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.
Whoa Dakota, Thursday, Nov. 14, The Winnebago, 8 pm: The 2018 debut of Whoa Dakota, a budding indie pop star of Nashville, dazzles with Americana-infused pop. Born Jesse Ott in Little Rock, Arkansas, the artist makes music that skillfully weds electronic and classic sounds. Songs like “Clarity” mix vintage twang with atmospheric synths and exhilarating pop choruses. With Raine Stern, Supper Club.
Tommy Castro & the Painkillers + Tinsley Ellis, Thursday, Nov. 14, Stoughton Opera House, 7:30 pm: The artistry of Tommy Castro and Tinsley Ellis has been proven time and time again in their collective decades as musicians. Across Castro’s 15 albums he has become an ace of many genres, excelling at soul, blues and everything in between. Ellis stays more focused on the blues, and is widely known as one of the genre’s best guitarists. These Alligator Records artists will likely blow the roof off the historic Opera House.
Wurk album release, Friday, Nov. 15, High Noon Saloon, 9:30 pm: Funk-jam-jazz fusion band Wurk celebrates the release of Animation, its fourth studio release and first full-length album. The Mount Horeb-born ensemble, which took home Artist of the Year at the 2019 Madison Area Music Awards, released the mellow-grooving teaser single “Dialogue” at the end of September. With Brahmulus, Chicago Loud 9.
Las Cafeteras + LADAMA, Friday, Nov. 15, UW Memorial Union-Shannon Hall, 8 pm: Wisconsin Union Theater welcomes two female-led, genre-bending acts as part of its Women of the World series. Using instruments of the son jarocho Mexican regional style and bringing Latin roots music into the present, Las Cafeteras of Los Angeles tell modern day stories in both English and Spanish. LADAMA is composed of four women from Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and the U.S., and each pull from and mix together their respective heritages in scintillating ways.
Chynna, Friday, Nov. 15, UW Memorial Union-Der Rathskeller, 9 pm: The Philadelphian emcee trots her demure and ethereal raps into Madison. Chynna creates songs that feel like the negative spaces of other hip-hop songs. On her most recent song, “asmr,” she emits unstructured cadences and hushed melodies over sparse, industrial production. The result is rap that leaves a heavy impact, albeit almost without a trace. With Godly the Ruler.
MisterWives, Saturday, Nov. 16, Majestic Theatre, 8 pm: In some ways, Madison ought to feel like a second home to lead singer Mandy Lee and MisterWives — after all, the band’s headlined Freakfest twice in the last five years and seems to make stopping in Madtown a priority every time they swing through the Midwest. “Whywhywhy,” the debut single from the New York band’s new mini bloom EP, somehow makes a bitter breakup feel like an empowerment exercise. We predict audience sing-alongs. With Foreign Air.
Clean Room LP release, Saturday, Nov. 16, Mickey’s Tavern, 10 pm: Clean Room, one of Madison’s most fun live bands of the last few years, jumped right back into the club scene after guitarist/singer Jeffrey Halleran returned from living on the West Coast. This show marks a turning point for the trio, as it will be the last show for drummer Elyse Clouthier and bassist Matt “Donut” Behm, as well as a release party for a very limited LP of favorite recordings from that lineup. With Tubal Cain, Death Cow and the debut of a three-piece incarnation of Once a Month.
Alex Mercado Trio, Saturday, Nov. 16, Cafe Coda, 8 pm: One of Mexico’s greatest contributions to jazz, Alex Mercado crafts music that induces both adrenaline and hypnosis. With his trio, he released Paisajes — translation: landscapes — in 2018, and on each song Mercado and company expertly craft rich scenes with their instruments. With his piano, Mercado paints songs with the precision and surreality of an expressionist.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical, Saturday, Nov. 16, Overture Center, 2 & 7 pm: For those who grew up in the 1970s, it wasn’t Christmas without the annual broadcast of the classic, stop-motion animated special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. With Burl Ives singing and narrating, the show featured a distinct visual style, the lovable Abominable Snow Monster, geeky elf Dennis who wants to be a dentist, the Land of Misfit Toys, and, of course, Rudolph, with his red light bulb nose. It also included his flying coach father, Donner, who was desperately ashamed of having a fawn who was different. Thanks to the vision of Jeff Frank, artistic director of Milwaukee’s First Stage Children’s Theater, the holiday staple was translated from TV to the stage. The touring version retains the show’s signature look and feel and proving once again that sometimes being “different” can be one’s greatest asset.
Shake Em Up Jazz Band, Sunday, Nov. 17, Wyndham Garden Hotel, Fitchburg, noon: Madison Jazz Society concludes a series of concerts celebrating its 35th anniversary with a full afternoon of music by a pair of bands featuring young musicians exploring traditional New Orleans music. Visiting from Louisiana is the Shake Em Up Jazz Band, an all-star ensemble featuring leading women players from the Big Easy scene. Madison is ably represented by Darren Sterud’s New Orleans Tribute, led by the trombone master and featuring members of Youngblood Brass Band, Golpe Tierra and other groups.
FlowPoetry book release, Monday, Nov. 18, High Noon Saloon, 7:30 pm: Adam Gregory Pergament, aka FlowPoetry, has most often focused on rock shows and recordings to bring his trippy verse and storytelling to the public. Help celebrate his second book, Compression, featuring a set of works focusing on the percussive elements of poetry. With Glostik Willy and former StoneFloat frontman Tate McLane.
Mr. Phylzzz, Monday, Nov. 18, Mickey’s Tavern, 10 pm: Cincinnati noise rockers Mr. Phylzzz describe themselves as a “two-piece queermare.” Songs like “Kitty” and “Big Deal” off their latest release, Penitent Curtis, out on Amphetamine Reptile Records, feature heavy, dirty, speaker-shattering riffs, the kind that will surely rattle the walls of Mickey’s in the best way. With Alex Wiley Coyote & Cousin Dallas.
Hamilton, Tuesday, Nov. 19, Overture Hall, 7:30 pm: Ladies and gentlemen! The moment you’ve been waiting for! One of the most anticipated tours in Broadway history, Hamilton is finally coming to Overture Center. The young, scrappy and hungry immigrant who played a pivotal role in shaping our country’s government and financial systems, Alexander Hamilton (Joseph Morales) will take the stage along with 34 other singers and dancers in the “Philip cast” (the touring casts are named after Hamilton’s children). By now, Hamilfans know the cast album by heart, they’ve read the Hamiltome, some have probably even read the Ron Chernow biography that Lin-Manuel Miranda based his extraordinary Pulitzer-, Tony- and Grammy-winning musical on. But there’s nothing like being “in the room where it happens.” Wholly original, wildly entertaining and presented at the breakneck speed of 144 genius words per minute, every performance is a triumph for the cast and audience alike. ALSO: Wednesday-Thursday, Nov. 20-21, 7:30 pm. Through Dec. 8.
Alicia Olatuja Quintet, Thursday, Nov. 21, UW Memorial Union-Play Circle, 8 pm: Jazz’s latest powerhouse first stepped into the public eye in 2013 as the featured soloist with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir performing at President Obama’s second inauguration. Since then, Alicia Olatuja has formed her own group and recorded Timeless, her first solo album, in 2014. DownBeat described the St. Louis native’s voice as having “a full-bodied tone, precise pitch and personal engagement at the lowest whisper or highest wail.” She’s a hard act to follow.
Find the full rundown of this week's Isthmus Picks here.
