Trampled By Turtles plays tonight at Overture Hall in Madison WI. They’ll be featuring their latest album, Wild Animals, which was released on July 15. This will be my second time seeing them. They have a very loyal, almost jam band-like fan base which is not used to seeing them in a beautiful venue like Overture Hall. It’s always fun watching how the hippies react to being out of their element in such a nice place. Here’s a well-produced half hour live set from last year.
Another fun band who played last Saturday at AtwoodFest were The Madpolecats. Their sound is probably best described as Rockabilly. They also bring a lot of energy to their shows! Here’s a taste from a Madpolecats show last year at the Club Tavern in Middleton WI.
Although it’s the newest of our Madison WI east side neighborhood summer festivals, La Fete de Marquette has become the biggest with the most impressive music lineup. Another highlight was Shannon McNally with her band which included Cindy Cashdollar! Shannon’s voice is haunting and some folks think she channels a little bit of Loretta Lynn. Her set with Cindy was killer and then she came back to do a couple numbers with Anders Osborne. It was an awesome night of music in spite of the rain!
This year, La Fete de Marquette moved to a new location – the new Central Park in Madison WI. Last Thursday, after a grand opening program for the new park, we were treated to some terrific music from the Honey Island Swamp Band. Those of us who haven’t been to New Orleans for some years hadn’t seen them and were blown away! Here’s a taste from their set at the New Orleans Jazz Fest this past April.
Summerfest on the lakefront in Milwaukee WI is in full swing! I’m heading down today for a couple days of great music! Among the many bands today on the 10 main stages are Los Lonely Boys, G Love & Special Sauce, Rusted Root and Switchfoot. I hope to catch one or more of them but I’m going to make a special effort to see Yonder Mountain String Band. You can find full concerts online but I just wanted to feature a couple songs and one I’ve always liked no matter who’s doing it – “Morning Dew.”
The Sadies performing ‘There’s A Higher Power.” The Sadies played in Madison WI on Saturday night for the 25th Anniversary of the Marquette Waterfront Festival. The Sadies are from Toronto and have played in Madison 3 times over the last 4 or 5 years. They always put on a high energy show and last Saturday was no exception – the encore lasted 38 minutes! Thanks to all the volunteers who worked so hard to make it another great festival!
Poco performing “A Good Feeling To Know.” I found my autographed Poco hat yesterday. Hard to believe Poco was founded in 1968! The line-up has changed over the years but Rusty Young has been there from the beginning and Jack Sundrud has been there since 1985. I saw Poco a few years ago at the intimate Green Lake WI Opera House with my then girlfriend, Holly. It was an awesome show and we got to meet the band afterwards and nice guys that they are, they autographed my hat. I’m not with Holly anymore – she didn’t tell me she was married! – but at least I still have the hat!
Madison Area Blues & More 