The new normal is…almost the old normal again

Music begins a cautious return inside local clubs, and more Isthmus Picks for June 17-24

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Madison Jazz Festival, Through Sunday, June 20, various venues/times: Been looking for the annual Isthmus Jazz Festival? Its new incarnation kicked off on June 11, brought to you by Arts + Literature Laboratory and the Wisconsin Union Theater and featuring a mix of free and ticketed events. There's still plenty of highlights coming up, including sets by Marquis Hill and Donna Woodall at the UW Memorial Union Terrace (7 p.m. Saturday); and a festival closing performance by the quartet of Roscoe Mitchell, Douglas Ewart, Vincent Davis, and Junius Paul at Cafe CODA (7 p.m. Sunday; tickets here). Intriguing online events include a filmed collaboration by UW jazz ensembles and Tandem Press artists (6 p.m. Thursday) and a DIG Jazz livestream by Sarah M. Greer (7 p.m. Friday). Find the full schedule and links to virtual events at artlitlab.org.

Juneteenth, Thursday-Friday, June 17-18, online; Saturday, June 19, Penn Park, noon-4 p.m.: The Madison area's celebration of the culture and history of Black Americans, hosted by Kujichagulia-Madison Center for Self Determination, begins 2021 with a series of online events. June 17 features a talk on voting by Tracey Corder (Action Center on Race and the Economy, 6 p.m.) and spoken word open mic (7:30 p.m.); and June 18 includes panel discussions on health (noon), welcome convocation (5 p.m.) and a community dinner (6 p.m.); all except the dinner can be viewed on Facebook. The traditional Saturday festival returns to Penn Park on June 19, featuring kids' activities, exhibits, vendors, music (including a Madison Jazz Festival set by Donna Woodall at 2 p.m.), speakers (remarks by Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes at 3:30 p.m.), and much more. Saturday kicks off with a parade to the park; set-up begins at 10 a.m. at Fountain of Life Covenant Church. For more information and registration links to join online events and the parade, visit kujichaguliamcsd.org.

Cottage Grove Firemen's Festival, Thursday-Sunday, June 17-20, Firemen's Park, Cottage Grove: Did somebody say beer tent? You betcha. If you didn't get enough summer festival in Mount Horeb last weekend, Cottage Grove is happy to help you out with this fundraiser for its fire department featuring all the favorites: bands (including 5th Gear, 8 p.m. Saturday), baseball, carnival rides, parade, tractor pulls, and the traditional beer tent. There's also a barbecue contest and a pancake breakfast. See the full schedule at cottagegrovefire.org.

ExtraAF Comedy: Pride 2021, Thursday, June 17, Crucible, 7 p.m.: Lady Laughs Comedy's ExtraAF series jumps back into clubland with this showcase celebrating Pride Month. Host Sarah Schmidt is joined for stand-up sets by guests Lalita Dee, Justin Frisque, KB Marion, Dina Nina Martinez and Katie Zane. The event doubles as a second anniversary celebration for the series. Purchase tickets here.

Birddog Blues Band, Friday, June 18, Camp Beef Butter BBQ, Westport, 6 p.m.: The Birddog of this Madison-area quartet is harmonica player and singer Ken Olufs (formerly of The Jimmys), joined by a trio of fellow music scene mainstays: guitarist Mel Ford (The Maintainers, Westside Andy/Mel Ford Band), bassist Tom McCarty (Big Wes Turner's Trio, The Sparks Band), and drummer Mark Haines (The Midwesterners, and longtime Smart Studios engineer). The location is Beef Butter BBQ's pop-up outdoor location behind the former White House restaurant in Westport (just a couple miles up the road from its north-side home), where music is taking place all summer on Friday and Saturday nights, weather permitting. Find the schedule here.

Days of Reflection, Friday, June 18-Friday, June 25: More than a year of living with the COVID-19 pandemic, plus the continuation of systemic injustice and violence towards Black, Indigenous, Asian American and other community members of color, has affected all of us. The city of Madison’s Neighborhood Resource Teams invite individuals, businesses and community organizations to participate in Days of Reflection. Take some time during the week to slow down and recognize what everyone in the community has been through, whether by journaling, gathering together, creating or viewing art, taking walks, or participating in other solo or group activities. Find information on community events (or submit your own event) at namidanecounty.org.

