James Heimer
When the humidity wanes and the leaves start to blush, getting out of the house is a must, whether you're headed to a rock-fueled street festival or a booming dance club. Check out these touring acts before Jack Frost settles in and holiday commitments fill your calendar.
This is just a glimpse of the show roster from now through Thanksgiving. Visit The Guide for the latest concert details.
Indie-rock icons
Delta Spirit
Sept. 20, Live on King Street
If this band haven't reached icon status yet, they're pretty darn close, with their latest album hitting number one on Billboard's Heatseekers chart.
The National
Sept. 15, Orpheum Theatre
Trouble Will Find Me, the band's dark and lovely new album, finds frontman Matt Berninger's baritone in top form and his songwriting chops freshly sharpened.
Of Montreal
Oct. 31, Majestic Theatre
Like most good indie bands, Of Montreal are always evolving. After dabbling in Beatles-inspired psych-pop, they started fusing glam-rock with sexy, Prince-style jams.
Guitar gods
Built to Spill
Nov. 16, Barrymore Theatre
This Idaho band's guitar hooks are as heavy as they are catchy, and the marked contrast between louds and softs creates tantalizing drama.
Savages
Sept. 18, High Noon Saloon
This new London quartet make some of the best post-punk around, lacing their sound with jagged rhythms, nods to the Birthday Party and intriguing expressions of sexuality. Their live shows are so explosive that NME called them "frottage-inducingly intense affairs."
Shuggie Otis
Sept. 25, Majestic Theatre
Though he's skilled at playing many instruments, this artist is best known as a guitar wizard, counting B.B. King and Lenny Kravitz among his fans. His magnum opus, 1974's Inspiration Information, yielded just one hit but attracted a cult following in the '90s. He'll perform songs from a new, expanded rerelease of the album at this show.
Classic crooners
Harry Connick Jr.
Oct. 21, Overture Hall
After rising to fame with standards like "It Had to Be You" on the soundtrack to When Harry Met Sally, Connick started landing Broadway gigs and movie roles. Get acquainted with his newest release, Every Man Should Know.
Rickie Lee Jones
Nov. 21, Stoughton Opera House
This legendary singer started out with a jazzy, self-titled album that won her a Grammy in 1980, then jump-started her career with 2003's eclectic and political The Evening of My Best Day.
Up-and-comers
Baths
Sept. 24, Majestic Theatre
A classically trained musician enamored of electronics, Baths has earned comparisons to Toro Y Moi (Nov. 3, Barrymore Theatre) and J. Dilla.
Dent May
Sept. 19, UW Memorial Union Terrace
With a voice reminiscent of Brian Wilson's and ukulele skills to boot, May has an in with fans of the Beach Boys and Zooey Deschanel.
Porcelain Raft
Sept. 13, Frequency
This electro-pop craftsman has "blurred the distinction between a guitar-toting singer-songwriter and a synth-pop artist" in novel ways, according to Pitchfork.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Oct. 22, Frequency
These face-melting mortals shouldn't be unknown for long. Pitchfork has praised them for achieving an "immersive and psychedelic quality without relying on the usual array of bong-ripping effects."
Walk the Moon
Oct. 31, Barrymore Theatre
Esquire and Nylon have developed serious crushes on this band, who pair the juicy hooks of a power-pop group and the experimental tendencies of an art-rock project.
Solo adventures
Colin Meloy
Nov. 12, Majestic Theatre
The Decemberists' frontman lives to cover songs by Morrissey to Sam Cooke. Prepare to be blown away.
Father John Misty
Oct. 13, Overture Center's Capitol Theater
Last year the former Fleet Foxes drummer released his strongest solo album yet, with mischief and humor replacing the melancholy of his previous albums.
Jim James
Sept. 8, Majestic Theatre
Rolling Stone named My Morning Jacket's leader to its list of "20 new guitar gods" a few years ago, and he's attracted new worshipers every year since.
Double the pleasure
Matt Nathanson with Joshua Radin
Nov. 12, Barrymore Theatre
Here's a chance to see two solid songwriters in one night. Nathanson's The Last of the Great Pretenders is a passionate love letter to San Francisco, while Radin's latest, Wax Wings, is an ode to romance itself.
Buddy Guy with Jonny Lang
Sept. 21, Overture Hall
The 77-year-old blues-guitar legend who penned "Stone Crazy" joins a 32-year-old prizewinner who's got one of the most distinctive voices in the biz.
Soft and dreamy
Cowboy Junkies
Oct. 27, Stoughton Opera House
This Canadian group turned the Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane" into an otherwordly experience on 1988's The Trinity Sessions. If you haven't heard it live, here's your opportunity.
Damien Jurado
Sept. 20, Kiki's House of Righteous Music
Armed with found sounds and field recordings, Jurado adds organic texture to indie folk tunes.
Iron & Wine
Sept. 26, Overture Center's Capitol Theater
This bearded folkster's slowed-down, unplugged cover of the Postal Service's "Such Great Heights" became at least as popular as the original when it appeared in an M&M's ad. His new album, Ghost on Ghost, gets more playful with the addition of jazz and R&B influences.
From island to isthmus
John Brown's Body
Sept. 15, Majestic Theatre
All Music Guide says this group's atmospheric take on island sounds has "the most gorgeous melodies in all of modern reggae music."
Wild Belle
Sept. 5, High Noon Saloon
Reggae and pop underpin this group's super-catchy songs, which also feature elements of ska and Afrobeat. Their debut album, Isles, earned a thumbs-up from The Guardian earlier this year.
