What to do in Madison this weekend: Sept. 17-20, 2026

Willy Street Fair, 'Where We Are' and more Isthmus Picks

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Arts

  • PhotoMidwest Biennial Exhibition, Sept. 17-Feb. 26, Biopharmaceutical Technology Center Gallery, Fitchburg; reception Sept. 17, 4-6:30 p.m.: Every two years, the volunteer collective PhotoMidwest puts out a call to regional photographers for a special exhibition juried by a guest curator; this year that task was undertaken by Karen Irvine, deputy director of the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago. Irvine’s picks for the PhotoMidwest Biennial will be unveiled during a symposium and opening reception from 4-6:30 p.m. on Sept. 17. The exhibit in conjunction with the Promega Art Showcase is only part of PhotoMidwest’s fall festival slate, also including exhibits at the UW Arboretum, Pyle Center, Abel Contemporary Gallery and PhotoMidwest’s own gallery space. Find the full schedule and related events at photomidwest.org.
  • Pressing Issues: Printmaking as Social Justice in 1930s United States, through Dec. 13, Chazen Museum of Art; reception Oct. 8, 5-7 p.m.: The New Deal-era Works Progress Administration sent millions back to work during the Great Depression — including many visual artists. While a lot of art was designed to help lift people’s spirits, other works documented American life during hard times. The lithographs collected in “Pressing Issues: Printmaking as Social Justice in 1930s United States” mostly feature the latter thematic focus. Curator Kathryn Koca Polite (from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Krannert Art Museum, home of the exhibition’s first incarnation) says some pieces tap into “surrealist nightmare fuel.” That sounds appropriate for our current moment. Read Chali Pittman’s exhibition preview here. Historian Dana Landress will present a related talk, "Rendering Visible," making connections between images in the exhibition and our current times, at 5 p.m. Sept. 17; register at eventbrite.com.
  • Blades of Steel, Sept. 17-19, Crucible: All good things eventually come to an end. Such is the case with Blades of Steel — a multi-day metal festival that is going out in a blaze of glory after five years. Known for bringing to Madison national and international bands that rarely play these parts, Blades of Steel seemingly saved the best for last. Headliners for this year’s iteration, hailed as “The Final Ride,” include Greece’s Firewind and Finland’s Ensiferum on Thursday (showtime 6 p.m.), Sanctuary and Crimson Glory (both U.S. bands) on Friday (5 p.m.), and Metal Church (U.S.) and Raven (England) on Saturday (4 p.m.). All told, more than 20 bands will take the stage — including local and regional acts. Tickets at ticketleap.com.
  • Do it to Julia! through Sept. 27, Broom Street Theater: It’s the year of dystopian drama! This retelling and homage based on the granddaddy of all totalitarian society novels, 1984, is told from the point of view of Winston Smith’s lover, Julia. And it’s about time. With the focus on Julia and the pressure to conform, viewers may be reminded of the Apple TV series Pluribus but at the same time this remains your grandpappy’s 1984. Do it to Julia! stars Rose Popma as Julia and Matt Beyer as Winston; this Broom Street Theater production is directed by Melissa Minkoff. Performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
  • Where We Are, Sept. 17-20, Overture-Promenade Hall: This spunky new musical by Rae Covey features songs sung by ordinary folks having difficulty finding their way, literally and metaphorically. As one tune puts it: “One wrong turn, and you might as well be anywhere.” Each song was inspired by a real map from a real (and completely fabulous) archive called the Hand Drawn Map Association. Capital City Theatre's production of Where We Are is part of World Premiere Wisconsin. Shows at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 17-18, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19, and 2 p.m. Sept. 20; tickets at overture.org.
  • Steady She Goes, through Sept. 27, Overture-Playhouse: Remember that sea shanty craze a few years back? It will have prepped you for the tunes in Steady She Goes. The romance of the sea. The thrill of dangerous winds and waves. Mutiny. These situations worked for Melville and audiences will be reminded of why in this true story. Mary Ann Brown Patten, back in 1856, took control of a merchant marine vessel when her husband, the captain, took ill. And move over, Ahab — she was 19 and eight months pregnant at the time. Brian Cowing directs Erica Berman’s script for Forward Theater; music arrangements are by Scott McKenna Campbell. This production is part of World Premiere Wisconsin. Read Charles Payne's review here. Shows at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, plus 2 p.m. on Sept. 19, 24 and 26. Tickets at overture.org.
  • Thesaurus Rex, Thursday, Sept. 17, Gamma Ray, 8 p.m.: Humor in rock can be hard to land and also easily misunderstood. Thesaurus Rex is funny, but their vibe comes across as more early 10cc than, say, master parodist “Weird Al” Yankovic. And Thesaurus Rex’s songs on their cheekily titled debut album, Greatest Hits, are as accomplished, polished and musically eclectic as both those artists. With Cause & Control, Secret Menu. Tickets at gammaray.bar.
