What to do in Madison this week: Topaz Winters and company, GLEAM more Isthmus Picks

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Farewell to Essen Haus + Come Back In, closing Aug. 31, 508 E. Wilson St.: Whether it’s a favorite concert, volleyball in the parking lot, watching playoff sports, a long night of polka dancing, or too many shared boots of beer, anyone who has lived in Madison for a while probably has a memory of spending time at the Come Back In and adjacent Essen Haus. With long-planned redevelopment officially in the works, the bars announced their final day of operation will be Aug. 31. Music fans still have some opportunities for a final visit or two; coming up at Essen Haus is the Gary Beal Band on Aug. 30-31 (7 p.m.). The Come Back features open mic on Mondays, Dan Maguire on Aug. 30, and Piano Man on Aug. 31 (all at 7 p.m.).

In Search of Awe, Aug. 27-Nov. 17, Overture Center-Playhouse Gallery; reception Oct. 3, 5:30-8:30 p.m.: This fall brings the return of Madison organization PhotoMidwest’s Biennial Juried Exhibition, opening Sept. 17 at Arts + Literature Laboratory. Before then, Biennial-related exhibits get underway with “In Search of Awe,” a collection of photographs by PhotoMidwest members, juried by board member Tim Mulcahy. A reception takes place from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Oct. 3. Find a virtual gallery and info on all exhibits at photomidwest.org.

Topaz Winters, Patrycja Humienik, Clemonce Heard, Aurora Shimshak, Tuesday, Aug. 27, A Room of One's Own, 6 p.m.: A quartet of poets meets to celebrate the fifth anniversary edition of Topaz Winters' book Portrait of My Body as a Crime I’m Still Committing with 10 new poems. Winters, who will read the self-described “ravenous, reckless, skin-searching” poetry as part of the event, is editor-in-chief of Half Mystic Press. She is joined by UW-Madison MFA candidate Patrycja Humienik, 2019-2020 Ronald Wallace Poetry Fellow Clemonce Heard, and rising Madison area poet Aurora Shimshak, who also teaches at Oakhill Correctional Institution. Winters' reading is one stop on a 14-bookstore Midwestern tour, which doesn’t happen all that often anymore for any writer, much less a poet.

Blues Music Community Listening Event, Tuesday, Aug. 27, Red Rooster, 6 p.m.: The Madison Area Music Association is hosting a discussion of the blues scene in Madison at one of the city’s most blues-forward venues, Red Rooster. The listening session will be followed, appropriately, by a blues jam. Admission is free.

Nirmal Raja, Aug. 23-Oct. 23, Overture Center-James Watrous Gallery: Milwaukee-based mixed media artist Nirmal Raja broke out during the pandemic with her exhibit “Feeble Barriers,” which featured 101 hand-sewn masks hand-embroidered with slogans as “a record of our times as seen through the eyes of health care workers”; but that’s just the tip of Raja’s thoughtful works. “Asking Questions of a Thread” pulls together works from Raja’s career.

Rudens (The Rope), Tuesday, Aug. 27, Arts + Literature Laboratory, 7 p.m.: Falconbridge Players continue their staged readings of unexpected works with Rudens (The Rope), a comedy by the Roman playwright Plautus. Rudens is one of the few remaining, and more accessible, plays, surviving from the time period. The plot centers on two kidnapped girls who are shipwrecked, allowing them to escape. Some of the themes here may be more off-putting to contemporary audiences than they were to the original theatergoers, but Plautus uses many of the same tricks of comedy that comics still use today. Free, but attendees are requested to RSVP at falconbridgeplayers.org.

Jazz at Five, Wednesdays, through Sept. 4, Capitol Square, 4 p.m.: As it turns out, the return of Jazz at Five to its traditional home at the top of State Street was short-lived. However, this time the summer concert series is moving just a couple blocks counterclockwise on the Square, to the South Hamilton Street corner. Concerts begin with a youth band at 4 p.m., followed by UW Faculty Jazz Band and Jazz All Stars, Aug. 28; and the DB Orchestra and All That Jazz Big Band, Sept. 4. Find more info at jazzatfive.org.

Catherine Jagoe + Heather Swan, Wednesday, Aug. 28, Mystery to Me, 6 p.m.: Catherine Jagoe’s new book of poetry, Praying to the God of Small Things, grew out of two things: “tremendous climate anxiety” and the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. While every poem in this collection has a connection with nature, the effect is far from ecstatic. Nature, long a calming force, is now a worry. The threat of climate change hovers over these poems. She will be joined by Heather Swan, whose new book, Where the Grass Still Sings, combines art and essay to consider insects, our connection with them, and their fast disappearance. To RSVP or join the Crowdcast livestream, visit mysterytomebooks.com.

