Headliners

Let’s drill down into the summer concert lineups

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Blankets on lush green hillsides, fireflies, Solo cups of expensive beer, and the musky smell of reefer on the breeze — yep, it’s outdoor concert season again. After weathering the polar vortex and a maddening series of spring setbacks, Madison has earned itself some sunshine and guitar-pickin’ — or jazz noodling, or kazoo improv, or whatever floats your boat. Here’s a handful of local and regional concert series and music festivals we recommend rocking wristbands for this summer.

Shitty Barn Sessions

All summer, Spring Green

Live music with no stage. That’s the essence of catching a show in the Shitty Barn, one of the more unusual venues in all of Wisconsin. The barn has its charms, and the indie-and folk-heavy summer lineups are dependably awesome. Many of the concerts are already sold out, but you can still jump on tickets for Ryan Montbleau (June 13), Sleepwalkers (June 18), Liz Cooper & The Stampede (July 17) and Black Pumas (July 18), among others. If we had to choose, we’d see Cooper, who isn’t afraid to drastically shake up the Stampede’s roots-rock sound with outrageous psychedelic effects on her electric guitar. shittybarnsessions.com

UW-Madison Memorial Union Terrace

Thursdays-Saturdays, all summer, Madison

Do you like top-notch people-watching, beer, music, and a stunning backdrop of sailboats on Lake Mendota? You don’t have to tell locals that spending an evening on the lakefront at the Terrace is one of the best summertime concert experiences around, because they’ll already be there. The shows are always free, and this season’s schedule boasts a wide variety of musical performers, including kickass LA psych-rock band Wand (June 22) — seriously, they rock so hard — Milwaukee-based folk band Dead Horses (July 6), wacky singer-songwriter Pat McCurdy (Aug. 17) and Madison-based percussion ensemble Handphibians (Aug. 23), plus many more. union.wisc.edu

Breese Stevens Field

All summer starting June 4, Madison

Historic Breese Stevens Field is a tour stop for some pretty big acts, starting June 4 with Greta Van Fleet, a rising four-piece band out of Michigan pushing an extremely specific kind of classic-rock revivalism by borrowing Led Zeppelin’s riffs, singing style and sense of fashion. Then we can expect Rob Thomas, minus Matchbox Twenty, on June 7; the actual Toby Keith on June 21; and on Aug. 25, Madison will be graced with the presence of Daryl Hall and John Oates (whom you might recognize either because of Oates’ epic ’70s mustache or their string of incredibly famous hits).

Bonfire Music and Arts Festival

June 6-8, Driftless Music Gardens, Yuba

Three nights of camping in rural southwest Wisconsin and a slew of talented blues, folk and Americana musicians: What’s not to like? This year, highlights include the harmony-heavy Feeding Leroy out of Duluth; the nerdy funk of the impeccably named Porky’s Groove Machine; and Madison’s own Lost Lakes playing its brand of “Wisconsiana.”

Isthmus Jazz Fest

June 7-16, Madison

This year’s 10-day jazz festival is a citywide celebration that boogies all over Madison, from Full Compass Systems to Cafe Coda to Madison Circus Space. A dance party hosted by the Madison Jazz Society at Wyndham Garden Hotel, Fitchburg (June 9) features the New Century Jazz Orchestra. A spoken-word/jazz show at the Arts + Literature Laboratory (June 9) explores how these genres have always influenced each other. Check out the jazz showcase hosted by Madison Music Collective (June 8), if for no other reason than to soak in the east side’s coolest new venue, The Winnebago. The popular sessions at Memorial Union Terrace run June 14-15. isthmusjazzfestival.com.

Marquette Waterfront Festival

June 8-9, Yahara Place Park

The annual celebration/fundraiser on Madison’s east side is again set to feature music on two stages, sports, kids’ activities, food from local restaurants and the ultra-colorful Fools’ Flotilla hosted by the River Alliance of Wisconsin. marquette-neighborhood.org.

Blue Ox Music Festival

June 13-15, Whispering Pines Campground, Eau Claire

You know what pairs well with live bluegrass and Americana? Camping in the woods of west-central Wisconsin. And it just so happens that most tickets for this three-day outdoor festival include the cost of tent camping. Score! The lineup features a solid assortment of twangy string-picking headliners such as The Infamous Stringdusters, Trampled By Turtles, and Railroad Earth. Plus, there are plenty of early evening gems like Horseshoes & Hand Grenades and bluegrass OG Del McCoury. blueoxmusicfestival.com

Live on King Street

All summer starting June 14, 115 King St., Madison

The Majestic’s annual run of musical block parties will include Whiskey Myers with Bones Owen & Kelsey Miles Band (June 14), Built To Spill with Orua & Clarke and the Himselfs (June 28), Here Come The Mummies with People Brothers Band (July 19), The Dead South with Armchair Boogie (Aug. 2), Rod Tuffcurls and the Bench Press (Aug. 9), and Prof (Sept. 13). Indie stalwarts Built to Spill could be the show not to miss here, though Canadian folk-bluegrass band The Dead South are sleeper favorites.

