What to do in Madison this weekend: July 2-5, 2026

Catfish River Music Festival, 'Robopocalypse: The Musical' and more Isthmus Picks

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Arts

  • Ted Hefko, Thursday, July 2, Harmony Bar, 6 p.m.: Madison native Ted Hefko is very busy this summer playing gigs in his longtime home of New Orleans, but among the few out of town shows is this happy hour set in the cozy confines of the Harmony’s side room. The songs on his most recent album with the Thousandaires, Down Below, feature a Big Easy-worthy gumbo of roots rock, R&B grooves, and strong storytelling delivered with Hefko’s loose-limbed vocals.
  • National Women's Music Festival, July 2-5, Marriott-West, Middleton: The National Women’s Music Festival, celebrating its 50th anniversary, offers a wealth of music, with a performer lineup including Holly Near, Stephanie Gayle, The Washington Sisters, Ubaka Hill, Abby Posner and many others. But there’s much more to the fest than concerts, with a wide-ranging and very robust workshop schedule, screenings of films including Janis Ian: Breaking Silence and A Mother Apart, and a keynote by festival founder Kristin Lems. Find all the info and ticket options at nwmf.info.
  • Monona Community Festival, July 3-4, Winnequah Park: Give Monona credit where credit is due: This city manages to keep a small town feel while being surrounded by Madison. That’s never more true than at its long-standing festival that encompasses July 4, and provides plenty of fun throughout beautiful Winnequah Park. There’s an art fair, trivia, drag bingo, and a “wife” carry competition that has wisely been repurposed as a partner carry. And you’ll also find food carts, kids activities, a magic show, and of course fireworks that start booming at 9:20 p.m. on July 4. Bands are: Charm School Rejects at 5:30 p.m. and Foo Foo Dolls at 8:30 p.m. on Friday; Funkee JBeez at 2 p.m., Whiskey Fund at 5 p.m. and Granny Shot 8 p.m. on Saturday. The carnival gets rolling at 3 p.m. on July 2. Find all the details at mononafestival.com.
  • POSTPONED: Dane County Homeless Justice Initiative Benefit, Thursday, July 2, The Rigby, 6:30 p.m.: The city of Madison and Dane County partnered to build a new men’s homeless shelter, which is expected to open soon. However, the shelter’s capacity of 250 is significantly less than that of the current shelter, which, by the most recent available numbers, was averaging more than 300 folks a night. The Dane County Homeless Justice Initiative is raising money to help bridge this potential shortfall in services for our unhoused neighbors, including this benefit concert featuring Madison pop-punkers Hospitality Suite, Noah’s Jazz Group, and folk-adjacent Cathouse Dandies, along with visiting Milwaukee rockers Devils Teeth. Update: The Rigby is closed due to a power outage; this show will be rescheduled.
  • Puppeteers for Fears, Thursday, July 2, The Bur Oak. 8 p.m.: First off, puppets, Muppets-style, more or less. Secondly, they perform an original rock and roll musical. The troupe, based in Oregon state, has created about a half-dozen sci-fi/horror musicals; this one, Robopocalypse: The Musical, should be good summer fun without thinking too hard about it. Tickets at theburoakmadison.com.
  • Festival Foods Fireworks, Thursday, July 2, Hometown USA Community Park, Verona, 9:30 p.m.: It seems most fireworks displays these days, for the Fourth of July or otherwise, happen in conjunction with other events — a festival, sports, or a concert. If you just want some booms, an exception is the annual Independence Day event hosted by Festival Foods in conjunction with more than 30 communities around Wisconsin, including in Verona at Hometown USA Community Park (and also viewable at Veteran’s Park). Rain date is July 3.
  • Art Paul Schlosser, through July 31, Mother Fool’s Coffeehouse: If you’ve spent any time on State Street in the last several decades, you’ve likely stopped to check in on what stream-of-consciousness singer-songwriter Art Paul Schlosser is up to while busking. Schlosser has become as prolific at visual art as songwriting, and a collection of paintings of “Famous Celebrities” can be viewed at Mother Fool’s in July. A reception takes place from 2-4 p.m. on July 12. (Also: A second series of summer-themed paintings can be found from July 10-Aug. 31 at Madison Senior Center.)
  • Catfish River Music Festival, July 3-5, Rotary Park, Stoughton: The Catfish River Music Festival is coordinated by (and a fundraiser for) the nonprofit Stoughton Opera House, and compresses a couple months’ worth of stellar regional roots music into one weekend during the venue’s summer break. Closing each evening is a jam-friendly act that should inspire some dancing: Wonderfunk, an all-star ensemble led by Armchair Boogie’s Ben Majeska and Trevor Northsoul, on Friday; funky-folky Saltydog on Saturday; and organ-led R&B party starters The Jimmys on Sunday. That’s just a sample of a packed three days, which of course also includes Catfish River stalwart Charlie Parr; opening night also features the announcement of the 2026-2027 season. Find the full lineup at catfishrivermusicfest.com.