The 502s, Wednesday, Aug. 28, Majestic, 8 p.m.: The Florida sunshine seems to have given The 502s super-powers when it comes to creating upbeat, party-friendly folk-based songs dressed up with drums, keys, horns and more. Hopefully they saved up some of that sunshine energy as they are touring hard on the “Great American Roadtrip” through the end of the year, across the U.S., Europe and Australia, behind their self-titled 2024 album. With Max McNown. Tickets at ticketmaster.com.

GLEAM: Art in a New Light, Wednesday-Saturday, through Oct. 26, Olbrich Gardens: Every summer and early fall, the gardens at Olbrich receive a nighttime makeover with this fanciful show of light-based art that changes every year, including some interactive installations. Timed entry begins at 8 p.m. in August, at 7:30 p.m. in September, and 6:30 p.m. in October, with tickets sold in advance only at olbrichgleam.org. Pro tip: most people like the earliest entrance times, so choosing later times can result in easier viewing at the start.

barb morrison, Thursday, Aug. 29, A Room of One’s Own, 6 p.m.: A multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer, barb morrison has a decades-long resume playing in bands such as Gutterboy and Antony & the Johnsons, producing and writing for Blondie and Franz Ferdinand, and creating numerous film and TV scores. In 2023, they added author to the list, with the memoir Bottoming For God, described as “a story about gender euphoria, sobriety, old skool NYC, true love, past lives and coming home.” morrison will discuss the book’s topics with a duo of Madison musicians who are members of queer pop/rock bands: Maddie Batzli of LINE and Benjamin Rose of Kat and the Hurricane.

Blades of Steel Metalfest 4, Aug. 29-31, Crucible: The second of two heavy metal festivals in Madison this month will feature a blitzkrieg of bands — more than 20 over three days — representing everything from traditional heavy metal (Night Demon and Cirith Ungol, both from California), power metal (Connecticut’s Liege Lord) and symphonic metal (Madison’s Queen of Dreams) to death/folk metal (North Carolina’s Aether Realm) and thrash metal (Brazil’s all-female Nervosa). Veteran Canadian hard rockers Killer Dwarfs even are on the bill. A lineup as diverse and heavy as this is rare in the capital city, and while the list of scheduled bands is subject to change, Blades of Steel still shines. Music at 6 p.m. on Aug. 29 and 3 p.m., Aug. 30-31. Tickets at rk-metal-promotions.ticketleap.com.

Bug Hunter + The Narcissist Cookbook, Thursday, Aug. 29, The Bur Oak, 7 p.m.: Storytelling songwriters Bug Hunter and The Narcissist Cookbook are touring together this summer. Bug Hunter tells amusing yarns accompanied by acoustic guitar (“Toddler with a Slingshot,” “Disco! in the Panic Room,”) that have superfans singing along. The Narcissist Cookbook also features witty lyrics over a more rhythmic acoustic guitar attack, featuring some darker fun (the song “Courtney” features the chorus “Courtney did it, Courtney killed Cobain,” while later noting that “I might be going out on a limb here but I think society doesn't seem to like women at the best of times”). Worth arriving early to grab a free copy of the irreverent tour poster. Tickets at theburoakmadison.com.

Rosebud Baker, Aug. 29-31, Comedy on State: Comedian and actress Rosebud Baker’s style of stand-up is bitingly witty, drily self-deprecating, and utterly fearless about going very dark at times. For a good example, those unfamiliar should check out her 2021 Comedy Central special, Whiskey Fists; depending on your comic sensibility, it will either make you run in fear or fall in love and head straight to Comedy on State. Shows at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 29 and 7:30 and 10 p.m., Aug. 30-31. Tickets at madisoncomedy.com.

Musicians for WORT, Thursday, Aug. 29, Gamma Ray, 8 p.m.: WORT-FM supports local music, and local musicians return the favor on a regular basis by playing concerts to benefit the Madison community radio station. This night features three bands playing a variety of danceable music: Heavy Looks plays catchy, heartfelt rock; Smart Cookie is a newer quintet of scene vets focused on putting the groove in pop; and Wild Violets is similarly a supergroup of local songwriters, in this band focusing on ‘90s covers. Kicking off the night and spinning between bands is one of WORT’s newest DJs, Ciggy.

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