A.V. Club’s summer outdoor show guide

Greetings and happy springtime, Madison. Summer approaches, you like to drink, you like music, and we like to enable. So let’s do this shit—and of course, check back for more information on the summer’s many shows (both indoor and outdoor) in your local Onion and here on Decider.

The Terrace
Some of you will go to the Memorial Union Terrace to see music, others will go to get drunk and then get caught off-guard by music. Either way, it should be pretty easy to get with the agreeable roots-rock of the Felice Brothers (May 30) or the disco grooves of a DJ set from Hercules And Love Affair, with Madison’s own Nick Nice opening up (June 18). If you’re not trekking to Chicago’s Pitchfork Music Festival, you can usually count on the Terrace getting a free taste of the fest’s lineup the same weekend. This time, Yeasayer and the ecstatic Ponytail will share a pre-’Fork bill (July 17). Perhaps crazier, though, are a scheduled “round-robin”-style show from Dan Deacon, Deerhunter, and No Age (Aug. 6), or the formidable British psych-prog ensemble Ozric Tentacles (June 11).

Still, the rock and dance stuff gives way for such offerings as the Isthmus Jazz Fest (June 4-7), headlined by Puerto Rican sax master David Sánchez. There’s also a series of local bands in the works for Wednesday nights throughout the summer—we’ll fill you in once the details are firmed up. Some locals already have weekend Terrace shows lined up, including Blueheels (July 4) and Natty Nation (June 20).

The usual East Side suspects
But of course, Madison has some near-East Side pride to go with its Terrace pride. The best part of town’s usual summer festivities begins with Waterfront Fest (June 13-14, Yahara Place Park), whose musical peak would have to be a Sunday set from Vieux Farka Touré, a Malian guitarist who admirably picks up on the legacy of his father, Ali Farka Touré. Other highlights include Pale Young Gentlemen’s set on Sunday and Occidental Brothers Dance Band International bringing more African grooves on Saturday.

Another East Side festival tradition is Cajun music, and Waterfront Fest includes Lafayette, La.’s own Bonsoir Catin, but that Louisiana flavor gets stronger at the Fete De Marquette (July 9-12, 50 S. Baldwin St.). New Orleans’ The Radiators top the final day’s bill, and before that there’s Feufollet and Cedric Watson And Bijou Creole, to name a couple. Dengue Fever, though originally scheduled to return to this year’s Fete, has cancelled, but there’s still some America-meets-world flavor from The Duhks, not to mention Algeria’s Watcha Clan and the rabble-rousing Haitian ensemble Boukman Eksperyans.

Orton Park Fest (Aug. 28-30, Orton Park) puts a stronger emphasis on homegrown acts, from its opening-night show from Cycropia Aerial Dance Theater to local bands like The Rousers and The Motor Primitives, and its final day includes scenes from a musical comedy by Catherine Capellaro and Andrew Rohn of Walmartopia fame. Orton Park also includes a set from the funk group Trombone Shorty And Orleans Avenue and the always-excellent Robbie Fulks.

Roots and rawk
Fulks is also on the bill for the Sugar Maple Traditional Music Festival (July 31-Aug. 1, Lake Farm County Park), which always pulls together an esteemed lineup from across Americana’s various genres. J.D. Crowe made his name beginning in the ’70s, mixing bluegrass with other styles like rock and blues, and Shotgun Party is a sassy Western-swing trio from Texas. Adding yet more Cajun spice to the summer is zydeco man Marc Savoy and his band. Taking a somewhat different tack on American roots music, the Madison Blues Society Picnic (June 20, Warner Park) brings in Chicago bluesman Linsey Alexander and a band called Groove Hogs, among others. While Decider’s still not exactly sure if people go to World’s Largest Brat Fest (May 22-25, Willow Island at Alliant Energy Center) for the music, there’s certainly a lot of it, from local artists like John Masino and Mark Croft to young Florida bluesman Damon Fowler.

And, of course, just as the summer reaches its torrid, wretched peak, the annual JJO Band Camp (Aug. 9, Willow Island At Alliant Energy Center) oozes back into town with a few of the bands that give hard rock and pop music a bad name at once, including headliners Mudvayne.

Movies
Like the Terrace but a few stories up and with crazier decorations, the Madison Museum Of Contemporary Art is a fine, rarified spot for drinking and hanging when the excuse is right. And behold, MMOCA will once again be hosting its summer Rooftop Cinema series of art films and oddities on the first four Fridays in June. These can actually draw a good-sized crowd, so show up early or risk having to take a seat on the post-modern cement. As usual, the lineup is short but quite eclectic: The June 5 show celebrates the short films of animator Emily Hubley; a June 12 screening called Above And Beyond collects short films that look toward the skies and heavenly objects; June 19 features two films about frogs and toads; and June 26 explores some unlikely meetings of film and music via shorts whose soundtracks range from Stravinsky to Devo to Elliott Smith.

The Terrace’s Monday-night Lakeside Cinema series (June 8-Aug. 10) is slated to offer a more nostalgic treat this summer, featuring movies from the '90s—starting with Edward Scissorhands and ending with The Matrix. While the patio at Mickey’s Tavern can get crowded pretty quickly, it’ll be worth cramming in there on a couple of nights during the summer: Multi-instrumental mischief-maker Biff Blumfumgagnge (of local band The Gomers) will be improvising live musical accompaniment to F.W. Murnau’s silent horror classic Nosferatu (July 11) and a to-be-determined assortment that’ll likely include some old silent cartoons (Aug. 29).

Regulars
As always, Madison’s summers offer plenty of recurring events to help break up that week. The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra’s Wednesday-night Concerts On The Square (June 24-July 29, Capitol Square) are a swell excuse to picnic and booze it up on the Capitol lawn, and Lunch Time Live (Tuesdays at noon, Capitol Square. June 16-Aug. 4) returns with its usual mix of local bands, including The Getaway Drivers (June 16) and Roots Collective (Aug. 4). The schedule for Folk On State (Saturdays, 1 p.m., State and Frances Streets, June 6-Sept. 5) has just been firmed up, and will include such local faves as Jeremiah Nelson (July 25). Jazz At Five (Thursdays at 5 p.m., Mifflin and State Streets, Aug. 6-Sept. 3)? Check. Dane Dances (Aug. 7, 21, and 28, Monona Terrace Rooftop)? Check.

Road trips
Milwaukee’s waterfront is an easy hour-and-a-half drive from Madison, and Summerfest is one of the best reasons to make the trip (Milwaukee, June 25-July 5). Milwaukee’s “Big Gig” is painfully slow at rolling out its full lineups, but so far it’s announced a few acts worth checking out: Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band (June 25), Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson (July 1), No Doubt (July 2), The Roots (July 3), and The English Beat (July 5). There will also be some Madison bands lining up Summerfest dates, so we’ll do our best to report on that online in the coming weeks. As usual, there will also be some locals making the trek to Sturgeon Bay’s Steel Bridge SongFest (June 11-14, multiple venues in Sturgeon Bay), with Madisonians like Blueheels, Whore Du Jour, and Pushmi-Pullyu joining organizer Pat MacDonald and Freedy Johnston, among many others.

Oh, and of course we can't forget a few honkin' big concerts going on at the big-ass Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy this year, including Aerosmith (June 13), Phish (June 20, 21), Dave Matthews Band (July 18, 19), Coldplay (July 25), and Jimmy Buffet (Aug. 29).