on at the arts and crafts fair, go on a hayride, and more. But the highlight will be the Big Rig Gig, where you can get up close and personal with the city's wide array of trucks and heavy machinery.
Capital Brewery, 11 am-5 pm (Six-Legged Race at 9:30 am)
You and your pooch should have a dog-tabulous time at this Dane County Humane Society fundraiser. In addition to music, food and beer (natch) for the two-legged attendees, Bowser can compete in everything from tail-wagging to hot-dog eating.
Aldo Leopold Nature Center, 4:30-8 pm
This Celtic-style fundraiser for the nature center's children's programs has it all: fancy hors d'oeuvres and desserts, crafts for kids and Irish dancers, all topped off by a bonfire and a goosebump-raising march through the prairie led by a full complement of bagpipers and drummers.
First Congregational United Church of Christ, 7:30 pm
To prep for their Dec. 13 debut at Carnegie Hall, this group of local chamber musicians will perform Prokofiev's "Overture on Hebrew Themes," a Haydn piano trio and works for clarinet by Mozart and Bruch.
Majestic Theatre, 8 pm
Buress is a joke writer extraordinaire, having served on the writing staffs of 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live. He's done the round of late-night talks shows and is on the rise as a standup comedian.
Redamte Coffee House, 8 pm
These Aussie brothers blend soulful rock with '90s-style Britpop and hints of jazz, earning kudos from both Time Out New York and The New York Times. With Find Vienna and Gabe Burdulis.
Terrace at UW Memorial Union, 9:30 pm
Stereolab's lead vocalist will share selections from Silencio, an introspective solo album inspired by her visit to a Spanish village and her enduring relationship with experimental lounge-pop. With Orca Team.
High Noon Saloon, 9:30 pm
Sample several varieties of West Coast garage rock at this show featuring lo-fi riffman Ty Segall and the poppy, folky, psychedelic and gloriously absurd Thee Oh Sees. With Trin Tran and the Hussy.
Majestic Theatre, 11 pm
Whether you find them inspiring, confusing or just plain weird, there's no arguing Dirty Projectors' creativity. Learn about their new album and its companion film in Tour Stop. With Night Moves.
Sunday 9.30
NOTEWORTHY: James Meredith enters University of Mississippi, defying segregation, 1962.
Majestic Theatre, 7 pm
The comedian is best remembered as Saturday Night Live's braying Goatboy, but he's also made a mark as a family-friendly comic, earning a spot on Comedy Central's 100 Best Standup Comedians of All Time.
Overture Hall, 8 pm
Radiolab, the New York City radio show, explores the world of darkness in this live show, featuring hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, dancers Pilobolus, musician Thao Nguyen and comedian Dave Foley from The Kids in the Hall. Radiolab's vivid storytelling and genre-bending approach to science should translate spectacularly from the radio to the stage.
High Noon Saloon, 8 pm
After a free in-store performance at Strictly Discs at 3 pm, Hospitality will head to the High Noon to infuse lush layers of keyboards, horns and guitars with bittersweet lyrics. Openers Teen swathe their lo-fi tunes in warm harmonies and dozens of rhythmic accouterments.
Dragonfly Lounge, 9 pm
Fans of Grizzly Bear and Maps & Atlases will dig this NYC-via-Norway band, who'll share songs from To Walk Beside the Ghost, a new album featuring autoharps, analog synthesizers and members of Sufjan Stevens' band. With Wilder Maker and Calliope.
