What to do in Madison this weekend: April 9-12, 2026

Brad Williams, Wisconsin Film Festival and more Isthmus Picks

by

Arts

  • Liubóv Szwako, through May 16, Edgewood University: You may know him as Triangulador, the guy who spray paints art on abandoned curbside mattresses. But Liubóv Szwako is a prolific muralist and is about more than just transforming found objects, even though that is a significant part of his practice. An exhibit of new large scale paintings called “OUTSIDER” will fill Edgewood’s roomy gallery space in The Stream. Szwako will present a gallery talk at noon on April 9.
  • Wisconsin Film Festival, April 9-16, UW campus + other venues: Since its debut in 1999, the annual Wisconsin Film Festival has only grown in importance for local filmgoers, with traditional movie theaters gradually disappearing and the variety of new films on the big screen also shrinking. The fest’s focus on Wisconsin-related films is a double bonus; the opening weekend includes the three Golden Badger Award winners (Jia and Shaggy’s Big Break on April 11; And Then I Knew ‘Twas Wind on April 12; read about more Wisconsin's Own films here.). The fest's initial days also include the coming-of-age drama Last Shot (April 11), which just picked up a Best Actress Award for Jaime Pressly at the LA Film Awards; and a screening of a restored 35mm print of George Romero’s classic Night of the Living Dead (April 12), accompanied by a talk by author Daniel Krause about his new book, Partially Devoured: How Night of the Living Dead Saved My Life and Changed the World. Find the full schedule and check advance ticket availability at wifilmfest.eventive.org.
  • Doors of Perception, Thursday, April 9, Harmony Bar, 6:30 p.m.: You’re not likely to find another local band that includes a Vic Chesnutt cover in their set list. Doors of Perception’s sound is as eccentric as their song selection: rock and blues with a drip bag of jazz improv stabbed in. The players have been around the scene forever. Add up the experience of the members and you’d be talking north of 120 years, primarily with bands like Last Gaspe, Beat Road and Bonobo Secret Handshake. This evening concert is a fundraiser for Voces de la Frontera and 350 Wisconsin.
  • The Science of Hope, Thursday, April 9, Central Library, 7 p.m.: Hope isn’t always easy. In Ancient Light, a 2026 National Book Foundation Science + Literature selection, poet Kimberly Blaeser considers the long shadow of colonial violence that still affects Indigenous communities today. Grounded in Anishinaabe knowledge and place, the poems hold grief and connection at the same time. During this Wisconsin Book Festival and Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters event, Blaeser will read from the collection and discuss the poems with prize-winning poet and University of Montana professor Sean Hill. Register at eventbrite.com.
  • Justin Willman, Thursday, April 9, Overture-Capitol Theater, 7 p.m.: Justin Willman has made a career out of combining two things that don’t always share the stage gracefully: stand-up comedy and magic. A seen on Netflix’s Magic for Humans and his own recent special, Magic Lover, Willman’s style leans less on grand illusion and more on quick sleight-of-hand, audience participation, and a running stream of disarming humor that keep the room a step behind him. The “One for the Ages” tour features all new material appropriate for all ages. Tickets at overture.org.
  • Aesthetic Perfection, Thursday, April 9, The Annex, 7 p.m.: Aesthetic Perfection has been playing their own eclectically minded interpretation of industrial music for about a quarter century; for a couple good samples, check out recent singles “We Bring the Beat” and “Summer Goth.” The band is crossing the U.S. on the “Suckers for Punishment” tour in April, joined by Julien-K; the Madison date also features sets by Priest and Lockjaw. Tickets at eventbrite.com.
  • Monét X Change, April 9-11, Comedy on State: Monét X Change has already done the big-stage thing — two RuPaul’s Drag Race crowns, global tours, podcast stardom — so her “High Heels, Bad Knees” tour will feel intimate by comparison. This is drag meeting stand-up: sharp jokes, messy life stories, and off-the-cuff crowd work. The glamour is still very much present, but the real pleasure is watching Monét take apart everyday absurdity from the vantage point of someone who has worn a lot of wigs and even more opinions. Shows at 7 p.m. April 9 and 7 and 9:30 p.m. April 10-11. Tickets at madisoncomedy.com.
