Fall music preview

With newish small venues (Communication and North Street Cabaret) and a giant new venue, The Sylvee, Madison has even more live music happening than ever. This year’s diverse concert lineups feature more women and more artists of color, spanning a breathtaking range of genres. Plan your music calendar now with this handy guide to concerts, big and small, happening this fall/winter.

Madison World Music Festival

Memorial Union and Willy Street Fair, Sept. 13-15

The lineup put together by Wisconsin Union Theater is compelling from top to bottom, with artists presenting music from the Middle East, Latin America and Africa. One artist to watch is Gili Yalo, whose 7:45 pm set Saturday will feature psychedelic soul and funk expressed through his Ethiopian roots. Cuban emcee and flutist Yaite Ramos Rodriguez has the potential to bring the house down with her explosive mix of hip-hop, cumbia, dancehall and reggae. Her project, La Dame Blanche, closes the festival with a 9 pm Saturday set at Union Terrace. (K.M.)

Pious Faults

Mickey’s Tavern, Sept. 15

On the 2016 self-titled EP, Australian outfit Pious Faults debuted with six short blasts of memorably energetic hardcore angst and aggression. This summer’s full-length, Old Thread, features songs that are longer and far weirder, as if XTC in its early, angular days had made a straight-up punk record. A strong lineup includes Milwaukee’s similarly intense punk outfit Sex Scenes, the one-man-band madness of Roboman, and the melodic, frenetic punk rockers We Should Have Been DJs. (B.K.)

Japanese Breakfast

Majestic Theatre, Sept. 16

Like many punks, Michelle Zauner needed to evolve beyond the genre to really find her niche. Her work with Philly emo kids Little Big League was promising, and showed her deft touch as a songwriter. But as Japanese Breakfast (or “JBrekkie,” as Zauner prefers to call it on social media), the 29 year old plays a dreamy brand of indie pop that seems to roll out of her effortlessly. Soft Sounds from Another Planet, from 2017, is tender and atmospheric, showcasing Zauner’s constant evolution as a musician. Concrete evidence is transforming Little Big League’s “Boyish” from relatively straightforward pop punk into a twinkling, Cranberries-esque ballad. Time to get on the JBrekkie bandwagon, folks. Get there early to catch opener Ought, a post-punk four-piece out of Quebec. (T.W.)

Red Fang

High Noon Saloon, Sept. 16

Americans do stoner metal really well, dude. And one of the finest purveyors of fuzz is Portland, Oregon’s Red Fang. With a two-pronged vocal attack, heady melodies and complex-yet-accessible arrangements, Red Fang’s ferocious bite is best experienced live. With Big Business, Dead Now. (M.P.)

Father John Misty

Orpheum Theater, Sept. 18

When Father John Misty dropped the expansive, theatrical Pure Comedy in 2017, it seemed to mark the end of an era for the flamboyant folk rocker. The musician, born Josh Tillman, sings of “closing the gap between the mask and me,” giving the audience a better look at the real person behind the Father John Misty caricature. On this year’s God’s Favorite Customer, Tillman bares his soul once more, trading doomsday pontificating for an unsparing look at personal well-being. From comically over-the-top breakdowns (“Mr. Tillman”) to crumbling intrapersonal relationships (“The Songwriter”), he has created his most personal, straightforward album yet. He returns to Madison for the first time since 2015, alongside garage rockers King Tuff. (T.W.)

Counting Crows

Breese Stevens Field, Sept. 19

In today’s very special feel-old moment, it’s time to come to terms with the fact that August and Everything After and “Mr. Jones” have passed the quarter-century mark. That’s as good a reason as any to revisit the band’s deep library. Frontman Adam Duritz, still rocking the signature dreads, has been spicing up this tour with a shifting setlist and some serious between-song storytelling. It’s gonna be a great way to close another season of outdoor Breese Stevens shows, with an opening set by Boom Forest. (A.R.C.)

Jeff Tweedy

Overture Center-Capitol Theater, Sept. 20

Singer-songwriter-guitarist Jeff Tweedy is best known as frontman for wide-ranging Chicago rockers Wilco. Prior to Wilco, he was a founder of alt-country legends Uncle Tupelo, and dedicated fans will also be familiar with such side projects as Loose Fur and Golden Smog. Following the release of Together at Last, featuring solo acoustic re-imaginings of songs from throughout his main bands and side projects, Tweedy is taking the concept on the road for a rare solo tour. (B.K.)