Charlie Painter Trio, Friday, June 18, The Rigby, 8 p.m.: In pre-pandemic times, local listeners could catch guitarist Charlie Painter on a weekly basis at the Five Points Jazz Collective's Tuesday Mason Lounge gig. Painter also has kept up an active playing schedule with an eponymous trio finding new ways to arrange standards (and improvise on their chord changes), both electric and acoustic. He will be joined by trio mates Claire Kannapell on bass and Jordan Kowalkski on drums for an evening at The Rigby, plus a guest from the Five Points ranks: Kyle Rightley, also of The Big Payback and The Civil Engineers, will add trombone and euphonium to the trio.

Dane County Farmers' Market SQUARED! Saturday, June 19, 6:15 a.m.-1:45 p.m.: Things really are getting back to normal. There's no longer any reason for the Dane County Farmers’ Market not to return to the Capitol Square, and return it does this Saturday from its temporary home at the Alliant Energy Center. While the pandemic surged, limiting the size of gatherings, even those outdoors, was paramount, and so the crowds that flock to the crown jewel of area farmers' markets were O-U-T. Now, lingering, chatting, coffee-sipping, cheese-bread-munching, wagon-dragging, and generally shuffling your way around Mifflin, Carroll, Main and Pinckney streets counterclockwise is back. Relish the produce and the community. Until the first helium balloon hits you in the schnozz. Note: The Wednesday market also returns downtown to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, just off the Square.  

Nick Cave + Bob Faust, June 19-Oct. 24, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art: On Juneteenth, artists Nick Cave and Bob Faust kick off the second phase of AMENDS, an interactive exhibit inviting community members to explore and apologize for their own contributions to racism. Starting June 19, participants can add ribbons to the AMENDS clothesline identifying "pieces of themselves" contributing to systemic racism. Earlier, Madison leaders decorated the windows of the MMoCA gift shop with quotations or personal letters recognizing their roles in racism. In the third phase, Black artists will respond to the messages through poetry, spoken word, dance and other performances at the museum. Join the artists and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art in making AMENDS.

Seltzerland, Saturday, June 19, The Bridges Golf Course, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.: Seltzerland, a touring hard seltzer festival, is making its Madison debut. Founded by UW-Madison graduate Kate Levenstien, Seltzerland gives hard seltzer fanatics the chance to sample more than 50 flavors from brands such as White Claw, Playamar and Coors, and guests can also expect snacks, photo shoots and swag. Seltzerland kicked off a 20-city national tour in March, and after tickets for the Milwaukee stop on June 5 sold out, Madison was added to the roster. Tickets must be purchased online.

Masquerade: Pirates Off The Hook, Saturday, June 19, Crucible, 9 p.m.: The dance floor is open, and Crucible is hosting its first full-on Masquerade dance night since the start of the pandemic. The pirate theme comes complete with a midnight sea shanty sing-along and music provided by DJs psych0tron and WhiteRabbit. The dress code? “Whatever form of piracy or mayhem strikes your fancy.” Masks are optional for those who are vaccinated, and there is an $8 cover  

Father's Day: A Night for the Kings, Sunday, June 20, The Bur Oak, 8 p.m.: Hip-hop returns to The Bur Oak with this concert celebrating dads presented by Blaze the Stage. Hosted by Bang (find recent videos at bangtooreal.net), the strong local lineup also includes supergroup Supa Friends, MonstaClick Entertainment MC Derek John, Javar Notes, Diego Bandz, Dude the Def, Rare MC and Milwaukee rapper DJ Sixteen.  