  • Evansville Fourth of July Festival, July 3-5, Lake Leota Park, Evansville: The biggest weekend of the year in Evansville brings three days of classic small-town festival fun to Lake Leota Park. July Fourth starts early with a 7 a.m. run/walk, and also includes a parade (10 a.m.), a reading of the Declaration of Independence marking the country’s 250th birthday (noon), music starting at 1 p.m. by The Jimmys, Generation Jones and Pink Houses, and fireworks at dusk. Sunday includes a pancake breakfast, car show, makers' market, and more. It's the kind of hometown festival that keeps people coming back year after year. Find the full schedule at facebook.com/ALakeLeota4th.
  • Nicole Lawrence, Friday, July 3, UW Memorial Union-Terrace, 7 p.m.: The 2025 debut album by Nicole Lawrence, Time in Love, is a winning collection of songs landing somewhere between classic country and bluesy guitar rock, accompanied by Lawrence’s arrestingly laid-back vocal style (for a shorthand description, think Lucinda Williams trying to sound like J.J. Cale). Aside from her solo work, you’ve possibly seen her playing guitar or pedal steel on stage with Jenny Lewis, Mary Timony or King Tuff, among many others. With A to Z, aka the duo of Zinnia Dungjen and Audrey Mason.
  • Fire on the River, July 3-4, Sauk City: Back in the day, devotees used to drive twisty, dangerous Highway 12 to Sauk City just to get a Butterburger. That’s not necessary any more, but now that a revamped Highway 12 makes the trip to Sauk City an easy 30 minutes from Madison, there’s plenty of other reasons to make the drive, including the annual Fire on the River celebration. The fireworks display, at dusk on July 3, is in a pretty setting over the Wisconsin River. But there are also two days worth of bands, a multicultural gathering of food trucks, a car show (11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday), and a variety of runs (10K, half-marathon, and 5K fun run/walk) starting at 7 a.m. Saturday. See the whole schedule at fireontheriver.org,
  • A Tribute to Bill Borowski, Friday, July 3, Mickeys, 10 p.m.: In honor of musician Bill Borowski, who died in January and played with Charlemagne and Knuckel Drager, this show will reunite several other bands he was associated with: grungey hard rockers The Arge, noise rock awareness-raisers United Sons of Toil, and Loach. The whole shebang is hosted by lo-fi carport rockers The Arkoffs. Expect the unexpected.
  • Stars, Stripes and Shorelines, Saturday, July 4, Edgewater + UW Memorial Union, 2-10 p.m.: Stars, Stripes & Shorelines offers a full day of free all-ages entertainment at two of the city's favorite gathering spots along the shore of Lake Mendota: the Edgewater and UW Memorial Union. Kids' activities and music kick off at 2 p.m. at the Edgewater, and get started at the Union Terrace at 4 p.m., with two performances by Mad-City Ski Team and music by Brett Newski & the Bad Inventions, People Brothers Band, Until Dawn, Scott Damgaard and Pegasis. (The fireworks show has been canceled.) Find the full schedule at theedgewater.com.
  • Dro-chella, Saturday, July 4, Gamma Ray, 6:30 p.m.: Madison area artist Fred Really (aka Al D of Supa Friends, among other aliases) has been curating a series of intriguing interactive events at Gamma Ray. The latest is billed as an “anti-fascist variety show” with comedy, magic and music from hip-hop to garage rock; the lineup includes Fred Really, Jexizis, Poetic Tha God, Still Cameron, Dad Bods, The Scratch-Offs, Mr. Boifriend, The Great Samwitch, and Soup the Fifth.
  • Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets, Sunday, July 5, Bartell Theatre-Drury Stage, 5 p.m.: Finally, Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets makes its Madison debut. A 2020 Wisconsin Film Festival screening never took place when that year’s fest was canceled due to COVID-19. It centers on a group of patrons of a Las Vegas bar called the Roaring 20s as it is about to shut down. This presentation from Four Star Video is part of a revival for National Dive Bar Day, truly an occasion worth celebrating. Plus, it is always nice to see films at the Bartell. Tickets at bartelltheatre.org.
  • Uncle Vanya, through Sept. 5, American Players Theatre, Spring Green: Remember the old SNL game show skit “Meet Your Second Wife”? Well, not that this is the Russian realist version of that, but there is a young second wife involved in Uncle Vanya, and when does that go well? The scene: Vanya and his niece, Sonya, have worked the family land to support her father, who now lives at the estate with said second wife. This new adaptation by APT’s Nate Burger is part of World Premiere Wisconsin, the statewide festival promoting throughout 2026. In repertory through Sept. 5; performances coming up include 6 p.m. July 5 and 7:30 p.m. July 8. Tickets at americanplayers.org.

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 a show postponement.