Prism Arts & Music Festival

Common Gardens (6389 Rimmel Court, Dane), Sept. 21-22

Inspired by Justin Vernon’s Eaux Claires, a group of Madison creatives in 2017 launched this two-day showcase featuring pretty much all the best bands in Madison (and the Midwest). The lineup includes Chicago’s Post Animal, Milwaukee’s GGOOLLDD plus Madison favorites like Trapo, The Hussy, Proud Parents, Disq, Slow Pulp, Lucien Parker and Djay Mando. With two stages, immersive art and camping, this will be a truly sick weekend. (A.G.)

Joyann Parker Band

North Street Cabaret, Sept. 28

Parker has been called “a sober Janis Joplin,” and a “taller Shamikia Copeland.” Neither does justice to the best blues howler the Twin Cities have ever produced. She can swing like Etta James, but she can climb the scale like Aretha, too. Surrounded by a four-star band, Parker is an inventive pianist with a fluid, jazz-inflected style. She can also crush the blues guitar. Kudos to North Street Cabaret for this booking. The smallish room will explode this night. (A.M.)

Death Cab for Cutie

The Sylvee, Oct. 3

Ben Gibbard and company may qualify as alt-rock graybeards at this point, but that doesn’t mean an old(ish) DCC can’t find new ways to twist their familiar emotional formula. Their latest disc, Thank You For Today, finds them twisting Gibbard’s vocals through lo-fi reverb effects and sampling Yoko Ono. Openers Charly Bliss, meanwhile, front a full-on blast of uber-delicious bubblegum grunge, powered by Eva Hendricks’ megawatt voice. Guppy, their debut album, was one of the best releases of 2017. (A.R.C.)

Black Joe Lewis& the Honeybears

High Noon Saloon, Oct. 3

Joe Lewis is a shouter in the tradition of Howlin’ Wolf and Wilson Pickett, and the Honeybears have three albums under their belt since they launched in Austin 10 years ago. The soul-funk-blues band’s latest release, Backlash, is more rock influenced. This will no doubt be a high-powered show that will appeal to fans of Madison’s fledgling Otis Redding tribute scene. With Vug Arakas. (K.M.)

Belly

Majestic Theatre, Oct. 4

Tanya Donelly, the talented singer-songwriter who fronted Belly in its mid-’90s alt-rock heyday, spent most of the intervening decades exploring motherhood and her own musical muses, kicking out a library’s worth of gorgeous solo material. Dove, the band’s reunion album and its first since 1996’s King, owes more to that solo work than the fuzzy, guitar-heavy sound that defined Donelly’s time with Throwing Muses and the Breeders, but that’s not a bad thing at all: Her songwriting — and her beautiful voice — are as emotionally sharp as they’ve ever been. (A.R.C.)

St. Lucia

Barrymore Theatre, Oct. 4

Jean-Philip Grobler’s synth-fueled stylings are a pure burst of soaring sonic adrenaline, harking back to the best and most unbridled sounds of the Me Decade. Put it this way: We’ll elevate with he and band-spouse Patti Beranek any time. Opener Now, Now, a Minnesota emo-pop duo, channels the fuzzy sound of the following decade, having downsized to their two original members and refined their rootsy formula with ear-friendly hooks (and catchy, acronym-heavy song titles ). (A.R.C.)

Umphrey’s McGee

The Sylvee, Oct. 5

Impossible to slot into genres but often lumped into the jam-band scene, this experimental Chicago-based collective has been together for more than 20 years. With a pair of highly listenable full-length albums — It’s Not Us and It’s You — released within four months of each other this year, the band remains both relevant and rewarding. With SunSquabi. (M.P.)

Snatum Kaur

Overture Center-Capitol Theater, Oct. 5

Snatum Kaur, an American singer raised in the Sikh and Kundalini Yoga traditions, recites Sikh hymns in a crystal-clear voice to a backing band playing traditional Indian instruments like sitar and tablas. At times solemn, at others, soaring, her music stirs the soul and shakes the hips. The prolific artist and author has released 25 albums of songs and chants since 2000. Also a peace activist, Kaur was on near constant tour from 2003-09, playing at schools, hospices and juvenile detention centers. And Oprah’s into her. (H.H.)

