CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF SCARY GOOD MUSIC WITH A MISSION

Need a great gift idea? Maybe just an adequate one? We can help with that! Give the gift of concert tix, either to a specific show or just an amount that’s good to any shows of their choice. Just email Charlie for info. Link for email is below, and if it doesn’t work in your browser, try workdog(at)mindspring)dot)com.

Looking to play here? Emails only, please, and Read this first by clicking here.

All shows are at the North Madison Congregational Church, 1271 Durham Rd, Madison. See you here soon!!

You can read this first, or scroll down to the shows:

Ticket Sales or Reservations:

1A: Reservations help you get a better seat, but not necessary. We try hard to make sure there’s always room for walk-ins. We will cut off reservations when the main room is full, and leave the side open, for those that know what that means. Check each concert for status.

1B:To reserve seats or for more information for these shows please send us an email. All seats are assigned and reserved in the order in which they come in, so if you reserve early, you get good seats. Keep in mind sponsors have the first few rows, no matter when you email. Bribery helps, too. If the link isn’t working for you, the email is: workdog(at)mindspring.com, or call Charlie at 203-668-3735. Leave a message if he can’t hear the phone due to tools powering away.

1C: Pay at the door, always. Cash or check is fine. We don’t do the pre-pay thing because we’re too lazy to figure it out. Plus, if you’re sick or something, you’re already miserable, and losing the price of a ticket makes it worse.

We are the only concert venue with a mission.We want to educate, inspire, and yes, entertain. Not to waste space here, please look at the “workshops: the mission” page to see what we mean. Virtually EVERY concert is a fundraiser for a local non-profit.

And of course, visit our Facebook Page for links to really cool music… and  you know, stuff.

Thanks to Sam Reider and the Human Hands for a great show, and thanks to all who came out in the snow! It turned out to be a perfect storm.

February 15, 7:00 PM

YOUTH IN A ROMAN FIELD

I’m going to lead with this statement: Claire has the sweetest voice that’s ever been here since Aoife O’Donovan. There. Now the rest: Youth In A Roman Field is a most interesting collaborative fronted by singer-songwriter-violinist Claire Wellin. The band can shrink to one, or expand to something like 30 when they feel like orchestrating something in an Icelandic volcano. (It’s true, looky here) Most often, though, it’s 4 or 5 musicians who are all extremely accomplished. All that’s insignificant, as what Youth really is is an attitude and an experience. Sure, Claire’s voice is simply remarkable, and the songs are equally superb, but it’s how the tunes are arranged, the super-relaxed and laid back manner in which they’re performed. The band is clearly having fun playing, and it shows. They don’t worry about perfection, they just feel the music so profoundly. This will be a great Brooklyn-based contrast with Sam Reider the month before in January. With Sam you’re swept away by the sheer technical skills, with Youth, you’re sucked in by the sheer intricacy of the subtle rhythms and magical voices. Really cool stuff. Adults $25, kids the 5 smackers.

March 21, 7:00 PM

Barefoot Movement

I’ve always loved Barefoot Movement, and we’ve had them twice now for holiday shows. Those were great, but they never really had the chance to show what they’re all about. Now they will. Once again, we’re talking about four folks who can really play. But once again, they’re well past the point of worrying about whether or not they’re showing off chops. Killer harmonies, but used to just slay soulful and rocking old-time/bluegrass/soul/R&B inflected tunes that like every good thing are impossible to adequately describe with words. Take that you ad copy expository writing professor from back in college. Adults $25, kids $5

And then….

April 25 7:00 PM

Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas

Do I really need to go on about this? From their first time here almost 15 years ago to now. Still two of the most influential voices in violin and cello. Still cranking out some of the most original sounding stuff. A perfect season-ender. And yeah, it’s also the volunteer/sponsor pizza party. Adults $30, kids the usual $5.00

 

SUMMER 2020:

In the summer, we’ll be back at the Rettich Preserve holding out annual fund-raising barbecue concert to benefit the Madison Land Conservation Trust.
We‘ve had some wonderful artists through the years, and this will be no exception!

We will also try a couple of other outdoor fundraising events if we can arrange things. We’ll see and post when they coming up.

As for the Fall indoor schedule, there’s nothing in stone yet as to both location or dates. “Location” means we might be holding something at a historic building in need of funds, but those are all in the works. That said, two pretty astonishing musicians we are speaking with are:

Ashley Bathgate:A most amazing cellist and musician. In the 25 years of the series, this will be the first solo show. I’ll get into descriptions as we get something finalized. But let’s be blunt; Ashley’s at the cutting edge of music.

Katie Martucci Band:

A new wave of musician/artist/whatever that does it all. Frequent Apartment Sessions collaborator, multi-instrumentalist, blah blah blah. Just a beautiful singer to boot. This will be cool.