Neil McLinden

press release: Bring your blanket and your picnic basket to MAC! The Monroe Arts Center is pleased to announce the schedule for the Sounds of Summer outdoor concert series. Concerts will take place on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month beginning on June 1 and ending on August 17.  Concerts begin at 6:30 PM each evening on the south terrace of the MAC campus. All concerts are free of charge.

The opening concert on June 1, 2022, will feature the Angela Puerta Band. Angela Puerta Band is a 4-piece Latin-rock that combines Colombian folklore and Latin American rhythms with Alternative Rock, Rock en Español, Pop, and Reggae. Angela is a six-time MAMA award winner and Best of Madison 2019 and 2020 Latin Artist bronze and silver star. She is a Colombian singer-songwriter and guitarist based in Madison, Wisconsin.

June 15, 2022, will see Beth Kille return to MAC with Michael Tully. Beth Kille is an award-winning singer-songwriter from Madison, WI who has been performing her original music since 2000. In addition to performing with the Beth Kille Band, she is also a member of the trio Gin, Chocolate & Bottle Rockets and the band Kerosene Kites. Veteran guitarist Michael Tully joined forces with Kille in 2012 and snagged the highly coveted "Guitarist of the Year" honors at the 2014 MAMA Awards.

Neil McLinden will make his way to MAC from New York City on July 6. Neil is a singer, actor, and multi-instrumentalist. Originally from Brookfield, Wisconsin, he began playing piano and singing from an early age, and quickly developed an interest in many different musical styles. 

The concert on July 20 will feature the band Blackthorn Folly. Blackthorn Folly is a five piece traditionally inspired band from the Milwaukee area, playing traditional Celtic tunes, pub songs, American standards, and even some pop music with high energy and a ground stomping tempo.

Hot Hawaiian guitar meets Jazz à la Django on August 3 with Christo’s Novelty Combo. Built on an exciting blend of jazz and Hawaiian steel guitar, blending to a new type of driving acoustic swing music. The band presents a unique mixture of the Vaudeville era, novelty infused hot steel guitar and ukulele of the 1920’s and 30’s “Hawaiian Craze” and the swinging sounds of French jazz from the 1930’s and 40’s. 

The 2022 MAC concert season will wrap up Aug. 17 with the bluegrass band, The MilBillies. WAMI nominated New Artist of the Year (2020), The MilBillies are a 5-piece string band that trades vocals like a fifth of bourbon and solos like a bull on a rope, slinging high-energy bluegrass stripped raw with Americana grit.

All concerts are rain or shine. Visit monroeartscenter.com or call 608.325-5700 for more information on MAC’s Sounds of Summer outdoor concert series. The Sounds of Summer outdoor concert series has been supported by MAC Corporate Underwriter Colony Brands, Inc. and Season Media Underwriter Big Radio, with additional support from Mike & Norah Sanders, Hans & Bobbie Bernet, Carter & Gruenwald Co Inc, Michael Furgal, John & Donna Glynn, Deb Thompson, and Chuck & Chris Wellington.