Turkeyfest

Crystal Corner Bar, Oct. 5; Mickey’s Tavern, Oct. 6

The Hussy recently celebrated a decade of garage punk sounds, and the fest spawned by the band, Turkeyfest, is right behind at nine. The Hussy closes out this year's Friday show, which also includes a reunion (Milwaukee's unforgettable Head on Electric), a retirement (raucous locals The Smells) and a return (Minneapolis' Teenage Moods). Saturday Heather and Bobby of The Hussy back up the inimitable Nobunny for a set; Bobby's Cave Curse project also plays, along with local dream-pop outfit Wash and a solo set by Alex Wiley Coyote. (B.K.)

Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen

Orpheum Theater, Oct. 9

Lovett and Keen aren’t just college pals, lifelong friends and collaborators — they’re musical soulmates, sharing a wry, dark-tinged approach to songwriting that informs several decades worth of top-notch musical storytelling. Amazingly, they’ve only written one song together — “Front Porch Song” — but this stripped-down acoustic show, which showcases alternating songs from their respective catalogues, is going to feel exactly like you’ve got a front-row seat on theirs. (A.R.C.)

Greta Van Fleet

The Sylvee, Oct. 11

Greta Van Fleet is not another indie-pop songbird, thank God. Rather, it’s an upstart American blues-rock band from Michigan made up of three brothers and a drummer who are heavily influenced by Led Zeppelin and among the first artists to sell out The Sylvee. Say you saw them before they made the big time. (M.P.)

Machine Head

Majestic Theatre, Oct. 17

As aggressive pioneers of the new wave of American heavy metal that began in the 1990s, California’s Machine Head expanded its range by incorporating hip-hop and hardcore punk influences on its latest violent and vulgar, yet oddly hopeful, album, Catharsis. (M.P.)

Bettye LaVette

Stoughton Opera House, Oct. 19

LaVette’s career spans from collaborations with Otis Redding…to making a record with Drive-by Truckers. She says she doesn’t do covers, which is a funny thing since her newest release, Things Have Changed, is a 12-track package of Bob Dylan songs. You’ll know why Dylan is one of her devoted fans when you hear her interpretations. Born in Detroit, LaVette cut her teeth in the 1960s cranking out boisterous R&B in Memphis and at Muscle Shoals. LaVette is the best living soul interpreter in the world, and she crowns a fall that’s filled with great female artists making their way through Wisconsin. (A.M.)

Slothrust

High Noon Saloon, Oct. 23

It’s no secret that contemporary indie rock has been throwing it back to the 1990s for the last few years. But few bands sound as authentically of that time as Slothrust. The LA-via-Boston trio is awash in reverb, catering in the same fuzzy riffing and esoteric songwriting that made artists like Dinosaur Jr. and Pavement so vital during their heyday. The Pact, their fourth LP, is due out in September, and lead single “Birthday Cake” is a crisp, spunky song that will make you want to throw on a pair of Airwalk sneakers and party like it’s 1995. With Mannequin Pussy. (T.W.)

Tyler Childers

The Sylvee, Oct. 24

Tyler Childers is from the same area of eastern Kentucky as country icons Loretta Lynn, Ricky Skaggs, Chris Stapleton and Sturgill Simpson. At age 27, he’s the youngest and hottest of them all, thanks to his first major release, the Simpson-produced Purgatory, in 2017. Childers sounds like a country Kurt Cobain with the wit of Steve Earle, and Purgatory is a sensational concept album that’s gritty, fun and full of Appalachian honky tonk. Most shows of this tour have sold out, including this one (at first). The show was slated for the Majestic but moved to The Sylvee due to higher demand. With Ona. (K.M.)

Dom Flemons

Stoughton Opera House, Oct. 25

Dom Flemons may be best known for his work as a co-founder of Carolina Chocolate Drops, the popular stringband featuring Rhiannon Giddens that played Orton Park Festival a few years back. In his solo career, Flemons is a performer and keeper of African American music forms, a status reflected in his performance at the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. He’ll play from a deep songbook, including 2018’s Black Cowboy. (K.M.)