Make Music Madison, Monday, June 21, all over Madison: After nearly 15 months when gigs were few and far between (and mostly playing to a camera), you can bet there will be a lot of joyful performers during Make Music Madison's many, many sets through the day at 90-plus locations. Along with plenty of shows in private yards there is music at both expected venues and favorite hangouts that don't often host shows (like the Parched Eagle Taproom, with sets including The Cutouts at 5 p.m.). There's also quite a few stages active all day, including downtown at the top of State Street, Lisa Link Peace Park, Fromagination and Best Western Premiere Park Hotel. Are some of your favorite local performers playing? Find out at makemusicmadison.org. This year also brings Make Music Day to Fitchburg and Waunakee.

Madison Fleet Building Grand Opening, Tuesday, June 22, 4151 Nakoosa Trail, 3:30-8 p.m.: Your first reaction to this event appearing in this list might be, "Uh, are you sure?" And the answer is, yes we are. This is the mother of all fleet facility grand openings with (we think it is fair to say) literally something for everyone. The occasion is the ribbon cutting at Madison's new state-of-the-art fleet/Batcave at 4151 Nakoosa Trail. Visitors can tour the building and learn about its sustainable features. Kids and equipment geeks alike will love checking out the recently unveiled first electric fire engine in North America and other fire trucks and squad cars. Plenty of other electric vehicles (cars, motorcycles and mopeds) will be on hand for test drives, too, for those curious about making the switch. Food lovers will love the vendors: Melly Mell's soul food, Aloha Wagon's Hawaiian treats, and Melted's cheesy wonders. And there's music from Angela Puerta and Graham Thorbrogger, Old Oaks and (of course) The Civil Engineers. Find more info and RSVP here.

Johannes Wallmann Quartet, Tuesday, June 22, Olbrich Gardens, 7 p.m.: Pianist and composer Johannes Wallmann brings jazz to the great lawn at Olbrich, along with quartet members Tony Barba (tenor sax), John Christensen (bass), and Devin Drobka (drums). Along with leading and performing in a number of musical ensembles, Wallmann is director of the jazz studies program at UW-Madison; his new album recorded with a group of jazz players from around the country and a string section, Elegy for an Undiscovered Species, is out on June 25. Read more about the album in Jane Burns' review. Also: Note that attendance for the Olbrich Summer Concert Series for 2021 is limited, and requires an advance ticket purchase.

Cork 'n Bottle String Band, Thursday, June 24, UW Memorial Union Terrace, 7 p.m.: This bluegrass band's extended residency at long lost Ken's Bar, just off the Capitol Square, is fondly remembered by music fans and the many local musicians who attended the weekly gigs. (Maybe remembered isn't quite the right word for some of us, thanks to copious pints quaffed.) Ken's may be gone but one of Cork 'n Bottle's long-time alternate haunts, the Union Terrace, is again open to the public. After celebrating its 25th anniversary in May, Cork 'n Bottle will make an assuredly triumphant post-COVID return, aided by their robust recent schedule of socially distanced barn practices.

Jenny Kalvaitis + Kristen Whitson, Thursday, June 24, 7 p.m.: Authors Jenny Kalvaitis and Kristen Whitson will discuss the new book We Will Always Be Here: A Guide to Exploring and Understanding the History of LGBTQ+ Activism in Wisconsin during this Zoom launch event co-hosted by Woodland Pattern Book Center, Milwaukee Pride and Wisconsin Historical Society Press. Aimed at engaging and educating young people, the book tells stories of LGBTQ+ people and allies whose activist efforts have been often overlooked. The Pride Month event will include the authors leading a panel discussion with teens to discuss the book’s contents and other aspects of LGBTQ+ history in Wisconsin.

Within These Walls: Stories of Home, Thursday, June 24, Overture Center-Promenade Hall, 7:30 p.m.: Forward Theater Company returns with its biennial monologue festival, exploring the meaning of the word “home” and what it is to belong. The festival features 12 original monologues by playwrights throughout the country, and many who are new to the festival (including Dane County residents Emily Glick, Amber Palmer and Opal Tomashevska). Performances will be at 75 percent capacity, and masks will be required for all attendees. Tickets to the festival are $29. ALSO: 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, June 25-27; on-demand streaming (choose this option at purchase) available June 27-30.

We hope it’s handy for you to find the Picks in a single weekly post. The individual Picks can still be found in the usual places online: collected here, and sprinkled throughout all the events.