  • Green County Cheese Days, Sept. 18-20, Courthouse Square, Monroe: One way to drum up anticipation for your local product festival is to hold it only every other year. The other way is to have that local product be cheese. There is no other product more intimately associated with Wisconsin than cheese. (Possibly the Green Bay Packers. But you don’t make a football team with rennet. Key distinction.) Celebrate all things cheese in Monroe with bands — lots of polka — a drone show (about 10 p.m. Friday) and a parade (starting at 12:30 p.m. Sunday at the Green County Fairgrounds and heading to the Square). There are cheesemaking and milking demos, farm tours, Swiss Alphorns, yodeling, cheese trivia, and of course plenty of cheese to sample and to buy. If you miss this one, you’ll have to wait until 2028. Full schedule at cheesedays.com.
  • Idea Fest, Sept. 18-26, UW campus + other locations: Idea Fest, organized by The Capital Times, is unapologetic about its focus on politics and activism. This year programmers have packed the slate with journalists, politicians, activists and thinkers that should make every policy wonk’s heart beat faster: Jacob Soboroff, Jonathan Capehart, Eddie Glaude Jr., Susan Glasser, Jane Mayer, Evan Osnos, Mikie Sherrill, Elissa Slotkin, Abigail Spanberger, Ben Wikler, Mark Pocan, Chris Van Hollen and more. On the arts side, the marquee draw is an evening with actor Jane Alexander, moderated by David Maraniss (Sept. 22). A concurrent photojournalism summit runs Sept. 24-25. Find a schedule and tickets at captimesideafest.com.
  • Madison Symphony Orchestra, Friday, Sept. 18, Overture Hall, 6 p.m.: This season opener with violinist Joshua Bell also features director emeritus John DeMain conducting. Bell is a Grammy Award-winning musician who is considered one of the top violinists in the world today. His prodigious technique, golden tone, and depth of interpretation make for unforgettable performances. Bell first performed with the MSO in 1988 before he became an international sensation. He appeared again with the orchestra in 2007. On the program: crowd pleasers like Paul Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Maurice Ravel’s Boléro, as well as Édouard Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole and Jules Massenet’s Meditation from Thaïs. Tickets at overture.org (where you can also find info on the Symphony's Sept. 20 MSO at the Movies concert featuring The Lion King).
  • Edie Arnold is a Loser, Friday, Sept. 18, Barrymore, 7:30 p.m.: It’s always fun to see a film at the Barrymore. Directors Megan Rico and Kade Atwood have taken their new film, Edie Arnold is a Loser, on the road themselves, and will appear along with actor Adi Madden Cabrera, who plays Edie. The film, a breakout at SXSW, is a shoestring budget indie with a lot of heart, a teen coming-of-age story with a bunch of Catholic schoolgirls starting their own punk band. Predictably, this doesn’t sit well with the nuns. But then, what does? Tickets at barrymorelive.com.
  • Marjorie Prime, Sept. 18-26, Bartell Theatre: When it was a finalist for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the setting for Jordan Harrison’s Marjorie Prime was “the near future.” In Mercury Players Theatre’s new production, it’s basically set, well, now. Marjorie suffers from Alzheimer’s. Her son-in-law gets her an AI “hologram” of her late husband to help her failing memory. Her stories are not always real, but the AI takes them as truth. The play probes what makes a human “human” and a lot of other questions we find ourselves grappling with. Shows are at 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays (except 4 p.m. on Sept. 26) and at 4 p.m. on Sept. 20. Tickets at bartelltheatre.org.
  • Booker T. Jones, Friday, Sept. 18, Majestic, 8 p.m.: As a childhood musical prodigy who got his professional start at 16, this octogenarian has spent nearly seven decades on stage behind a keyboard, banging out instrumental hits like “Green Onions” and “Behave Yourself.” The longtime frontman of Booker T. & the M.G.'s is a true legend on the organ and piano, and his work as an architect of what would become American soul music earned him a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement. Despite these accolades, he’s also known as a minimalist, letting some of the emotion in his instrumentals be savored in the space between the notes. Tickets at ticketmaster.com.
  • anaiis, Friday, Sept. 18, UW Memorial Union-Play Circle, 8 p.m.: The music of singer-songwriter anaiis presents a wide-ranging perspective and doesn’t sit neatly in one stylistic category. Growing from a neo-soul base, her gorgeous, atmospheric songs wander into personal territory, exploring motherhood, identity, grief, healing and the complicated business of figuring out who you are. Her most recent album is the acclaimed 2025 collection Devotion & The Black Divine. This stop on her first North American headlining tour launches another season of the Wisconsin Union Theater’s Black Box Sessions series. With Elliott Skinner; tickets at union.wisc.edu.