Tune-Yards

Majestic Theatre, Oct. 26

Eclectic, eccentric and energizing, Merrill Garbus’ extrapolations of soul and ’80s electro-pop-dance tunes position Tune-Yards as a jewel in the crown of American music. Touring on her latest, I can feel you creep into my private life, Garbus contemplates themes such as white feminism, digital existence and the ongoing quagmire of a failing empire. Yet she still manages to be fun and arty — like a musical Miranda July. Fittingly, Blondie-esque French Canadian protest band U.S. Girls opens. (H.H.)

GWAR with Hatebreed

The Sylvee, Oct. 26

Long a heavy-metal punchline, the grotesquely costumed GWAR is touring with metalcore veterans Hatebreed on “The Gore, Core, Metal and More Tour.” The show is part of WJJO’s Hell-O-Ween metal mayhem. Obviously. With Miss May I, Ringworm. (M.P.)

Lake Street Dive

The Sylvee, Oct. 30

Lake Street Dive blew the minds of unsuspecting Orton Park Festival patrons back in 2013. Since that time the Brooklyn-based pop quartet, whose members met while studying at the New England Conservatory of Music, has evolved its Beatles-centric vibe into a bolder, heavier sound. “Good Kisser,” from the new release Free Yourself Up, showcases Rachael Price’s ability to shout and soar. The new music is killer, but one can still hope that their Sylvee set will include their ferocious cover of Paul McCartney’s “Let Me Roll It.” With Jalen N’Gonda. (A.M.)

Shannon & the Clams

High Noon Saloon, Oct. 30

It’s been a busy year for Shannon & the Clams frontwoman Shannon Shaw. This summer she unleashed her first solo record, Shannon in Nashville, made with a bevy of studio legends at Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Studio, and giving her a crack at applying her gritty and soulful voice to the big beat ballad style of vintage Roy Orbison or Brenda Lee sides. With Dirty Fences. (B.K.)

Eric Johnson

Barrymore Theatre, Nov. 1

Eric Johnson wrote “Cliffs of Dover,” one of the most memorable electric guitar instrumentals of all time (and it won a Grammy, too). Now, almost 30 years after its 1990 release, Johnson is performing the album on which it appears — Ah Via Musicom — in its entirety, backed by an electric band. (M.P.)

Loudon Wainwright III

Stoughton Opera House, Nov. 1

Since his lone “hit” chart-wise remains 1973’s Top 20 surprise “Dead Skunk,” it’s an odd fact that in modern times more people may know Wainwright from his work over the years as an actor (from a memorable recurring role on M*A*S*H* to various Judd Apatow projects) than for his songwriting. His 20-plus albums over the last nearly five decades represent a solid body of work, and his songs are filled with pointed wit and sharp observations. (B.K.)

Kamasi Washington

The Sylvee, Nov. 2

Powerhouse tenor jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington returns to Madison for the first time since his sold-out debut at the Majestic in November 2017. The leader of a 10-piece band has collaborated with Kendrick Lamar, John Legend, Run the Jewels, Ibeyi and, on his last visit, had his father in the band. This run finds Washington touring on the recently released dynamic double disc Heaven and Earth. With noticeable Afro-Futuristic influences, Washington keeps the jazz tradition alive, even in a cover of the theme to Bruce Lee’s Fists of Fury. With Butcher Brown. (H.H.)

Tedeschi Trucks Band

Overture Hall, Nov. 5

This expansive blues-rock collective, known for its live shows, features the dynamic husband-wife team of guitarist Derek Trucks (The Allman Brothers Band) and singer-guitarist Susan Tedeschi. The band will be coming off a recent six-night October run at New York City’s Beacon Theatre and should be functioning at peak performance. With Todd Snider. (M.P.)

Nnamdi Ogbonnaya

High Noon Saloon, Nov. 8

Nnamdi Ogbonnaya is a bit of an enigma. The Chicago-based experimental hip-hop artist draws from jazz, reggae, electronic, screamo and math rock. His 2017 album, Drool, is weird in the absolute way — he switches between singing and rapping over eclectic beats that channel retro video games. With Sen Morimoto. (A.G.)

