What to do in Madison this weekend: Fête de Marquette, 'Reconstituting' and more Isthmus Picks

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Arts

Wicked, through July 27, Overture Hall: One of Madison’s favorite Broadway musicals returns this summer when Wicked flies back into Overture Center. Based on Gregory Maguire’s novel, the musical revisits characters from The Wizard of Oz to tell the story of an unlikely friendship between Elphaba (later known as the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda (the “Good Witch”). It’s a tale of power, perception, and what it means to be “good.” With showstoppers like “Defying Gravity” and “For Good,” this Tony- and Grammy-winning hit blends spectacle with heart. Performances at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, plus 1 p.m. on July 10; tickets at overture.org.

Blue Black, through July 18, Marƶeń: This show’s something to celebrate, with new works by three UW-Madison master of fine arts alumna — Helen Hawley, Paula Schuette Kraemer and Anna Lambrini Moisiadis. Hawley, who is currently teaching at Northern Arizona University, contributes “nocturnes,” surprising night paintings. Schuette Kraemer’s prints in a variety of techniques show the kinetic energy of birds and other animals. Lambrini Moisiadis’s work takes a more abstract approach, exploring the shadowy associations of blue and black. Since the exhibition's opening, Integrated Art Group has announced that this will be the final show at the Marƶeń gallery; regular hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, but appointments can be made for other times by emailing taylor@iag.art.

Savanna Jam, Thursday, July 10, Westmorland Park, 5-8 p.m.: If you are a lover of music and trees, Savanna Jam is going to be, well…your jam. Subtitled “A Celebration of Agroforestry,” it brings together 14 Wisconsin organizations supporting sustainable agriculture practices for talks on trees, kids' activities, exhibits, and food carts. The “Jam” part of the evening is music by folk duo Alison and Taylor Ackley and klezmer band Tsuzamen. It’s free to attend; rain date is July 15. For updates: facebook.com/WhiteOakSavanna.

Fête de Marquette, July 10-13, McPike Park: The midsummer landmark Fête de Marquette is bigger than ever in 2025, squeezing six stages and more than 60 artists into four days. You’ll want to peruse the schedule and plan your own adventure, but a few highlights include two chances to hear rockin' Canadian singer-songwriter Lisa LeBlanc (8:30 p.m. Thursday and 9:30 p.m. Friday); local swinging R&B stalwarts The Jimmys joined by both Marcia Ball and Tracy Nelson (6:30 p.m. Sunday); a masquerade ball with VO5, Cycropia Aerial Dance, The Handphibians and Otimo Dance Company (6:30 p.m. Friday); and soul-rockin' Memphis quartet Southern Avenue, on tour behind their excellent 2025 album, Family (9:15 p.m. Saturday). The Musique Electronique stage expands to three days with headliners Mark Broom on Friday, Todd Terry on Saturday and DJ Stingray 313 on Sunday (Friday and Saturday are followed by late-night sets at High Noon Saloon; tickets at high-noon.com). That only scratches the surface; find more info at wil-mar.org. FRIDAY UPDATE: Fest organizers have decided to cancel all Friday night events due to the stormy weather.

Chuck Prophet & His Cumbia Shoes, Thursday, July 10, Atwood Music Hall, 8 p.m.: Chuck Prophet manages to write short stories within his songs; real beginnings, middle and ends. And his spoken forward of each story — by way of his on-stage intros of songs — are stories within the story. The San Francisco native is touring this summer with a new cumbia album called Wake the Dead, recorded with ¿Qiensave? and members of The Mission Express. There’s nothing like seeing a musician dive into his own obsession and Wake the Dead reflects Prophet’s devotion to cumbia on old vinyl he’s collected over many years. Tickets at theatwoodmusichall.com.

