What to do in Madison this weekend: Michelle Zauner, Little Earthquakes and more Isthmus Picks

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Michael Massey, Thursday, April 6, Mystery to Me, 6 p.m.: In his acclaimed and brutally honest memoir published late last year, Michael Massey admits he has “no business being an author.” Yet the Madison musician whose long resume includes stints as frontman for then-promising local rock bands Chaser and Boys in White wrote More to give hope to others struggling with alcoholism. If his wife, Robin, hadn’t taken him to the hospital one October Saturday in 1993, “I would be dead from alcohol withdrawal — at 35,” Massey writes. Instead, he's been sober for three decades and has since won multiple Madison Area Music Awards. Seating is limited and registration is required, but Massey’s conversation with Doug Moe also will be livestreamed on Crowdcast.

POSTPONED: Artina McCain, Thursday, April 6, UW Hamel Music Center, 7:30 p.m.: As a performing pianist and educator, Artina McCain often focuses on bringing the works of historically underrepresented composers to the concert stage and classroom, and that focus will also be part of her residency at the UW School of Music. Following a series of workshops on April 5, the residency concludes the 2023 DEIB Festival with a ticketed solo piano concert. Find more info at deibfestival.com. April 5 update: These events will be rescheduled for fall 2023.

D.R.I., Thursday, April 6, Crucible, 7:30 p.m.: Not too many punk/thrash bands have undertaken a 40th anniversary tour, but Dirty Rotten Imbeciles did just that in 2022...and kept right on rolling into 2023. Led by singer Kurt Brecht and guitarist Spike Cassidy, the group is one of few genre originators that has remained a nearly unbroken presence in the thrash universe through the decades. Their most recent release, the 2016 EP But Wait...There's More!, was released by Milwaukee's own Beer City Records. With Paralysis, Diskillery and Egodeath. Tickets at Brown Paper Tickets.

Escape From Happiness, through April 8, Bartell Theatre: This black comedy by prolific playwright and screenwriter George F. Walker follows a dysfunctional family as they deal with criminals, cops and each other. Escape From Happiness is presented by Mercury Players Theatre, and directed by Jan Levine Thal. The final shows are at 7:30 p.m., April 6-7; and 3 p.m., April 8 (note time change). Tickets at bartelltheatre.org.

Little Earthquakes album release, Thursday, April 6, Bur Oak, 8 p.m.: Madison’s Little Earthquakes is both a new band and simultaneously a return to action of sorts; four members formerly played together in oughts faves Smokin' With Superman. That band eschewed genre boundaries, mixing vocals from jazz-pop singer Joy Dragland and rapper Mr. Parker. Little Earthquakes features another distinctive vocalist, Annie Kubena (formerly of B-52's cover band Deadbeat Club). This band, too, is invested in finding its own blend of musical styles, judging by the singles released ahead of debut album Promises. With Pink Halo. Tickets here.

Stephen Perkins: Mining the Archive, through April 9, Overture Center-James Watrous Gallery: Prints, ephemera, and accordion books from the collection of artist and curator Stephen Perkins will be joined by even more accordion books from Kiki Smith, Kara Walker, Richard Long, Bea Nettles, Guillermo Gomez-Pena and Anish Kapoor, among others. According to Perkins, the display highlights “activities that operate outside the traditional gallery system.” Current hours: noon-6 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday.

Ballet Beyond, through April 9, Madison Youth Arts Center: The three pieces in Madison Ballet's season finale highlight ballet past, present and future. Paquita Suite is set to music by Ludwig Minkus; New Work is by former Alvin Ailey member Yusha-Marie Sorzano; and RE/COMPOSED is choreographed by Madison Ballet artistic director Ja’Malik, with music by Johann Sebastian Bach and Peter Gregson. Performances at 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday; a family-friendly matinee takes place at 1 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Tickets at overture.org.

Raphaël Feuillâtre, Friday, April 7, First Unitarian Society, 7:30 p.m.: Born in Djibouti, Raphaël Feuillâtre grew up in France, where his parents gave him a toy guitar at age 7. A real one soon followed along with serious study of classical guitar. A couple decades later, Feuillâtre has played at competitive guitar festivals and on concert tours all around the world, with a major breakthrough being his win at the Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition in 2018. His most recent Deutsche Grammophon release, Visages baroques, was released last week, just ahead of this Madison Classical Guitar Society concert. Tickets at the door.

Levon Biss, through April 30, Verona Public Library: Head to the already beautiful Verona Public Library to see “Microsculpture,” amazing insect portraits by photographer Levon Biss, taken of specimens from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History collection. Biss takes multiple high magnification photos of the tiny creatures, merging them to counteract the shallow depth of field that high mag photos have. Each image is actually composed of between 8,000 and 10,000 separate shots. You've never seen the beauty of insects like this before. There is also more insect-related programming for all ages throughout the month; find details at veronapubliclibrary.org/micro.

