Enjoy a compilation of selected tracks by artists playing shows we're excited about in Madison during the week of June 7-14, 2018. For more information on these shows, read on under the playlist or check out all this week's Isthmus Picks.
Vieux Farke Touré, Thursday, June 7, North Street Cabaret, 9 pm: When you’re the son of a legendary musician, you’ve got a lot to prove, or else a lot of baggage to clear away as you chart your own course. Vieux Farka Touré has done both. The second son of desert blues guitarist Ali Farka Touré was discouraged from becoming a musician by his father, but Vieux persisted and eventually earned his father’s support. Farka Touré the younger has made a name for himself by combining the sounds of his native Mali with Latin, rock, and jazz sounds over the course of five solo releases. ALSO: Friday, June 8, 9 pm.
Ken Page, Thursday, June 7, Overture Center-Capitol Theater, 7 pm: A versatile performer with a career spanning more than four decades, Ken Page has lent his distinctive voice to everything from Broadway musicals to animated characters. Best known for playing Oogie Boogie in Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, Page in recent years has developed a traveling show, Page by Page, which blends Broadway music with blues favorites. He performs here as part of the Overture Center’s popular cabaret series, a musical dining experience that transforms the Capitol Theater stage into an elegant nightclub.
Isthmus Jazz Festival, Through June 10, various locations: The 10-day extravaganza continues with a June 8 “jazz stroll” on State Street starting at 5 pm. Catch music outdoors at Lisa Link Peace Park or indoors at the Overture Center lobby, Wisconsin Historical Museum, Fair Trade Coffeehouse, Nick’s and the Parthenon. Introduce the next generation to jazz at the Kids’ Jazz Exploration at the Madison Children’s Museum (10 am Saturday). And definitely head to the Memorial Union Terrace for a fantastic lineup starting at 2 pm on Saturday, with Panchromatic Steel, Huntertones, Alison Margaret Quintet and jazz superstars from area high schools and Edgewood College. It all winds up on Sunday (1 pm), at the Madison Jazz Society’s annual year-end party with the Chicago Cellar Boys. Schedule: isthmusjazzfestival.com.
The Toasters, Thursday, June 7, The Frequency, 8:30 pm: Known as one of the pioneers of the second wave of American ska, the Toasters have been laying down groovy tracks since Robert “Bucket” Hingley began the group in 1981. Nine studio albums later, the group has undergone various iterations, with Hingley as the only consistent member. Their most recent record, One More Bullet, released in 2007, maintains much of the band’s traditional ska roots in its thumping bass lines and clean guitars but adds in surprising touches like organ chords. With Los Meskales, Courtesy of Tim.
Frequency 10th Anniversary, Friday, June 8, The Frequency, 7:30 pm: The Frequency is celebrating a decade of support for local music with a birthday bash that doubles as a celebratory send-off for the beloved venue, with two nights of bands that frequently rocked its stage. The Friday lineup of Dead Rider, Free Salamander Exhibit, Cheer-Accident, Faun Fables and Cribshitter is a mix of bands with ties to Madison and Chicago, almost all with psychedelic and experimental rock vibes. Saturday brings the rock with scene stalwarts Skintones and Shotdown, plus The Moguls and Royal Station. ALSO: Saturday, June 9, 8 pm.
Gaines & Wagoner, Friday, June 8, Brink Lounge, 9 pm: Chris Wagoner and Mary Gaines are the lauded married couple that make up this blues-folk duo. Both musicians boast multiple MAMA awards and extensive lists of local and national collaborations (including showing up on The Smashing Pumpkins’ first record). Both are multi-instrumentalists and vocalists, and on their latest release, humbly titled Lo-Fi EP No. 1, they cover classic creepy ballads like the infamous “St. James Infirmary,” alongside their Americana-spanning originals. See story, page XX.
Handel Aria Competition, Friday, June 8, UW Humanities Building-Mills Hall, 7:30 pm: In this annual diva fest, seven finalists (selected from a worldwide pool of more than 110) will compete by performing two arias from Handel’s operas. They will be accompanied by the marvelous Trevor Stephenson and the Madison Bach Musicians. And, this year, one of the finalists is Lindsay Metzger, who studied at UW-Madison and has made the leap to Chicago’s Lyric Opera.
Marquette Waterfront Festival, Saturday-Sunday, June 9-10, Yahara Place Park: Summer really gets rolling with this kickass neighborhood festival that takes place under the majestic cottonwood trees that line Lake Monona. Both days are jam-packed with music on two stages. Prepare to move when Charlie Baran and Radio Free Honduras take the main stage at 4:45 pm on Saturday, and stick around for legendary rocker Michael McDermott. On Sunday, line up at 9:30 am along the Yahara riverfront to catch the Fools’ Flotilla, where boatloads of colorfully costumed characters will float right into the festival; The River Rats, the floating band that accompanies the flotilla, will play a set on the main stage at 11:30 am. Chicago’s The Right Now (4:30 pm Sunday) is another don’t-miss. And when you need to chill out to something a little less intense, just slide on over to the Cottonwood Stage, where a host of touring and local talents will share their acoustic gifts. Ah, Madison!
B-52s, Saturday, June 9, Orpheum, 8 pm: After four decades of oddball art pop and recent television appearances on shows like Portlandia, the band of new wave weirdos from Athens, Georgia, is touring to celebrate 40 years of genre-bending rock ‘n’ roll. With screwy dance bops like “Rock Lobster” and “Love Shack” on the setlist, alongside more ruminative chart-toppers like “Roam,” the band delivers the hits while donning their infamous get-ups and hairdos. Local rock pranksters German Art Students open.
Lee Bains III & the Glory Fires, Saturday, June 9, Mickey’s Tavern, 10 pm: If you didn’t catch Lee Bains III & the Glory Fires at their Madison show last summer, it should be a no-brainer to see them for free this time around (donations for the bands are welcome, of course). Their 2017 double LP Youth Detention is a tour de force, kicking against forms of injustice via intense garage punk influenced by Southern soul shouters. They will hold down the middle spot between opener Cool Building and a closing set of scalding power pop by Rocket Bureau.
Bad Bad Hats,Sunday, June 10, High Noon Saloon, 8 pm: The sugar-sweet melodies and self-aware songwriting from lead vocalist/guitarist Kerry Alexander launched this Minneapolis trio to indie-pop stardom with the group’s 2015 debut LP, Psychic Reader. Now, they’re gearing up to release their much-anticipated sophomore album, Lightning Round, on Aug. 3. See them here with Madison’s own indie-pop darlings Seasaw and Detroit’s Shortly.
Rev. Billy & the Stop Shopping Choir, Wednesday, June 13, First Unitarian Society, 7 pm: If you haven’t encountered Rev. Billy and his massive anti-capitalist gospel choir, you’re in for a treat. The performance troupe/congregation led by the charismatic reverend performs creative actions at corporate behemoths like Starbucks, Disney, Monsanto and Trump Tower, drawing attention to the dangers of predatory consumerism, gentrification and the coming “Shopocopalyse.”
Magic Sword, Thursday, June 14, High Noon Saloon, 8 pm: Just looking at the three members of Magic Sword, you’d think that you’ve been transported to some future hellscape. But the members of the Idaho trio — who wear masks and capes on stage — aren’t sinister at all. In fact, they’re actually a pretty kickass electro-dance rock band, here to save the world from bad vibes. They last released an EP called Legend in 2016.
Find the full rundown of this week's Isthmus Picks here.
