Enjoy a compilation of selected tracks by artists playing shows we're excited about in Madison during the week of Oct. 12-19, 2017. For more information on these shows, read on under the playlist!
Noah Gundersen, Thursday, Oct. 12, High Noon Saloon, 8 pm: Folk rocker Noah Gundersen edged into the mainstream as a solo artist via songs placed in popular TV series (“Family” was featured on both Sons of Anarchy and The Vampire Diaries), while continuing to play with The Courage and even reuniting with Beneath Oceans, his high school band. Although Gundersen is known for introspective songwriting, his new album White Noise looks outward and finds a society seemingly collapsing into a poisoned collective consciousness. The pop/rock songs feel anthemic until you catch up to the words. With Silver Torches.
The Magpie Salute, Thursday, Oct. 12, Barrymore Theatre, 8 pm: The Black Crowes’ splintering has had one positive for fans: new bands to follow, the latest being The Magpie Salute. Debuting in January 2017, the group reunites guitarist Rich Robinson with axe-slinger Marc Ford — the guitar team for the Crowes’ mid-’90s classics — as well as fellow former Crowes bassist Sven Pipien, several Rich Robinson Band members and lead singer John Hogg, who played with Robinson in Hookah Brown. The group’s self-titled debut ranges from muscular, melodic southern rock to jazzy workouts with equal aplomb.
Emily Mure, Thursday, Oct. 12, Crescendo Espresso Bar, 7 pm: You’ll want to catch Emily Mure in an intimate setting before she hits it big. The New York City native is a classically trained oboist who spent time busking on the streets of Ireland. She’s just released a heartbreaking and inspiring third album, Worth, that explores themes of anxiety and self-acceptance. It’s all expressed confidently with spine-tingling vocals. With Bradley Tomas.
Turkeyfest 8, Thursday, Oct. 12, Mickey’s Tavern, 10 pm: This marks the eighth year that Bobby Hussy’s Kind Turkey Records has hosted its annual Turkeyfest, and this incarnation promises to be another wild three-day celebration of eccentric punk rock. Highlights include local favorites The Hussy, Wood Chickens, Fire Heads, Dumb Vision, German Art Students and Solid Freex, as well as a handful of national and international acts, including Kiwi garage punks BloodBags and Memphis-based darkwave outfit Sweet Knives, a reboot of Lost Sounds minus the late, great Jay Reatard. For the full schedule: facebook.com/kindturkey. ALSO: Friday (9:30 pm, Crystal Corner Bar) and Saturday (10 pm, Mickey’s), Oct. 13-14.
The Lucas Brothers, Thursday, Oct. 12, Comedy Club on State, 8:30 pm: The Lucas Brothers aren’t your traditional stand-up act. Super endearing and downright hilarious, the sleepy, dulcet and possibly marijuana-tinged tones of this low-key duo lull the audience into a grinning trance — before exploding with well-timed punchlines. Doing duo comedy is tough. It requires so much coordinating, timing and practice that it almost seems impractical. These twins, with their odd psychic powers, pull it off flawlessly. ALSO: Friday-Saturday, October 13-14, 8 & 10:30 pm.
The Lone Bellow, Friday, Oct. 13, Majestic Theatre, 9 pm: Rich harmonies, rollicking choruses, blistering earnestness — these are the hallmarks of the modern Americana revival, and this trio checks all the boxes. Their new album, Walk Into A Storm, came out last month and is the band’s first since relocating from Brooklyn to Nashville. It’s tight and polished, like much Americana being produced these days, but energetic and soulful enough to set it apart. With Mt. Joy.
The Weepies, Friday, Oct. 13, Stoughton Opera House, 7:30 pm: If you’ve never heard of Deb Talan and Steve Tannen, you’ve probably heard their music on television — the married couple has had songs on a ton of popular mid-2000s shows, including Grey’s Anatomy, One Tree Hill and Scrubs. Their gentle, whimsical, pop-inflected indie-folk music transports listeners to a coffee shop on a rainy day circa 2006, and it’s still sweet and beautiful a decade later.