Starbeam + Lakewaves Trio + SYDNY GOTLYB, Thursday, July 10, Bur Oak, 8 p.m.: This is a triple bill of synthy, groovy Madison pop-rocker-experimenters. Smooth Starbeam has the celestial mood down pat. Lakewaves Trio has a funkier delivery. And SYDNY GOTLYB is billed as the “dark ambient alter ego of Madison-area live electronic hardware performance artist Zinda Laash” — either way, the sounds wash over the audience in dreamy waves. Our “just vibes” pick of the week. Tickets at theburoakmadison.com.

Camille Davis, Maria Schirmer, Mark Soderling, Dylan Waddell, through Aug. 31, Carnelian Art Gallery; reception July 11, 5 p.m.: This joint show includes solo exhibitions by artists Maria Schirmer, Mark Soderling and Dylan Waddell of Madison and Camille Davis of New Mexico. Schirmer draws on printmaking, letterpress and book arts; you may know her work from the mural at Willy Street Co-op-West. Soderling has a bright, graphic painting style based on gestural lines. Dylan Waddell works in collage. Camille Davis’s work leans more expressionistic; she paints and uses cyanotypes in her work as well. A reception at 5 p.m. on July 11 will be followed by an interactive artist’s talk by Schirmer.

Into the Woods, July 11-20, Middleton High School: Madison’s year of Stephen Sondheim continues with his masterwork Into the Woods, a complex tapestry featuring fairy tale characters who discover that wishes — though granted — come with unexpected consequences. The Baker and his wife, cursed by a witch, embark on a mission to reverse their fate, crossing paths with Cinderella, Jack, Little Red Riding Hood, and others. With Sondheim’s superb music and a mix of humor, heartache and magic, this Middleton Players production promises a thoughtful, whimsical experience for all ages. Don’t just wish for a fairy tale — go experience one! Shows at 7:30 p.m. on Friday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday; tickets at middletonplayers.com.

Reconstituting, July 11-26, Broom Street Theater: It’s come to our attention that Madison is attracting new residents every day, and they want to know what there is to do here. Put this on your bucket list — you can’t really say you’ve lived in Madison until you’ve seen a production at the Broom Street Theater, a long-running grassroots black box enterprise that fosters local playwrights, innovative staging and experimental everything. Reconstituting is a new play by Doug Reed that revolves around a fantastical scenario involving the United States Constitution. Now that we can keenly perceive that document’s flaws, how would you fix it if you had the chance? Reed, who’s previously penned Nottingham! and The Lamentable Tragedie of Scott Walker, will also star. Heather Renken directs. Shows are at 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Tickets are available in advance at bstonline.org, or at the door the evening of the performance. The other thing the uninitiated need to know is that, despite its name, the theater is located at 1119 Williamson St.

Griffin House, Friday, July 11, Bur Oak, 8 p.m.: A hard touring Ohio native, House is one of those guys who opens a show for a big act like Josh Ritter or the Cranberries, and you go home remembering his set more than the headliner. His 13 albums have attracted studio support from folks like Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench. His songs explore the cracks and crevices of fatherhood, hard work and sobriety. Tickets at theburoakmadison.com.

Dale Watson & His Lonestars, Friday, July 11, Atwood Music Hall, 8 p.m.: With a residency at Austin’s famed dive bar The Continental Club, Watson is a living, breathing embodiment of a honky-tonk. His songs are three-minute tours of bar fights, car sex, hangovers, cigarette smoke, beer, more beer (Lone Star), and tequila. His band features the mind-blowing work of Don Pawlak, Austin’s premiere pedal steel player and foil to many onstage insults hurled at him by Watson. Watson could do two hours just with requests for his originals and he’ll surely make time for a few. Tickets at theatwoodmusichall.com.