Anna Webber's Shimmer Wince, Friday, April 7, Cafe Coda, 8 p.m.: As a bandleader and composer, tenor saxophonist/flutist Anna Webber is a prolific force, blurring the boundaries of jazz and classical forms in ensembles of various sizes and constructions. For a brief Midwest tour, Webber will play with the relatively new quintet Shimmer Wince, which also includes rising trumpet star Adam O'Farrill, cellist Mariel Roberts, synth player Elias Stemeseder and drummer Lesley Mok — the mix of instruments should make for some interesting explorations of timbre. Find tickets for this BlueStem Jazz show at cafecoda.club.

Christina Ramberg, through July 16, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art: Christina Ramberg of the Chicago Imagists group was best known for her acrylic on masonite paintings, but she also incorporated found objects into her works, which often center on stylized mid-century depictions of women and their clothes, especially classic fetish-style undergarments. Ramberg, who died in 1995, saw the work as a way to discuss the female body. “Vertical Amnesia” will be on display in the Henry Street Gallery from March 3-July 16. Current hours: Noon-6 p.m., Thursday-Sunday.

Michelle Zauner, Friday, April 7, Barrymore Theatre, 7 p.m.: With the band Japanese Breakfast, Michelle Zauner forged an acclaimed career in music; the band's most recent album, Jubliee, scored a couple nominations at the 2022 Grammys. Zauner is also a celebrated author, with her 2021 memoir spending more than a year on the New York Times bestseller list. Crying in H Mart tells Zauner's story of growing up as one of the few Korean American students in Eugene, Oregon, moving on from the struggles of adolescence into adulthood and finding a creative home, and a family tragedy that sparked a personal reckoning. Zauner will talk about the book at this Wisconsin Book Festival event.

The Kid LAROI, Friday, April 7, Alliant Energy Center-Coliseum, 8 p.m.: At age 19, the Australian pop-rap singer and songwriter known as The Kid LAROI already has enjoyed quite the career. He was mentored by (and traveled with) the late emo-rapper Juice WRLD, and he’s collaborated with Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber — the latter on “Stay,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in Summer 2021. The Kid LAROI’s new studio album, The First Time, is expected to drop sometime this year, and while fans wait, he’s embarked on the “Bleed For You” arena tour. Madison is the kid’s only Wisconsin stop. With Jeremy Zucker. Tickets at ticketmaster.com.

Here We Glow, Friday, April 7, Crucible, 8 p.m.: Are you ready to glow? B True Movement and Dr. Beatz are throwing an LED and UV light-themed party at the Crucible, complete with DJs, aerial dance by Luv Joy Seamon and Cutie B, body paint stations, and “Best in Glow” costume and UV body painting contests. Forró Fo Sho, a Madison-based band specializing in the northeastern Brazilian music genre forró pé-de-serra, will perform.

Regard, Friday, April 7, Liquid, 9 p.m.: Dardan Aliu (aka Regard) quickly rose to fame when his house reinvention of Jay Sean’s “Ride It” went viral on TikTok in 2019. Since then, the Kosovo-born DJ and producer has amassed millions of Spotify listeners and collaborated with many celebrated artists. In 2022, his track “You” with Troye Sivan and Tate McRae was nominated for the Billboard Music Awards’ Top Dance/Electronic Song (but bested by an Elton John-Dua Lipa collab); just out is a new single with Ella Henderson, “No Sleep.” With SKANR, Wifflin and DJ Vic (and playing in Ruby, BASK, AyeDHD and LUX). Tickets here.

Wisconsin Landscapes, April 8, 15 and 22, UW Arboretum, 1 p.m.: This workshop series will examine the relationship among water, plants, insects and animals. Following a guided walk, make a connection between nature and art by creating visual art based on what you've seen. It's led by two Kohler Fellows at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, Anna Gregory (science) and Praveen Maripelly (art). The April 8 and 22 sessions are kid-friendly; it's free, but registration is required by the night before each session, on Eventbrite.

Mae Simpson, Saturday, April 8, High Noon Saloon, 8 p.m.: The band Mae Simpson blends a little bit of everything, with influences from funk, rock, R&B and folk. Led by powerhouse singer Mae Simpson, and known for bringing energy and fervor to the stage, the band has made a name for itself across the Midwest. The Minnesota-based band is set to release its first full-length album this fall. Madison-based funk band Rare Element opens. Tickets at ticketmaster.com.

Flight of Lights, through April 16, Dane County Regional Airport, 7:30-11:30 p.m.: This newish spring tradition hatched during the first spring of the pandemic, when looking at things from inside your car was, indeed, a thing. This is a massive light display on the International Lane approach to the airport; be sure you keep one eye on the road if you're the driver because you don't want to hit anyone making the trek from long-term parking. Exhibits include a potentially moribund tribute to a certain “Number 12” — we'll never forget you, Erin. Note, lighted hours are 7:30-11:30 p.m., so if you're picking someone up at the airport at midnight, you're out of luck. Just saying. More info at flightoflights.com.

Find the individual Picks collected here, and as part of the full calendar of events.

Editor's note: This post has been updated to reflect the new final performance time for Escape From Happiness.