What to do in Madison this week: Sierra Ferrell, First Look at the Fest and more Isthmus Picks

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The Big Share, Tuesday, March 7, online: Dane County has a remarkably deep-rooted and diverse nonprofit sector, and those community organizations proved to be an ever more important part of our societal safety net during the pandemic. Help the nonprofit members of Community Shares of Wisconsin continue doing their work by making a donation during The Big Share, an annual online fundraiser day. View a telethon-style livestream throughout the day and learn more about donating at thebigshare.org. A kickoff event featuring drag queen bingo hosted by Bianca Lynn Breeze and Cass Marie Domino takes place at 6 p.m. on Monday, March 6, at Delta Beer Lab; register here (including for an online option).

Aldo Leopold Week, through March 10, Crowdcast: The Aldo Leopold Foundation has been hosting this speaker series for a couple decades, and the need to move events online during the pandemic ended up meaning its impact is now global; the 2022 speakers were heard by people in all 50 states and more than 10 other countries. The traditional kick-off talk by foundation executive director Buddy Huffaker (which took place March 3) and a conversation by the 2022-23 Leopold Fellows (March 10) bookend talks by a notably strong lineup of writers: James Edward Mills and Scott Russell Sanders (both March 7), Delia Owens (March 8) and Robin Wall Kimmerer (March 9). It's free; register on Crowdcast.

Sierra Ferrell + Jamie Wyatt, Tuesday, March 7, Stoughton Opera House, 7:30 p.m.: Singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist Sierra Ferrell’s most recent album is called Long Time Coming. In addition to being “the buzziest indie-country debut of [2021],” according to PopMatters, the warm and instantly familiar-sounding record also boasts an apt title. Ferrell’s long-time-coming Madison-area performance was postponed twice. But patient fans will be treated to Ferrell’s lilting, timeless voice, which falls somewhere in between the cracks of country, jazz and bluegrass. Singer-songwriter-guitarist Jamie Wyatt is still touring in support of 2020’s Neon Cross and will open the show — making this a perfect double bill featuring two of Americana’s most authentic performers.

Bach Around the Clock, March 8-12, various venues and online: This annual celebration of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach features players both professional (guest artists include Sean Kleve, Lawrence Quinnett and Wolfgang Rübsam) and amateur, and performances both in-person and virtual. It kicks off with the monthly Just Bach concert featuring Bach's longest motet, Jesu, meine Freude (noon, March 8, Luther Memorial Church); “Festival Day” is March 11, with performances beginning at 10 a.m. and continuing until a 5 p.m. reception at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. Pre-recorded performances debut online March 12. This year's festival honors BATC founder and artistic director Marika Fischer Hoyt, who died Feb. 22. Find the full schedule at bachclock.com.

First Look at the Fest, Wednesday, March 8, Great Dane-Hilldale, 7-10 p.m.: This is a fun time for film fans; attendees get the Wisconsin Film Festival guide a day early and can peep screeners for 2023 films, all the while snacking, having a beer or two, and picking up the buzz for must-see movies from festival staff. You can also get a jump on buying tickets for those showings. The guide otherwise appears in Isthmus on March 9 and tickets go on sale March 11. Find tickets here.

Arkansauce, Wednesday, March 8, High Noon Saloon, 7:30 p.m.: A jam-grass act with hard-hitting hooks, the Fayetteville, Arkansas, four-piece Arkansauce leans hard into traditional bluegrass but doesn’t hesitate to dive deeply into improvisations that feel as though the music will swerve completely off the road. Dig Deep, from the string band-rich Stevens Point area, opens. Tickets on Ticketmaster.

Bad in Bed (A Fairy Tale), through March 11, Bartell Theatre-Evjue Stage: This comedy by Madison-based playwright Karen Saari centers on one of those unrequited loves from college days that comes back to tease those in its thrall. Saari also wrote the book and co-wrote the lyrics to Ten Days in a Madhouse, produced by Music Theatre of Madison last year. Bad in Bed (A Fairy Tale) is part of World Premiere Wisconsin; Madison Theatre Guild and Madison College Performing Arts are collaborating for the first time. Shows are 7:30 p.m. on March 3-4 and 8-10, and 2 p.m. on March 5 and 11. Tickets at bartelltheatre.org,

Old Soul Society + Nicholas Johnson with The Pinkerton Raid + Lost Lakes, Wednesday, March 8, The Bur Oak, 8 p.m.: This is a bargain for four Americana-ish bands in a comfy seated show at the intimate Bur Oak. The Old Soul Society is a Wisconsin band at ease playing folk, rock, soul and more. Nicholas Johnson will be teaming up with The Pinkerton Raid (read Andy Moore's preview here). Lost Lakes (Madison’s Corey Matthew Hart and Paul Mitch) opens.

