Enjoy a compilation of selected tracks by artists playing shows we're excited about in Madison this week. For more information on these shows, read on under the playlist or check out all this week's Isthmus Picks.
Too Many Zooz, Thursday, Feb. 6, Majestic Theatre, 8:30 pm: New York-based trio Too Many Zooz returns to the Majestic following the release of their album Zombie.P. The self-defined brass house band brings high-energy tunes mixing jazz, funk, EDM and house music. Featuring Leo Pellegrino on baritone sax, Matt “Doe” Muirhead on trumpet, and David “King of Sludge” Parks on drums, Too Many Zooz are sure to bring the dance party this Thursday. With Birocratic.
Angela Trudell Vasquez, Thursday, Feb. 6, A Room of One’s Own, 6 pm: Vasquez presents her first full-length reading as Madison’s seventh poet laureate. She is a political poet, a poet of witness, a poet of place, which all sounds very abstract. In person, Vasquez gives voice to the people we see around us every day, with warmth and empathy, rhythm and sound.
GG Magree, Friday, Feb. 7, Liquid, 10 pm: Breaking the mold of EDM DJs, this Australian artist does not just produce epic future bass grooves but also provides vocals on her own tracks. The result is a thematic cohesion between the sound and the lyrics, making the valleys lower and the peaks even higher. On tracks like “I Wanna Lose You,” she also sneaks CHRVCHES-esque synth pop into the mix.
Struggle Jennings, Friday, Feb. 7, The Red Zone, 7 pm: The grandson of music legend Waylon Jennings, Struggle Jennings has forged his own path by creating a special blend of country and hip-hop. His big hit, “Fall in the Fall” starts out like a normal rootsy song, with Jennings’ twangy Nashville voice and guitar. Suddenly, it opens up, the beat comes in, and he begins rapping. It’s an unlikely combo, but it works because of Jennings’ deft cadences and incisive lyricism. With Tha Mid City Kid, TRM3, Kujo.
Isaiah Collier & the Chosen Few, Saturday, Feb. 8, Cafe Coda, 8 pm: The Chicago phenom’s return to Madison rates as a “can’t miss” show for jazz fans. The 21-year-old sax player has an encyclopedic grasp of jazz traditions and a staggering ability to uncoil long, thoughtful solos. When he played Coda last October, Hanah Jon Taylor, the club’s owner and an avant-garde reed hero in his own right, joined Collier for a spirited finale that ended with him embracing the young player and affirming what everyone present had to be thinking: “Here comes the future!”
Hip Hop for Freedom/Liberation Music, Saturday, Feb. 8, Art In, 7 pm: This fundraiser, hosted by Cal Smith, aims to gather bail money for folks who can’t get themselves out of our local county clink — and it’s likely to be one of the last rap shows at Art In before the venue closes its doors for good later this month. The varied rap styles of Rob Dz, K.I.L.O., and Lil Guillotine will fuse with Jay Leebra, Marcus Porter and others to support the Free the 350 Bail Fund. Donations of $10 or more are suggested.
Blackout Improv, Saturday, Feb. 8, Robinia Courtyard, 8 pm: Minneapolis’ Blackout Improv troupe describes itself as a mix of spontaneous comedy, music, spoken word and social justice. The all-black troupe seeks to provide people of color more opportunities to perform and encourages authentic voices on stage. The group will perform a comedy show “fueled by live audience feedback.” Madison DJs Bruno Zaire & Bruce Blaq will be mixing samples of comedy, rap and soul before, during and after the show. ALSO: Blackout will host a free workshop on the UW campus (Sellery Hall, 1 pm; RSVP: eventbrite.com/e/90910416503).
Love on Atwood, Sunday, Feb. 9, Threshold, 7 pm: After a week of songwriting, recording and performing at a songwriter fest in Sturgeon Bay, Josh Harty and other participants take the stage in Madison. They will perform songs that celebrate love’s flame and mourn it after the flame is extinguished. Joining Harty are songwriters Barret Tasky, Leilani Diaz, Claire Kelly and Feathered Mason. The always-welcoming Threshold invites people to enjoy a beverage or a snack and hang out and meet each other before and after the show.
Frail Body, Sunday, Feb. 9, Communication, 7:45 pm: Three Midwestern screamo/metal-adjacent acts converge for an evening that showcases the full breadth of the genre. Opening are locals ghostar, whose post-rock involves intricate guitar work and elements of shoegaze. Milwaukee’s Snag follows, brandishing clawing, atmospheric rock to manifest climate crisis anxiety. Finally, Frail Body of Rockford, Illinois, follows up on a 2019 debut, A Brief Memoriam.
Dana Perry + LINE + Kat & the Hurricane, Sunday, Feb. 9, Bos Meadery, 6:30 pm: A record release show is always a milestone, but this show is triply epic. Dana Perry (of Dana & the Joanis and Imaginary Watermelon) unveils the new EP Kill the Rock Star, and its title track/lead single is a rallying call for artists to follow the muse rather than chase the fame dragon. Pop band LINE started as a solo project of singer-songwriter Maddie Batzli, but has morphed into a full band that now appears in recorded form with the EP Choosing Sides. And Kat & the Hurricane also release a new EP, Libra, which the trio promises “will make you sad in the best possible way.”
Danez Smith, Monday, Feb. 10, Central Library, 7 pm: The UW-Madison and First Wave alum returns to discuss a new book of poems, Homie. The St. Paul native’s new work cherishes the power of friendship and the search for joy and intimacy at a time when racial disparities divide and separate us, and violent forces of xenophobia, racism and homophobia threaten the peace.
The Infamous Stringdusters, Wednesday, Feb. 12, Majestic Theatre, 7:30 pm: This quintet formed in Nashville in the mid-2000s and quickly moved to the forefront of bluegrass. The Stringdusters’ 2019 studio album, Rise Sun, features a progressive sound drawing on rock and jazz structures, but firmly rooted in the genre’s traditions; it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums chart. With Madison-based Armchair Boogie, a jamgrass quartet making a name for themselves with steady touring regionally and beyond.
Marlon James, Thursday, Feb. 13, Central Library, 7 pm: Jamaican-born writer and creative writing professor Marlon James delivers a Humanities without Boundaries lecture. The award-winning author is working on the Dark Star Trilogy, an epic fantasy series based on African legends. In 2015, he won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction for A Brief History of Seven Killings. His pointed and insightful writings and comments on race are sure to fuel many post-lecture conversations.
Find the full rundown of this week's Isthmus Picks here.