Country Fest

June 26-29, Cadott

This annual convention of cowboy boot enthusiasts is always stacked with pop-country megastars, and this year’s lineup is no exception, featuring headliners Luke Bryan, Sugarland and Little Big Town. Old-school types like Phil Vassar and Neal McCoy are also set to appear. countryfest.com

Sessions at McPike Park

All summer starting June 22, 202. S. Ingersoll St., Madison

This laid-back concert series benefits local nonprofits and is jam-packed with local favorites and world curiosities. The new format includes the Pursuit of Happiness Session — a two-day music festival with two stages headlined by The J.C. Brooks Band and Tribu Baharú on June 22-23 — and standalone concerts on Aug. 7 (Old 97’s, Driveway Thriftdwellers), Aug. 8 (Bottle Rockets, The Figgs, BingBong), Aug. 9 (Panchromatic Steel, The Iguanas, Lyrics Born), Aug. 14 (The Travelin’ McCourys, Beth Kille) and Aug. 15 (Dobet Gnahore, Natty Nation). We’re most stoked on Tribu Baharú, a world music band from Bogotá, Colombia, that’s guaranteed to make the crowd move. sessionsatmcpike.org

Summerfest

June 26-July 7, Milwaukee

Billed as the world’s largest music festival, Summerfest has been rolling along every summer for more than 50 years. This year’s embarrassment of musical talent includes J-Lo (July 3), Willie Nelson (June 27), Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg and Schoolboy Q (July 7) and Death Cab for Cutie with The Killers (July 5). And that’s just at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater. Ground Stage headliners include The Lonely Island (June 28), Young the Giant (July 2), Atmosphere (July 6) and Hanson (June 26). That’s right, “MMMBop” Hanson. But if you want to be wowed by world-class showmanship, catch Rodrigo y Gabriela on July 7 at the Uline Warehouse Stage; the duo will melt your face with flamenco-metal guitar playing. summerfest.com

National Women’s Music Festival

July 4-7, Marriott Madison West, Middleton

Produced by the nonprofit organization Women In the Arts, this four-day music festival and “cultural extravaganza” features workshops, concerts, comedy, theater presentations, a marketplace, newly released films and videos, a live auction and writers’ series. Musical performers include Nan Washburn, Cris Williamson, Gaye Adegbalola & the Wild Rūtz, and many more. Williamson, a seasoned folk artist, has been making music for and about women since the 1970s, when she launched Olivia Records. nwmf.info

Driftless Music Festival

July 13, Eckhart Park, Viroqua

If you’re still paying off the crippling debt from last year’s festival season, Driftless might be just the ticket, because tickets are free. The always-eclectic lineup features modern hillbillies The Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers, Texas dance hall music from Honky-Tonk Jump, and the salsa-specializing Madison All Stars.

Rock Fest

July 17-20, Cadott

A month after Cadott’s Country Fest, there will be far more devil horns in the air especially when the likes of Rob Zombie, Five Finger Death Punch, Evanescence, Breaking Benjamin, Marilyn Manson and Mastodon take the stage. For our money, Mastodon — with its varied influences, world-class chops and utter heaviness — is the cream of the crop. rock-fest.com

Jazz at Five

Wednesdays on the 100 block of State St., Aug. 7 - Sept. 4

Now running more than a quarter century strong, this late-summer music series transforms the top of State Street into a pop-up jazz club on Wednesday evenings. Each show begins with youth performers, then keeps going with two more top-notch jazz groups. This year’s schedule kicks off Aug. 7 with Bad Philosopher with Tony Barba, and the Ben Rosenblum Sextet. Rosenblum is a Columbia-Juilliard graduate with impressive piano chops who dabbles in bop-era jazz. Check out jazzatfive.org for the full lineup.

Concerts on the Square

Wednesdays, June 26-July 31, Capitol Square, Madison

The Capitol lawn is overtaken by thousands of blanket-and-picnic-basket-bearing summer revelers, basking in the glory of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. The season finale on July 31 features Russian piano virtuoso Ilya Yakushev tackling Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, a real summer banger. wcoconcerts.org

Sugar Maple Traditional Music Festival

Aug. 2-3, Lake Farm County Park

This year, the two-day festival “exploring American roots music” features Larry Sparks, Barnes, Gordy, Walsh Trio, Jeffery Broussard & the Creole Cowboys (a smokin’ hot zydeco/Cajun band), among many others. sugarmaplefest.org