On the Morning You Wake (To the End of the World), March 9-10, UW Science Hall-Room 280, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.: Jan. 13, 2018, may not be a date seared in your memory...unless you were a resident of Hawai'i at the time. That morning a false emergency alert about an incoming missile attack went out, which went unrecalled for about 40 minutes. The virtual reality documentary On the Morning You Wake (To the End of the World) is an immersive experience placing the viewer in the situation faced by Hawaiians that morning. It's viewed through headsets, so space is limited and registration is required; screenings of either the first chapter or the entire 60-minute film start hourly from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on March 9 and 10. Bombshelltoe Policy x Arts Collective founder and writer Lovely Umayam will follow at 4 p.m., March 10, on Zoom.

Connexions, March 9-12, Overture Center-Promenade Hall: Witness the political energy of contemporary dance and pay tribute to the great Burt Bacharach, who died on Feb. 8, as Madison's Kanopy Dance Company welcomes guest dancers and choreographers Lloyd Knight and Jamar Roberts in “Connexions.” Knight will premiere his timely work Commune; Knight will also perform the Roberts-choreographed Born to Love solo, set to Bacharach's “(There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me.” Also on the program is Lisa Thurrell’s For Persephone ate the Pomegranate and Robert Cleary's Fear is the Enemy. Shows are at 7 p.m., March 9; 7:30 p.m, March 10; 5 and 8 p.m., March 11; and 1 and 4 p.m., March 12; tickets at overture.org.

Sarah Silverman, Thursday, March 9, Orpheum, 7 p.m.: What can't Sarah Silverman do? Talk about a multi-hyphenate — she's a world-renowned, multi-award winning stand-up comedian and an actress who narrowly missed an Oscar nomination for her dramatic turn in 2015's I Smile Back. She also had a hit eponymous sitcom on Comedy Central in the mid 2000s; just spent a week in February hosting The Daily Show; and she is even Philip J. Fry's ex-girlfriend! Silverman is currently engaged with the “ Grow Some Lips ” stand-up tour, which hits Madison for a night. Expect her effortless, charming musings on the state of the world, a vulnerable openness not seen in early works, and a raunchy bit about her bits, probably. Tickets on Ticketmaster.

Fences, through March 10, UW Vilas Hall-Mitchell Theatre: General rule of thumb: don't pass up the chance to see a play by August Wilson. In Fences, Wilson chronicles the bitter decline of Troy Maxson, who's gone from starring in the Negro baseball league to working as a garbage collector. It's a timely production that mirrors this country's ongoing struggles with race and racism. “August Wilson shares history we cannot allow to disappear but must remain on our stages,” says University Theatre production director Baron Kelly. Final performances are at 7:30 p.m., March 9-10; check ticket availability at artsticketing.wisc.edu; or at the lobby box office one hour prior to performances. Read Gwendolyn Rice's preview here.

Comedy at the Cabaret, Thursday, March 9, North Street Cabaret, 7:30 p.m.: Madison’s east side needs some more comedy love, and Allie Lindsay’s Comedy at the Cabaret has been stepping up for the past five years to bring fun stand-up and original music to life. The pairing of improvised music by Madison funnyman Jake Snell and stand-up from hilarious locals make this a show unlike anything else you’re likely to see, no matter what side of town you’re from. This month features local comics Glenn Widdicombe, Andrew Rynning, Samara Suomi and headliner Charlie Kojis, who is preparing to release his first album/special, A Normal Amount of Pain, in 2023. Tickets on Eventbrite.

Adam Greuel & the Space Burritos, Thursday, March 9, High Noon Saloon, 8 p.m.: Maybe Adam Greuel gets 90 percent of the work of getting the audience in the door done by playing with a band called The Space Burritos. The other 10 percent is the excellence of this folky-bluegrassy group, with Greuel (of Horseshoes & Hand Grenades) on lead vocals and accompanied by plaintive fiddle over plentiful guitars. “I don't drink as much as I ought to, lately, it just ain't my style,” he sings over the band in a Waylon Jennings cover. He might not, but you can. Tickets on Ticketmaster.

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