Wild Nothing

Majestic Theatre, Nov. 8

The indie-rock outfit created by Jack Tatum has turned out sweet, nostalgic synth-pop tracks since 2010, when he released Gemini from his bedroom, forging a major piece of what would later be understood as a high point for the dream-pop revival. Now that he has major label support, Tatum’s music sparkles with a hi-fi intensity. (R.K.)

Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder

Stoughton Opera House, Nov. 8

After winning every other award in his career, Ricky Skaggs was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame this year. He’s the gold standard of bluegrass, a silver-maned high wailer who’s been melting faces with his mandolin since the age of 5. Kentucky Thunder will keep the banjo, bass, fiddle and harmonies lit. (K.M.)

Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus

The Sylvee, Nov. 16

These three rising stars of indie rock have given us some of the best music of the last few years. Julien Baker’s 2015 solo debut, Sprained Ankle, was an out-of-nowhere sensation; Phoebe Bridgers’ 2017 LP Smoke Signals gave us folk-infused indie anthems like “Motion Sickness” and “Scott Street”; and Lucy Dacus’ 2018 release Historian blessed us with the magnificent breakup song “Night Shift.” And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, the trio announced a collaborative project, boygenius. We are not worthy. (A.G.)

Low

High Noon Saloon, Nov. 17

Duluth slowcore legends Low have a new album, Double Negative, out Sept. 16, and it’s a big departure from the band’s signature melodic indie roots. Recorded at Justin Vernon’s April Base studio in Eau Claire, the new songs the band has shared so far are heavy, experimental, richly textured and wonderfully trippy. (A.G.)

Ezra Furman

High Noon Saloon, Nov. 29

One of singer/songwriter Ezra Furman’s first hits was “Take Off Your Sunglasses” — a raunchy Americana jam that announced the queer rocker’s arrival on the indie scene back in 2006. Since then, his style has evolved to encompass a raw energy that pulls on roots musicians like Woody Guthrie as much as it pushes toward an electronic future. His 2018 album, Transangelic Exodus, tells the myth-infused story of Furman running around the country with an angelic lover, sounding like a spaced-out Bruce Springsteen. (R.K.)

Stars

Majestic Theatre, Dec. 3

Inspirational indie-pop outfit Stars evokes a Canadian Cloud Cult, but heavier on electronics than strings. Honest, earnest lyrics and hooky melodies are set off by chill, spacey male-female vocals, creating the feel of a pivotal film scene. Notable opener My Brightest Diamond is the primary vehicle of Shara Nova, formerly of Sufjan Stevens’ band, circa the Illinois! era. Her operatic and orchestral style veers toward an urgent brand of electro-pop on her recent newest EP Champagne. (H.H.)

Hot Tuna

Barrymore Theatre, Dec. 9

Initially a Jefferson Airplane side project, Hot Tuna is the long-running blues-and-roots collaboration of singer-guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bassist Jack Casady. The well-traveled duo will perform an acoustic show, which no doubt will give off plenty of warm vibes on what could be a chilly Wisconsin night. (M.P.)

Dave King Trio

Trinity Lutheran Church, Dec. 16

Arts + Literature Lab has been consistently putting out some of the most remarkable post-bop and experimental jazz programming in the region for two years. Its exuberant audiences have earned the venue credibility among modern jazz’s most celebrated performers, including drummer Dave King of The Bad Plus, which has played NYC’s historic Village Vanguard. (K.M.)

Kurt Vile & the Violators

The Sylvee, Dec. 20

Bedraggled and smirking, Kurt Vile’s meandering, country-western tinged guitar and banjo tunes alternate between lazy, spacy and driving. Electric fingerpicking atop acoustic rhythms highlight his Dylan-meets-Malkmus mumble-drawl, creating the ambiance of sitting on a porch during the fall and smoking a pipe (several of his songs mention porches). Vile, former War on Drugs lead guitarist, released Lotta Sea Lice last year with his Australian counterpart and semi-doppelganger, Courtney Barnett. His most recent single, “Loading Zones,” might be a one-off, but we’ll take it. With Jessica Pratt. (H.H.)