What to do in Madison this weekend: Them Coulee Boys, 'The Trials' and more Isthmus Picks

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Bloody Aftermath, through May 3, Broom Street Theater: Playwright Rob Matsushita has never shied away from tackling themes of violence in his plays. But the latest of his offerings produced by Broom Street Theater, Bloody Aftermath, is described as a comedy/drama anthology; the title refers to a fictional horror film franchise which is the touchstone for the play’s segments, which take place over several decades. Hear Matsushita and director Jessica Jane Witham discuss the play on WORT-FM’s 8 O’Clock Buzz from April 14. Final performances at 7 p.m. May 1-2 and 2 p.m., May 3.

Branford Marsalis Quartet, Thursday, May 1, UW Memorial Union-Shannon Hall, 7:30 p.m.: There’s versatility, and then there’s Branford Marsalis — a saxophonist equally at home with symphony orchestras, Broadway scores, and spontaneous jams with the Grateful Dead. But at the center of his wide-reaching musical world is the Branford Marsalis Quartet, a group revered for its cohesion, daring and emotional depth. With decades of evolution behind them, the Quartet continues to explore new territory, moving effortlessly between restless complexity and melodic clarity. This is jazz that listens as much as it speaks — sharp, searching, and always alive. Tickets at artsticketing.wisc.edu.

Dweezil Zappa, Thursday, May 1, Barrymore, 8 p.m.: Spending May Day with a Zappa seems like a good idea. Pushing the boundaries of creativity, technology and weirdness, Dweezil Zappa is truly a chip off father Frank’s block. Three decades-plus after the passing of FZ at age 52, this tour showcases two of his albums; Apostrophe(‘) and Roxy and Elsewhere; in 2024, both records passed their 50th anniversary of release. Whether playing his dad’s music or his own, Dweezil is a dope guitarist, and names Eddie Van Halen among his childhood teachers and influences. He says versions of these songs will reflect the harmonies and rhythms of live versions that predate the well-known recordings. Tickets at ticketmaster.com.

Teralyn Brown, through May 9, Tandem Press; reception May 2, 5-8 p.m.: Teralyn Brown’s intricate, extremely detail-oriented, limited-palette etchings of grasses, foliage, other plants and furniture are mesmerizing. “I find myself lingering on memories and tiny details while I construct my plates,” Brown writes in her artist statement. Her UW-Madison master of fine arts thesis show represents hours of work and should amaze. A reception takes place from 5-8 p.m. on May 2.

Wisconsin Triennial, May 2-Sept. 14, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art; reception May 2, 6-9 p.m.: After trying out a guest-curated show in 2022, the museum returns to its usual juried process “to reflect current directions in Wisconsin’s visual arts scene.” The 2025 Triennial features 24 artists from around the state, although predominantly from Madison (15 artists!), with Milwaukee a distant runner-up (with four). One of the Madison artists is Christina Ruhaak, whose studio space Isthmus spotlighted in our July 2024 issue. The opening reception is from 6-9 p.m. on May 2. Find a full list of artists at mmoca.org/events/2025triennial.

Latino Art Fair, Friday, May 2, Common Wealth Gallery, 6-9 p.m.: For more than a decade, the annual Latino Art Fair has offered a showcase for Latino artists; this year’s incarnation focuses on emerging creators from the Madison area, including Ava Abelo, Rodrigo Carapia, Patricio Crooker, Gabriel Gonzalez Burns, Ashley Guzman, Lapiztola, Seso Marentes, Paola Mayorga, Ben Orozco, Erika Garcia Rosales, Thomas C. Romero, Leo Salazar, Brianna Stehling Santacruz and Christie Tirado. Latinos Organizing for Understanding and Development are hosting this year’s event as part of the Wisconsin Conference of Latino Arts and Culture, and while the conference requires registration, the art fair is free and open to all.

Bruised Orange, Friday, May 2, North Street Cabaret, 7 p.m.: Bruised Orange pays tribute to the one-of-a-kind musical legacy of John Prine. This concert also honors the memory of Bruised Orange founding member Chuck Bayuk, a longtime Madison musician who died in October, and marks the Madison Folk Music Society’s 50th anniversary. Of course the ultimate purpose is to entertain, and that will happen as Liz Stattelman-Scanlan, Tina Thompson, Colin Bazsali and Jeff Burkhart play Prine’s indelible songs. There will also be cake. Tickets at madfolk.org.

The Trials, May 2-11, Madison Youth Arts: Children’s Theater of Madison presents The Trials, a 2022 play by Dawn King in which the older generations are judged by the younger for failing to prevent devastating climate change. CTM’s production will be set in Madison, which should help bring the themes of responsibility and justice closer to home. Performances at 7 p.m. Friday, 2:30 and 7 p.m. Saturday, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 2-11; tickets at overture.org.

Henry the Fifth, May 2-11, Bartell Theatre: Madison Shakespeare Company follows up on earlier productions of Richard the Second and the two parts of Henry the Fourth with Henry the Fifth, directed by Madison theater veteran Sam D. White. Rather than leaning on spectacle, this production will focus on the man beneath the crown, with the role of Henry played by Joshua Woolfolk (who played Thomas Mowbray in Richard the Second in 2017). Like that 2017 production, MSC also returns the action to a modern day setting, underscoring how little has changed in the murky space between diplomacy and aggression. Performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets at bartelltheatre.org.

Tyanna Buie, through May 16, Memorial Union-Main Gallery: Printmaker and UW-Madison alumna Tyanna Buie returns to campus with the exhibition “In Retrospect.” Rooted in memory, family, and the emotional archaeology of everyday life, Buie’s work turns absence into presence — layering image, text and texture to honor what official histories tend to overlook.

