What to do in Madison this week: Watershed, World Dairy Expo and more Isthmus Picks

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World Dairy Expo, Oct. 1-4, Alliant Energy Center: If you’ve never been to the World Dairy Expo, it’s definitely worth attending at least once. The exhibits will be more beneficial if you are a dairy farmer, but if you want to understand that dairy farming is both a science and a business, this is a good way to do it. Prize dairy cows in an array of breeds (Ayrshires, Jersey, Brown Swiss, Guernsey, Holstein) are shown like beauty queens in the center ring of the Coliseum. The Purple Cow gift shop features cow-themed clothes, art, and other doodads. And don’t miss the food concessions, with UW-Madison ag school's specialty grilled cheese stand (also serving chocolate shakes) always a favorite. Find the schedule and tickets at worlddairyexpo.com.

John Murray Mason, Oct. 1-Nov. 30, U-Frame-It-East; reception Oct. 10, 5-8 p.m.: Nobody knows Madison’s trees like photographer John Murray Mason. For the last two decades, Mason has been capturing the sculptural beauty of Madison’s trees in black-and-white. This exhibit, held in conjunction with PhotoMidwest, accompanies his new book Madison Trees in Season, which features 51 photos of Madison trees. Is your favorite among them?

Watershed, Tuesday, Oct. 1, Gamma Ray 5 p.m.: After coming together as teens in Ohio in 1987, rockers Watershed followed a career trajectory endured by many a young band: build a regional fan base; win a major label contract; get dropped by label for shinier object. But unlike many other bands, they persevered and kept releasing excellent music after that major label flirtation (both as Watershed and in other projects like The Dead Shembechlers) and are an institution in their native Columbus. Watershed is playing some tour dates in support of an excellent new album, Blow It Up Before It Breaks, a bracing set of hard power pop and a celebration of rock and roll survival. (Bonus points if you can spot the Warren Zevon reference among the 12 tracks.) With another group of still-vital veteran musicians, Madison’s own Shazy Hade.

Tina Horn, Tuesday, Oct. 1, A Room of One’s Own, 6 p.m.: Tina Horn has been examining what fires up human desire for many years in a variety of media: writing (including co-editing and contributing to We Too: Essays on Sex Work and Survival); podcasting (as host of the fetish-themed Why Are People Into That?!); creator of Feminist Porn Award-winning video; and more. That experience has been synthesized in Horn’s new book, Why Are People Into That? A Cultural Investigation of Kink, which Vogue calls “a razor sharp and inclusively structured taxonomy of kink.” Horn will discuss the book with G Romero Johnson.

GLEAM: Art in a New Light, Wednesday-Saturday, through Oct. 26, Olbrich Gardens: Every summer and early fall, the gardens at Olbrich receive a nighttime makeover with this fanciful show of light-based art that changes every year, including some interactive installations. Timed entry begins at 6:30 p.m. in October, with tickets sold in advance only at olbrichgleam.org. Pro tip: most people like the earliest entrance times, so choosing later times can result in easier viewing at the start.

Nordic Utopia? African Americans in the 20th Century, through Nov. 10, Chazen Museum of Art; reception Oct. 3, 5 p.m.: Forget Paris. “Nordic Utopia? African Americans in the 20th Century” focuses on Black artists who turned to Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, where they found opportunities not available to them in the United States. More than 60 drawings, paintings, photographs, textiles, film, music and dance are featured, with subjects including Josephine Baker and Dexter Gordon. The reception on Oct. 3 will feature a performance by the Dexter Gordon Tribute Band, along with a talk by co-curators Ethelene Whitmire and Leslie Anderson; register at eventbrite.com.

In Search of Awe, through Nov. 17, Overture Center-Playhouse Gallery; reception Oct. 3, 5:30-8:30 p.m.: This fall brings the return of Madison organization PhotoMidwest’s Biennial Juried Exhibition, now on display at Arts + Literature Laboratory (along with a pair of related exhibits). Biennial-related exhibits got underway in August with “In Search of Awe,” a collection of photographs by PhotoMidwest members juried by board member Tim Mulcahy. A reception takes place from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Oct. 3. Find a virtual gallery and info on all exhibits at photomidwest.org. See Graham Brown’s piece here on the exhibits.

Artists Beyond Boundaries, Thursday, Oct. 3, Goodman Community Center-Brassworks, 6-8 p.m.: All artists strive to go beyond boundaries, including those who live with disabilities. Access to Independence hosts its annual Artists Beyond Boundaries reception, exhibiting work by 40 Wisconsin artists. The evening will include an announcement of which works were selected for a 2025 calendar, a community art project and refreshments; register at eventbrite.com.

Bicycle Film Festival, Thursday, Oct. 3, Barrymore, 6:30 p.m.: This evening of bicycling film shorts includes documentaries, narratives and animations. Slated are films about a Diné mountain biker and a family that travels from bike park to bike park across Europe. This is the festival’s first trip to Madison, though it's been around since 2001, promoting the bicycle as eco-friendly good fun (and exercise). There will be a pre-show social hour with vegan food options at Working Draft Beer Company at 4:30 p.m. Tickets at barrymorelive.com. All local proceeds support cycling advocacy group Madison Bikes.

Paul Jacobs, Thursday, Oct. 3, Overture Hall, 7:30 p.m.: The 20th anniversary of Overture’s Orgelbau Klais concert organ is the organizing theme for the upcoming organ season from the Madison Symphony Orchestra. The opener showcases the artistry of Paul Jacobs, the first organist to have ever won a Grammy and MSO principal organist Greg Zelek’s teacher at Juilliard. Jacobs will play a varied program that includes Franz Liszt’s gargantuan Fantasy and Fugue on the Chorale Ad nos, ad salutarem undam, and American composer Charles Ives’ Variations on America.

42 Dugg, Thursday, Oct. 3, The Sylvee, 8 p.m.: Detroit rapper 42 Dugg has been a steady presence on the Billboard charts this decade with mixtapes like Free Dem Boyz and Last Ones Left, plus a stream of guest spots on singles dating back to early collabs with Lil Baby, “Grace” and “We Paid.” Following a stint in prison after failing to report for an earlier charge, 42 Dugg returned in 2024 with his first official full-length album, 4Eva Us Neva Them, which pulls no punches in considering his recent brushes with the law. He’s on tour with Audi Money, Yungeen Ace, Cartier and rising Milwaukee hip-hop artist Chicken P. Tickets at ticketmaster.com.

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