  • TIME CHANGE: Willy Street Fair, Sept. 19-20, 800-1000 blocks Williamson Street: When Willy Street Fair rolls around, east siders know  it’s time to admit fall is here...but not before Madison takes a couple days to remember how to stay weird. Four music stages include Madison’s stellar folk/Americana artists on the Madison Folk Music Society stage, a stage for the kiddos, and the Main Stage, with headliners Honor Among Thieves (Saturday) and The Jimmys (Sunday). The fourth stage features Willy Street Beats DJs on Saturday (including headliner Boo Williams, a Chicago house legend) and a WORT-FM-curated lineup Sunday featuring Hottt Probs, Ed Dave, Free Dirt and more. Sunday kicks off at 11 a.m. with the WSF parade; both days the street will be lined with many vendors and community organization booths. Read Kat Hans' preview here. More info at willystreetfair.org. Sept. 19 update: The start time for Saturday is moving to 2 p.m. due to the rainy weather.
  • Jardines de Espacios: Picturing the Latino/e Perinatal Journey in Dane County, through Sept. 19, ART House 360, Verona: This exhibition presents photos and accompanying captions drawn from a Roots4Change Coop project documenting the experiences of Latina and Indigenous women through the birth process and afterwards. “Jardines de Espacios” aims to raise awareness of and spark action in response to issues faced by mothers, including rising preterm birth rates and a lack of postpartum care. A closing reception (noon-4 p.m., Sept. 19) features a talk about the project, and childcare is available with an RSVP at jardines.roots4change.coop, where you can also find information on related events.
  • POSTPONED: Harvest Festival, Saturday, Sept. 19, Farley Center, Verona, 3-8 p.m.: Urban Triage hosts its fifth annual fall celebration, with music, spoken word, circus arts and magic performances, kids' activities, free food (including fresh vegetables to take home), and more. The day celebrates the nonprofit’s agriculture education and community food support programs, and takes place at the urban farm space at the Farley Center; a shuttle to the farm is available every half-hour starting at 2:30 p.m. from the Urban Triage office, 2312 S Park St.; find shuttle sign-up and more info at urbantriage.org. Sept. 19 update: Harvest Festival is moving to Sept. 27.
  • Fashion Through History, Sept. 19-20, McFarland High School: Did you know McFarland is home to a business creating historically-accurate couture from the past? Costumes by Schell designer Dennis Schell will present a range of his work in “Fashion Through History,” a show featuring designs drawing on what people wore from the 16th century forward. It’s a benefit for the Larson House Museum and Gardens, with shows at 7 p.m. Sept. 19 and 2 p.m. Sept. 20; tickets at mcfarlandhistorical.org.
  • Colin Blunstone + The Fixx + Peter Asher, Saturday, Sept. 19, Barrymore, 7:30 p.m.: This late summer tour brings together two generations of British rock. The Fixx is probably best known in the U.S. for their big 1983 hit, “One Thing Leads to Another,” but has been together with essentially the original lineup and releasing new music periodically ever since the '80s. The 1960s generation is represented by two artists from England who had more success in the U.S. than at home — Colin Blunstone, lead singer of The Zombies, and Peter Asher, who had many hits as a duo with Gordon Waller before becoming a producer in the 1970s. Read Joshua M. Miller's preview here. Tickets at ticketmaster.com.
  • Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Saturday, Sept. 19, Orpheum, 8 p.m.: If you are of a certain age, your parents had the album Whipped Cream and Other Delights, which they purchased along with their first stereo, and every note of that album is imprinted on your brain like every note of the National Anthem. Doo doo doo doo dit dit doo…da da dat da da da da…. Anyhoo, the fact that back then you wanted to be playing Beatles records does not change the fact that Herb Alpert is a great populizer of Latin music for a good reason. Alpert, 91, last released an album (his 50th studio album!) in 2024; it’s called 50 and is mostly covers, recorded in his home studio. With that much material to draw from, it’s anybody’s guess what’s on the setlist…although that the tour is officially called “Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass & Other Delights” could be an easter egg. Doo doo doo doo, indeed. Tickets at ticketmaster.com.
  • 3rd EyeSight Festival, Sunday, Sept. 20, Common Gardens, Dane, 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m.: If you’re new to the area and looking for a one-stop primer for the Madison area singer-songwriter scene, it would be hard to beat this first-time festival’s lineup. If you know the scene, prepare to be wowed by who’s on tap: Def Sonic, Dana Perry, Kelly Hepper, Sam Ness, M. Shays, Paul Otteson…and 10 (!) more artists on the day. 3rd EyeSight Festival is coordinated by Folk U Productions, who request a pay-what-you-can admission price for the artists. Common Gardens has a Dane address but is just off Highway 12 past Springfield Corners if you’re heading north, at 6389 Rimmel Court. Find the full lineup at facebook.com/FolkUProductions.
  • Greg Zelek + Trevor Stephenson, Sunday, Sept. 20, Christ Presbyterian Church, 3 p.m. Christ Presbyterian Church is celebrating its 175th anniversary with music by a pair of Madison keyboard masters: Madison Symphony Orchestra principal organist Greg Zelek and Madison Bach Musicians artistic director Trevor Stephenson. Ticket sales benefit the Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development: eventbrite.com.

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

Editor's note: This post has been updated with a new start time for the Willy Street Fair and postponement of Urban Triage's Harvest Festival.