  • Marna Brauner + Hai Chi Jihn, Lillian Luft, through April 12, James Watrous Gallery: Paired exhibitions at the Wisconsin Academy’s James Watrous Gallery will consider the curatorial instinct and the clashing human drives of ecological conservation and plunder. “Curio” is a collaboration by Marna Brauner and Hai Chi Jihn, who assembled a “cabinet of curiosities” consisting of found objects in conversation with small, detail-oriented pieces created by the artists. “Deliberate Acts” by Lillian Luft was inspired by the history of native mussel overharvesting in the 19th century, and “poignantly evokes mussels’ bodies and the spaces they inhabited.” Gallery hours are noon-5 p.m. Thursday-Sunday.
  • Lady Disdain, April 9-26, Overture-Playhouse: Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing gets a contemporary remix by playwright Lauren Gunderson in Lady Disdain. The comedy drops two exes into a recording booth to voice the latest audiobook in a popular romance series — a setup providing plenty of room to echo Beatrice and Benedick’s famously prickly chemistry. Forward Theater Company’s production features a cast of familiar regional favorites under the direction of Jen Uphoff Gray, and is another entry in the World Premiere Wisconsin schedule. Performances at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, plus 2 p.m. April 16, 18 and 25 and 7:30 p.m. April 21. Tickets at overture.org.
  • Pat Metheny, Thursday, April 9, UW Memorial Union-Shannon Hall, 7:30 p.m.: Few guitarists move as freely across musical worlds as Pat Metheny. Over a career that ranges from experimental work by Steve Reich and Ornette Coleman to rock legend David Bowie, Metheny has treated genre as a suggestion rather than a boundary. His music can shift from luminous melody to dense improvisation without much warning, but the guitar sound remains unmistakably his. Tickets at artsticketing.wisc.edu.
  • UW Science Expeditions, April 10-12, UW-Madison campus: This annual spring event features open houses and free activities for all ages at many of the science-related facilities on the UW-Madison campus. One new spot on the list this year is Morgridge Hall, home of the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences (soon to be relaunched as the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence). Special events include the premiere screenings of History of a Life of Good Luck, a new documentary by local filmmaker Greg Jeschke about an important but largely unsung former doctor at UW, Frederic Mohs (12:30 and 2:30 p.m., April 12, Health Sciences Learning Center). Find a schedule and map at science.wisc.edu.
  • Anne E. Stoner, April 10-May 22, UW Memorial Union-Main Gallery: With a UW Police Department Flock Safety camera surveilling outside the Memorial Union, it feels fitting that inside, the installation “Infrastructure Bodies/Injury Systems” asks what it means to be seen — and recorded. Anne E. Stoner, the 2026 Russell and Paula Panczenko MFA Prize winner, pairs surveillance footage from recent Midwest protests with a sonic illustration of the movement of people in the video, along with audio of people injured during demonstrations. The work is a response to the current federal administration’s approach to law enforcement in American cities, and promises to be a sobering experience. An artist talk at 5 p.m. is followed by a reception from 6-7:30 p.m. on April 10. Read more about the exhibition at chazen.wisc.edu.
  • Wet Day, Friday, April 10, Goodman Community Center-Ironworks, 7 p.m.: Madison does love its holidays…sometimes, especially if they are fake. That’s the case with Wet Day, which originated as a Comedy Bang Bang joke and took on a life of its own. Amalgam Improv has celebrated the April 10 holiday for several years now with a variety show, and this year’s lineup ranges from Indian classical music by Rama Kelkar to storytelling by Danielle Hairston Green to a science lecture by Ben Rush. And that’s just some of the fun to be had. Tickets benefit Goodman Community Center, and can be found (along with a fun mini-video game) at amalgamimprov.com.
  • Line Breaks, through April 24, various venues: UW-Madison’s Line Breaks festival, coordinated by the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives, features a variety of happenings showing hip-hop’s expansive cultural reach. Annual showcases featuring First Wave’s current cohort and guests take place at 7 p.m. April 10-11 at Promenade Hall in Overture Center. Events also include a concert by singer-songwriter Madison McFerrin (7 p.m., April 16, Memorial Union-Play Circle) and a screening of See Memory with filmmaker Viviane Silvera (2 p.m., April 18, Chazen). More events and visual art exhibitions take place all month; find the full lineup at omai.wisc.edu.