Trevor Stephenson & Marcia Hadjimarkos, Friday, Oct. 13, Madison Christian Community, 7:30 pm: An evening of Mozart piano duets is a rare treat. To hear them played on fortepiano, the keyboard instrument of the day, is even more unusual. But these rarities will converge when Trevor Stephenson and his colleague from France, Marcia Hadjimarkos, present Mozart duets for fortepiano 4-hands. Hadjimarkos is an internationally recognized fortepiano specialist. Stephenson is artistic director of the acclaimed Madison Bach Musicians. Selections include duets from Mozart’s early years to his death, demonstrating the innocent charm that sets Mozart apart from his contemporaries.
Gov’t Mule, Friday, Oct. 13, Orpheum Theater, 8 pm: Founded in 1994 as what was supposed to be a one-off side project for Allman Brothers Band guitarist Warren Haynes, this southern rock jam band is still rambling almost 25 years later. Known to fans simply as “Mule,” this prolific four-piece is a regular on the music festival circuit, where they appeal to Deadheads and blues-rock fans alike.
GGOOLLDD, Saturday, Oct. 14, The Frequency, 9 pm: Things keep turning to — well, you know — for Milwaukee’s favorite synth-pop outfit. Hard work, frequent gigs and a steady stream of new EP material such as “Secrets,” a bouncy, guitar-driven vehicle for Margaret Butler’s vocals, have kept GGOOLLDD front and center in our music consciousness. Which is right where they belong. With Sleeping Jesus, The Mighty Deerlick.
Graham Nash, Saturday, Oct. 14, Overture Center-Capitol Theater, 8 pm: Graham Nash contributed mightily as a songwriter and singer for the Hollies during the band’s finest moments in the British Invasion era, and helped pioneer the supergroup concept as a member of Crosby, Stills and Nash (and, sometimes, Young). Since the ‘70s Nash has also released several stellar solo albums, including This Path Tonight from 2016. His current tour features songs and stories from all phases of his career, in a duo performance with longtime collaborator Shane Fontayne.
Buddy Guy, Sunday, Oct. 15, Overture Center-Capitol Theater, 7:30 pm: It is hardly a stretch to call Buddy Guy one of the most important musicians of all time. The legendary blues guitarist has remained at the top of his game since the 1950s, popularizing a frenetic brand of blues guitar that helped inject some swagger into rock by influencing Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton, to name only a few acolytes. For his contribution, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. With Quinn Sullivan.
Cameron Esposito & Rhea Butcher, Sunday, Oct. 15, Majestic Theatre, 7 pm: They’re here, they’re queer, they’re hilarious. Married couple Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher took their stand-up acts on the road this fall, and Madison is the final stop of their “Back To Back” tour. The first gay, married couple to create and co-star in a television show (Take My Wife), Esposito and Butcher specialize in a brand of comedy that’s smart, snappy and unapologetically political.
The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die, Tuesday, Oct. 17, High Noon Saloon, 8:30 pm: Connecticut emo crew The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die can include anywhere from four to 14 members onstage at once. It may seem like a lot, but this mixture of post-rock and post-hardcore requires a wide array of musicians, from horns to spoken word artists, creating some of the most lush and intricate sounds around. With Rozwell Kid, Ratboys.
Mary Chapin Carpenter, Wednesday, Oct. 18, Overture Center-Capitol Theater, 7:30 pm: Mary Chapin Carpenter is a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and experienced blockbuster success on the country charts in the ‘90s. But pigeonhole her as a C&W artist at your own risk; genre boundaries have never mattered much to this songwriter’s songwriter. She’s on tour behind 2016’s The Things That We Are Made Of, and will play songs from throughout her career.
Cousin Stizz, Wednesday, Oct. 18, High Noon Saloon, 8:30 pm: Riding beats full of smooth grooves, this Boston-area emcee’s tales from the streets speak directly to those who think it’s easy to come up in the rap game. With an almost hypnotic flow, Stizz also lets you know on boom-bap tracks like “500 Horses” and “Lambo” that the struggles he’s been through are beginning to pay off. Through these highs and lows, you can still hear the hunger that started it all. With Swoosh, Big Leano.
Deer Tick, Thursday, Oct, 19, Majestic Theatre, 8 pm: Deer Tick's songs have always been as ready for a campfire as they are for a kegger, and their latest album release exemplifies that: two records, one acoustic and one electric. The tour will follow suit, with unplugged tunes before a brief intermission, then a typically rocking, booze-soaked party for the closer. With Chris Crofton.
Find the full rundown of this week's Isthmus Picks here.
