What to do in Madison this week: Jen Ruiz, Concerts on the Square and more Isthmus Picks

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Daisychain, Monday, July 22, High Noon Saloon, 7:30 p.m.: Chicago’s Daisychain has emerged as a rock powerhouse in Chicago’s vibrant music scene. Daisychain’s dynamic soundscape harks back to the classic rock bands of the 1960s and ’70s and features harmonies from frontwomen Nickole Regala and Sophia Williams. Madison’s Heavy Looks have a guitar-heavy indie pop sound, and Raddish swerves from crunchy guitar rockers to seductive synthpop. Tickets at ticketmaster.com.

Sharon Kilfoy + TetraPAKMAN, through Aug. 9, Social Justice Center: The Jackie Macaulay Gallery hosts paired exhibits considering the effects of climate change on our planet’s living creatures. TetraPAKMAN’s sculpture and other large-format works often focus on raising awareness of climate change, and this exhibit includes “The Climate Sheets,” wrapping around the gallery space and including records of the ever-raising level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Rising global temperatures contribute to a higher danger of wildfires; Sharon Kilfoy shows some concrete examples of what fire does with a collection of objects recovered following a 2016 fire at Williamson Street Art Center.

Jessica Calarco, Tuesday, July 23, Mystery To Me, 6 p.m.: For her new book, Holding It Together: How Women Became America’s Safety Net, UW-Madison associate professor of sociology Jessica Calarco surveyed more than 4,000 parents and conducted more than 400 hours of interviews with women to reveal — in the words of the book’s publisher — “a systematic agreement to dismantle our country’s social safety net and persuade citizens to accept precarity while women bear the brunt.” It’s a heady topic, and Doug Moe will be interviewing Calarco to help attendees make sense of the author’s bold call to demand institutional change. Seating is limited for this free event, and RSVPs are encouraged; links at mysterytomebooks.com.

Olbrich After Hours, Tuesdays, through July 30, Olbrich Gardens, 7 p.m.: The summer concert series at Olbrich Gardens is now called Olbrich After Hours, and features food carts, a bar, and more (along with the gardens being open later each Tuesday). This month’s lineup is stellar; still to come on July 23 is Madison electro-rockers The Earthlings; and July 30 is Kenosha-based singer-songwriter Ben Mulwana & the Village. Find more info at olbrich.org.

Jen Ruiz, Tuesday, July 23, Leopold's, 7 p.m.: Author Jen Ruiz will discuss her travelogue 12 Trips in 12 Months, which chronicles her breaking away from the humdrum day-to-day to embark on a planned 12 trips in a year. The trips included real adventure, including encountering an Icelandic volcano, flying in a hot air balloon, scuba diving, and volunteering at an elephant refuge. Ultimately she takes 20 trips and becomes (spoiler alert) a full-time travel writer.

Thank You, David Bordwell, Wednesdays, through July 24, UW Cinematheque, 7 p.m.: The UW’s cine-fan theater pays tribute to one of its own, film scholar David Bordwell, who passed away in March, with a series called “Thank You, David Bordwell.” All the Wednesday night screenings this summer will be 35mm prints of films from Bordwell’s own collection, now housed at the Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research. The series closes July 24 with Tiger on Beat, a Hong Kong buddy-cop film that Bordwell praised as “exciting, even exhilarating.” All films are at 7 p.m. at 4070 Vilas Hall.

Concerts on the Square, Wednesday, July 24, Capitol Square-King Street corner, 7 p.m.: Grab the picnic hamper and the bug spray and head down to the Capitol Square as the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra incorporates plenty of local talent in tonight’s concert — aptly named “On the Town.” The program includes people-pleasers from Mozart and Bach. And Madison’s Kanopy Dance Company will perform ConFluence: A Prelude, set to new work by local composer Michael Bell, as well as Summer in the City, set to music from Bernstein’s classic On the Town.

FlowPoetry book release, Wednesday, July 24, Gamma Ray, 8 p.m.: Madison poet FlowPoetry (Adam Gregory Pergament) has mastered the art of melding his words with a diverse field of musical collaborators during live performances. In recent years, Pergament has also been setting his words down in print, and this concert will celebrate the release of his fourth book, Hopped Up Cranked Flip Top Chrome Plated Hot Rockin' Cherry Chariot. FlowPoetry will be accompanied by New York based percussionist Noah Lehrman, and the evening also includes sets by Lukie P. and Def Sonic.

WaunaFest, July 25-28, Centennial Park, Waunakee: Did you miss the 4th of July festivities because you could not manage to drag yourself out of your bed/dwelling? You have another chance, if you wauna go for it. WaunaFest has much cheer: a carnival midway and softball tournament (daily); fun run, cornhole tournament and arts and crafts fair (Saturday); and parade (11 a.m. Sunday). Bands are The RetroSpecz (7 p.m.) and Boogie & the Yo-Yoz (9 p.m., both Friday night); Best Practice (7 p.m.) and Road Trip (9 p.m., both Saturday night); and the Dave Austin Band (1 p.m. Sunday). And there’s not one but two beer tents…if that’s where you waunabe.

Melissa Kieler, Thursday, July 25, Harmony Bar, 6:30 p.m.: Melissa Kieler has a big set of pipes. She plays piano (and more), frequently writes her own songs, and is a staple of live music in her hometown of Monroe, Wisconsin. Why not check out this no-cover show?

Paa Kow, Thursday, July 25, North Street Cabaret, 7 p.m.: A native of Ghana, Paa Kow began playing at a very young age with a professional band led by his uncle and including his mother. While still a teen his drumming was noticed by pop star Amakye Dede, leading to tours with Dede and others in Africa and Europe; a chance meeting with a student from the U.S. led to friendship and a guest artist/teaching invitation at the University of Colorado Boulder. It was there that Paa Kow began developing the fusion of Ghanian highlife with jazz and other styles that is his trademark sound today. It’s a joyous and highly danceable blend of cultures. Tickets at eventbrite.com.

Angels in America, part 1: Millennium Approaches, July 25-Aug. 4, Vilas Hall-Mitchell Theatre: Possibly the definitive American play of the early 1990s, Tony Kushner’s Angels in America has won just about every award given. Set in the early days of the AIDS epidemic in New York City and elsewhere, the plot weaves real people with fictional figures; eight actors double up on roles. Characters include the real life lawyer Roy Cohn, a Mormon housewife, gay men with AIDS and their families, even Ethel Rosenberg. Although three decades have passed since it was penned, the political and social themes in the play are still relevant and even newly re-invigorated. The play will be remounted in September, along with a staged reading of Angels in America part 2: Perestroika. Shows at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday; tickets at artsticketing.wisc.edu.

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