  • Madison Symphony Orchestra, April 10-12, Overture Hall: The Madison Symphony’s April concerts offer a variety of musical flavors in a program led by guest conductor Laura Jackson, music director/conductor for the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra. The evening begins with Fiesta! Four Pop Dances for Orchestra, by modern Peruvian composer Jimmy López, which brings the energy of Latin American, Afro-Peruvian and techno to the symphonic world. The program also features Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto Andaluz, performed by renowned guest artists Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, and closes with the sweeping drama of Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2. If you want to learn more about the music, get to Overture an hour early for pre-concert talks by Jackson. Performances at 7:30 p.m. April 10-11 and 2:30 p.m. April 12; tickets at overture.org.
  • A Frames, Friday, April 10, Crystal Corner, 8 p.m.: The albums released by A Frames in the 2000s feature songs that are clangy and catchy, angular and apocalyptic thematically. They sound like they could have been written about our current culture’s tenuous grasp on sanity rather than a couple decades ago. A Frames has played very few shows in recent times, so don’t miss this concert hosted by the local No Coast label, also featuring sets by Whippets, Hottt Probs and New Wrongs; pre-show and between-sets spins by The Real Jaguar and DJ 45 Freakout start around 7 p.m.
  • Ladyslipper album release, Friday, April 10, Bur Oak, 8 p.m.: Understory, the debut album by Madison quartet Ladyslipper, features thoughtful songs considering the inexorable order of the natural world and our place in it. With ethereal four-part harmony singing and gentle folk-pop accompaniment, the album offers a hopeful sound that’s an antidote to the state of the world in 2026. Understory can be found on Bandcamp April 3 and the release will be celebrated at this concert, also featuring sets by Bear in the Forest and Seasaw. Tickets at theburoakmadison.com.
  • National Collegiate Irish Dance Championships, Saturday, April 11, UW Memorial Union-Shannon Hall, 9 a.m.: Irish dance, but perhaps not the version you think you know. UW-Madison’s Sláinte Irish Dancers host the National Collegiate Irish Dance Championships, a full day that opens with the traditional solo dances and expands from there. Competition closes with teams performing original choreography set to modern music; things loosen up and team personality starts to come through. Along the way, guest performances from the Trinity Academy of Irish Dance and the Currach Irish Quartet keep the day moving. Find a schedule for the day and tickets at artsticketing.wisc.edu.
  • Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, Saturday, April 11, Stoughton Opera House, 3 and 7:30 p.m.: Marty Stuart got his start on the road with Lester Flatt and Johnny Cash before shooting to solo stardom in the '80s and '90s. Since 2002, the Country Music Hall of Fame guitar and mandolin player has been backed by His Fabulous Superlatives, and the four-man collective in 2025 released Space Junk, 20 timeless instrumentals influenced by cosmic country and surf guitar. Stuart has a deep catalog and an affinity for covers; he and the band played Willie Nelson and Buddy Holly tunes last time they were at the Stoughton Opera House. Tickets at stoughtonoperahouse.com.
  • The Whiskey Farm, Saturday, April 11, The Bur Oak, 7:30 p.m.: In 2011, The Whiskey Farm — a fledgling socially conscious Americana/folk band from Madison — released its debut album, Middle of America, which went on to win a Madison Area Music Award for its leadoff song, “If I Were You.” Now, 15 years, four albums and more MAMAs later, the collective is hosting an anniversary party for Middle of America. Expect to hear plenty of material from that album, as well as maybe even “The Day the Tractors Came to Town,” a charming and enduring ditty about healthy parent-child activism during the Act 10 protests (another 15-year anniversary this year, by the way). Ryan Mauer opens with a set of jazz-infused folk. Tickets at theburoakmadison.com.
  • The Taxmen, Sunday, April 12, Bur Oak, 1 p.m.: These Milwaukee-based Beatles recreationists rank among the country’s most in-demand Liverpool experiences. They’ve starred in all the major Beatles festivals from Louisville to New York City. One difference with these guys is that their original songs keep the music alive as much as their spirited covers. It’s a Sunday brunch dance party for Beatles lovers young and old. Tickets at theburoakmadison.com.
  • Brad Williams, Sunday, April 12, Orpheum, 7 p.m.: Comedian and actor Brad Williams has been keeping busy lately, popping up in films such as Spinal Tap II: The End Continues and co-hosting the Heightened Babble podcast with JB Ball. That’s great news for anyone who likes to laugh, because Williams is one of the funniest stand-ups working today (at least, unless your name is Carol, as explained in his 2024 special, Starfish). He also tours frequently, and is back in Madison with new material ahead of his next comedy special. Tickets at ticketmaster.com.

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