Ruthie Hauge
John Rzeznik from Goo Goo Dolls working the crowd at Freezing Man
John Rzeznik from the Goo Goo Dolls, here working the crowd at Freezing Man, is one of the benefit concert's returning artists.
In 2013, Mike Gomoll “reconnected” with Butch Vig through a mutual friend. Gomoll recalls that Vig had a vague memory of him as “that guy from Headliners.”
“That was my one claim to fame,” says Gomoll, who spent a few years in the 1980s working as a DJ and in the office at the now defunct club on University Avenue. In those days Vig was playing with Spooner, a Madison rock band that was on the cusp of breaking into the big time.
“We weren’t particularly close but we hung around in the same group of friends,” says Gomoll. Vig went on to co-found Garbage and produce such groups as Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins; Gomoll launched a career at IBM.
The two met up again when Gomoll, who lives in Sun Prairie, was three years into raising money for Joey’s Song, a nonprofit he formed after his 5-year-old son, Joey, died from a rare form of epilepsy known as Dravet syndrome. In those early years Gomoll produced CDs of music donated by musicians, but he soon learned that the CD release party raised more money than the CDs themselves.
“So we shifted gears,” says Gomoll. “Right around that time Butch came back into my life.”
Vig, says Gomoll, asked him what he could do to help with Joey’s Song, which raises money for epilepsy research and education. The next year The Know-It-All-Boyfriends, a cover band with a rotating cast of musicians, including Vig and Garbage’s Duke Erikson, played at the Majestic for the benefit concert. On the day of the event, Gomoll says his phone started to light up.
Unbeknownst to Gomoll, Vig had put out a teaser that additional guests might show up that night to play. It was just a “P.T. Barnum move,” to sell tickets, says Gomoll, but the two, talking afterward, had an aha moment: “We should start inviting others to come and play.”
More than 10 years later, the annual fundraiser has developed into an all-star benefit concert with Grammy winners, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, alt-rock heroes, and Top 40 hitmakers spanning several generations of rock history. This year’s concert, now billed as Freezing Man, is spread over two days at The Sylvee, Jan. 9 and 10.
More performers are added each year and almost everybody keeps coming back, says Gomoll.
“Having Butch as your credibility card helps immensely,” says Gomoll. “I got this Grammy-winning, Platinum-recording artist/producer that helps me put on these shows. People will listen.”
The organizers don’t try to hide the fact that winter temps in Madison could be chilly, hence the Freezing Man tag, a riff on Nevada’s Burning Man festival.
Travel, lodging and food is covered, but none of the musicians are paid for performing. They come in about four days before the concert to rehearse. Vig and Alex Drossart, who also performs with the Know-it-All-Boyfriends, and Gomoll choose the songs and Vig and Drossart decide which musicians will perform which songs together.
It’s like “rock camp for musicians,” says Gomoll. “They get to come and play with people they would not normally play with, for a good cause.”
Ruthie Hauge
Butch Vig from Garbage performing at Freezing Man 2025.
Butch Vig has helped draw Grammy winners and Rock and Roll legends to play at Freezing Man.
The Friday night concert is performed “unplugged,” with artists playing acoustic instruments and sharing stories in addition to the music. Saturday night cranks up the amps for a rock showcase, including a Battle of the Bands featuring the Know-It-All-Boyfriends and the Know-It-All Girlfriends (a one-time-only band assembled from the performer lineup) competing to perform songs picked at random. The Battle of the Bands closes the show.
Unlike last year's four-day festival-style schedule which featured three nights of stand-alone concerts followed by an all-in showcase featuring many artists, this year's concerts are scheduled to feature all the players on both nights, hosted by comedian Charlie Berens along with former MTV VJ Matt Pinfield.
New artists joining this year include Jane Wiedlin and Gina Schock of The Go-Go’s; Max Collins of Eve 6; Hugo Burnham of Gang of Four; Paul Allen of Ten Finger Orchestra; Jordi Radnoti, a member of Olivia Rodrigo’s band; singer-songwriter Tracy Bonham; Curt Smith of Tears For Fears; and Matt Sorum of Guns N' Roses.
Returning artists include members drawn from The Bangles, Big Star, Goo Goo Dolls, Belly, Letters to Cleo, The Cowsills, Soul Asylum, Fountains of Wayne, Silversun Pickups, as well as singer-songwriters Freedy Johnston, Sierra Swan, Marissa Paternoster (formerly of Screaming Females) and Gina Volpe (formerly of Lunachicks), and even Broadway star Miguel Cervantes (Hamilton).
Gomoll, who retired a few years ago, works on the fundraiser year-round but takes no salary. He says Joey’s Song has raised about $1.7 million since its start, some of which goes to partnering charities. “This is my giveback,” he says. “It’s a ton of work but a helluva lot of fun.”