'80s hitmakers
Cyndi Lauper
Oct. 29, Overture Center's Capitol Theater
The charismatic singer will perform every song from She's So Unusual, the 1983 Grammy winner that launched her solo career. The standout is likely to be "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," which became a feminist anthem of sorts when she changed Robert Hazard's original lyrics.
The Psychedelic Furs
Sept. 11, Majestic Theatre
This English New Wave band's song "Pretty in Pink" inspired the title of John Hughes' 1986 film about high school cliques. See if anyone comes to the show dressed for the prom Molly Ringwald and Jon Cryer attended in the movie.
'90s stars
Chris Cornell
Nov. 2, Orpheum Theatre
Soundgarden's frontman has one of the most recognizable voices of the '90s. See if his powerful pipes can still cover four octaves, as they did when "Black Hole Sun" was all the rage.
Mary Chapin Carpenter with Shawn Colvin
Oct. 5, Overture Center's Capitol Theater
These Lilith Fair alums were commercial radio mainstays in the '90s, with Carpenter's "Passionate Kisses" and Colvin's "Sunny Came Home" in heavy rotation. They'll perform as an acoustic duo at this show. For more Lilith-inspired fun, take in an Indigo Girls set at Capitol Theater on Sept. 6.
The Meat Puppets
Sept. 30, Frequency
Though they could also be considered an '80s band, this group's blend of punk, psychedelia and country influenced '90s legends Nirvana and Pavement.
Old 97's
Oct. 17, Overture Center's Capitol Theater
Formed in Texas 20 years ago, this band helped launch the alt-country movement. Since then, frontman Rhett Miller has grown into a sterling songwriter and solo artist. He'll also bring his solo act to a Sept. 17 benefit concert at the High Noon.
Dance party U.S.A.
Mayer Hawthorne
Sept. 14, Overture Center's Capitol Theater
Get ready to slow-dance in the aisles: Last month the L.A. Times called this neo-soul artist a performer whose "charismatic falsetto is a formidable seducer's tool."
Morgan Page
Oct. 3, Segredo
Progressive and electro house are this DJ's specialties, and he's helped these styles gain traction among the singer-songwriter set. Acts such as Tegan & Sara have flocked to his doorstep to collaborate over the past two years.
Country roads
The Band Perry
Nov. 1, Alliant Energy Center's Coliseum
This rockin' sibling trio prove that country music is about ass-kicking as well as boot-scooting. Since their 2010 debut, they've catapulted a half-dozen songs onto the Billboard Hot 100, including "You Lie," in which a cheating beau's wedding ring gets tossed into a river.
Deer Tick
Oct. 13, Majestic Theatre
This band's blues-inflected country is from a different universe than Carrie Underwood-style country-pop. Their forthcoming album, Negativity, has generated lots of positivity from Paste and Pitchfork.
Folk byways
Daughter
Sept. 23, Majestic Theatre
This London trio explore loss and longing through poetic lyrics and intense yet intimate vocals.
David Wax Museum
Sept. 22, Frequency
This act's novel blend of Americana and Mexican son has wowed critics at NPR and fans at South by Southwest. Watch for solos on south-of-the-border percussion instruments such as the quijada, which is made from a donkey's jawbone.
Houndmouth
Oct. 19, High Noon Saloon
Drawing upon the gospel tradition, these Newport Folk Fest performers take turns showing off their vocal chops, then collaborate to build lush, soulful harmonies. For more gospel-tinged folk, return to the High Noon on Oct. 23 for Spirit Family Reunion.
Sarah Jarosz
Oct. 12, Stoughton Opera House
Area fans will be among the first to hear the mandolin prodigy's forthcoming album, Build Me Up From Bones.
Hip-hop heaven
Immortal Technique with Brother Ali
Sept. 21, Barrymore Theatre
Immortal Technique's two passions -- hip-hop and social activism -- converge in raps that tackle thorny subjects like institutional racism. Madison native Brother Ali made a strong showing on the charts with 2012's Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color, which takes aim at violence with raps about bullying and police brutality.
Kid Cudi
Sept. 19, Alliant Energy Center's Exhibition Hall
Kanye West's ambitious protégé recently released Indicud, a rap album whose guest artists include A$AP Rocky and Michael Bolton.
Michael Franti & Spearhead
Sept. 25, Orpheum Theatre
The alt-hip-hop band's joyful "The Sound of Sunshine" was a summer anthem in 2010, and their new single, "I'm Alive (Life Sounds Like)," cranks up the cheer another notch.
Far out
Andrew W.K.
Sept. 22, Majestic Theatre
This hard rocker has turned improvised piano recitals into giant dance parties and played in a happening in which 77 drummers took over a New York City park.
Animal Collective with Deradoorian
Oct. 16, Orpheum Theatre
See if the hypnotic voice of former Dirty Projectors member Deradoorian can top the psychedelic carnival of Animal Collective's live set, which should feature lots of tunes from their 2012 LP, Centipede Hz.
Har Mar Superstar
Sept. 23, High Noon Saloon
Though he performs nearly nude onstage, this randy R&B artist donned his acting hat for the 2012 movie Pitch Perfect. The Quietus describes his new album, Bye Bye 17, as "one knockout after another."
King Khan & the Shrines
Oct. 22, High Noon Saloon
Psychedelic soul and nutty onstage antics are this band's M.O. Tunes like "Land of the Freak" get the crowd to shed their inhibitions and flaunt their silliest dance moves.
Tame Impala
Oct. 9, Orpheum Theatre
Space is the place for this Aussie group's psychedelic songs, which pair chugging grooves with blissed-out melodies. Their 2012 album, Lonerism, was named the year's best by Rolling Stone.