Don Giovanni, May 2 and 4, Overture Hall: There’s a reason this is one of the most produced operas in the world — Mozart’s Don Giovanni is a thrilling mix of comedy, drama and supernatural suspense. The legendary womanizer has spent a lifetime charming, deceiving, and leaving chaos in his wake, but this time, his past isn’t just catching up; it’s dragging him straight to hell. Over the course of just a few days, vengeful lovers, furious fathers, and an unexpected dinner guest close in. For the first time in 12 years, Madison Opera brings this masterpiece back to the stage with high drama, dark humor, and one hell of a finale — literally. Performances at 7:30 p.m. May 2 and 2:30 p.m. May 4. Tickets at overture.org.

Jerry Apps, Saturday, May 3, Verona Library, 2 p.m.: Jerry Apps — one of Wisconsin’s most beloved storytellers, with more than 40 fiction, nonfiction and children’s books to his name — is celebrating the launch of his latest Wisconsin Historical Society Press collection, Lunkers, Keepers, and Ones That Got Away: Fish Tales from Four Generations of Anglers. Apps, who splits time between his home in Madison and his farm in Waushara County, casts a wide net here. He draws on interviews with fellow fishing enthusiasts, shares excerpts from his own journal entries recorded over the decades, revisits the weekly “Outdoor Notebook” columns he wrote for four central Wisconsin newspapers and includes educational sidebars. Best of all, you don’t even need to love fishing to enjoy these tales. Registration is required for this event at verona.librarycalendar.com.

Them Coulee Boys, Saturday, May 3, Stoughton Opera House, 7:30 p.m.: The songs of Eau Claire quintet Them Coulee Boys have never shied away from honest and heartfelt emotion, and that quality is very much on display on their new album, No Fun in the Chrysalis. It’s easy to get swept up by the loping folk rock and occasional psych-tinged jams, and once you start listening to the words the album blooms into an instant Wisconsin classic. Tickets at stoughtonoperahouse.com.

Wisconsin Chamber Choir, Saturday, May 3, First Unitarian Society, 7:30 p.m.: The Wisconsin Chamber Choir takes a fresh, wide-lens look at Johannes Brahms — pairing some of his most moving choral works with music by friends, contemporaries and admirers. Alongside Brahms' classical classics like In stiller Nacht and Warum ist das Licht gegeben, the program features music by Clara and Robert Schumann, Sergei Taneyev and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. DeForest High School’s Bella Voce and Camerata join as guest performers. Tickets at wisconsinchamberchoir.org.

Very Garcia, Saturday, May 3, High Noon Saloon, 8 p.m.: Jerry Garcia and his bandmates on the legendary bluegrass album Old and in The Way introduced as many players to the form in the 1970s and since as Bill Monroe did a generation or two earlier. Garcia was an impeccable banjoist with timing as locked in as a metronome. Selections from that album will be in very good hands with members of Chicken Wire Empire, including five-string player John Peik, one of the Midwest’s most prolific pluckers on the instrument. The energy should be high as this string of “Very Garcia” shows with Another One (playing a Dead set) comes just before Chicken Wire Empire heads out for 10-plus shows in Germany and the Netherlands. Tickets at ticketmaster.com.

Castle, Saturday, May 3, Gamma Ray, 9 p.m.: This heavy four-band bill assembles two bands heading north after sets at Legions of Metal Fest in Chicago and two Madison favorites. San Francisco vets Castle returned in 2024 after some years away with their sixth album, Evil Remains, an impressive outing of melodic doom-prog. From Finland comes Cardinals Folly, who like Castle start with a doomy traditional metal base and skillfully add other stylistic diversons as needed. Madison is ably represented by Vanishing Kids and Tubal Cain, both bands who have released excellent new records in the recent past. Tickets at gammaray.bar.

Mickey Sunshine, Saturday, May 3, Crystal Corner, 9 p.m.: Before packing up for Nashville not long ago, Mickey Sunshine became sort of an unofficial house band at Mickey’s Tavern. Core members and life partners drummer Chris Di Bernardo and guitarist-singer Andrea Di Bernardo pack a post-grunge punch with attitude and sway. Andrea explores sexual hypocrisy in the vein of Kim Gordon and Hole but with her own unique voice, highlighted in their February debut full-length, On behalf of the universe. A packed bill also includes The Smart Shoppers (Green Bay punk), Dicot (Madison guitar crunchers) and DeGoey-Moore Band (Oshkosh, featuring vets of Rebel Waltz and Moral Disgust).

The Rökker Jamboree, Sunday, May 4, Bur Oak, 1 p.m.: As a host of Max Ink Radio, longtime publisher of music newspaper Maximum Ink, and an organizer for AtwoodFest, Rökker has been a constant supporter of the Madison music scene for decades. Ticket sales for this matinee concert will give a little back to help with Rökker’s medical bills following an on-stage heart attack in December (and also benefit the MAMA Cares fund). It’s a dream lineup for veteran fans of Madison hard rock, featuring both Last Crack and their descendant, Magic 7, along with Electromag and the first shows in years by Subatomic and Mind Ox. Tickets at theburoakmadison.com.

Silverstein, Sunday, May 4, The Sylvee, 7 p.m.: Canadian post-hardcore/pop-punk rockers Silverstein came of age alongside the likes of Simple Plan and Good Charlotte, and now they’re celebrating a quarter-century as a band. In February, Silverstein released the first part of a new double LP, Antibloom/Moon Pink, with the second part expected later this year. The set list for the “25 Years of Noise” tour spans the band’s hefty discography and is based in part on an online fan vote. This one starts early, with three like-minded bands — Real Friends, Broadside and Greyhaven ­— opening. Tickets at ticketmaster.com.

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