The Crane Wives, Friday, July 11, The Sylvee, 8 p.m.: While The Crane Wives is not a Decemberists cover band, it is true the four-piece took their name from the Portland band’s 2006 album The Crane Wife, and the offbeat indie folk the band produces is Decemberists-adjacent. Founders and vocalists Emilee Petersmark and Kate Pillsbury offer a female perspective in their gently offbeat tales, sung to vibrant strummy instrumentation. They’re touring in support of their recently released seventh studio album, Beyond Beyond Beyond. The delicate Arny Margret (of Iceland, but dismiss any thought of Bjorkian antics — she skews more Gracie Abrams) opens. Tickets at ticketmaster.com.

Art Fairs On and Off the Square, July 12-13, Capitol Square + MLK Jr. Blvd.: If there is such a thing as too much art, this is the weekend to find out what that feels like. Madison Museum of Contemporary Art sponsors the Art Fair On the Square, which rings the pavement on both the Capitol and commercial sides of the Square. The Wisconsin Alliance of Artists & Craftspeople sponsors the Art Fair Off the Square, which occupies the block of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in front of the City-County Building and the approach walk to Monona Terrace. The art often runs to what MMoCA terms “fine craft” in both shows, with plenty of jewelry, pottery, photography and lawn sculpture. But there is always something amazing, and always something fantastic and weird. Walk, gawk, munch (food vendors are stationed around the Square and on the 100 block of MLK) and listen to music, both on MLK and from the North Hamilton steps of the Capitol. Hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. on July 12 and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. July 13 for both shows.

Spooner, Saturday, July 12, Atwood Music Hall, 8 p.m.: If you were in Madison in the early '80s, Spooner was the band. The band that you went out to see, the band that was going to make it big. Spooner — originally a trio of Doug Erikson, Bob Olsen and Dave Benton and eventually including Joel Tappero, Butch Vig and Jeff Walker — played something between power pop and what at the time was taking over the recently launched MTV, “new wave.” They released two LPs, Every Corner Dance (1982) and Wildest Dreams (1984) before disbanding. (More music came later in the early '90s during a brief re-banding.) Erikson and Vig would go on to form Garbage, and Vig would go on to a storied production career, but if you were in Madison in the early '80s, there will always be a special spot in your heart for Spooner. This 50th anniversary reunion show sold out quickly, but who knows — where there’s a will there’s a way. And there is always the Winnebago Street sidewalk.

Environmental Fun Fair, Sunday, July 13, Lussier Family Heritage Center, 1-4 p.m.: It’s becoming increasingly difficult tearing kids (okay, also adults) away from device screens. This Dane County Parks event in cooperation with Dane County Land & Water Resources and Dane Arts highlights family-friendly outdoor activities: gardening, mural painting, making art from recyclables, pressing flowers, biking and more. Check out Dane County Parks' all-terrain wheelchair available to use at the Capital Springs Recreation Area. There are more eco-sciencey activities too, with bird banding, a rainfall simulator, microscope fun and live animals. Grab a picnic table in the shade and listen to music from Céd Ba'etch'. This is an inclusive event for all ages and abilities.

Chris Knight, Sunday, July 13, High Noon Saloon, 7 p.m.: Chris Knight has built a nearly 30-year-career with a no-frills, Americana-fueled, backwoods-grown blur of folk, country and rock. With roots in Kentucky, his gritty Mellencamp-esque vocals lend credibility to powerful tales of rural life — desperation and survival, small towns and salvation. His most-recent album, 2019’s Almost Daylight (on which he opted against any acoustic songs) still holds up, with “The Damn Truth” seemingly portending the current state of our political and cultural discourse. With Laurel Lewis. Tickets at ticketmaster.com.

Lone Rock Bride, Sunday, July 13, The Rigby, 8 p.m.: Minnesota alt-country band Lone Rock Bride is only playing a few shows this summer, and ending a mini-tour at The Rigby. In April they released an excellent debut album, Rosette, full of mournful fiddle melodies, spacy steel guitar, heart-melting harmony singing, and some occasional spiky rock guitar. A musically diverse bill also includes Madison psych-sters Bleeding Lizard and funk-leaning rockers Sheebie.

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

Editor's note: This post has been updated to include info on weather cancellations.