You may have noticed some construction barrels and "Do Not Enter" and "One Way" signs on Willy Street this summer..and may have worried what that would mean for the Willy Street Fair. Well worry no more! The fair is on this Saturday and Sunday! Bob Queen with the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Association says you won't have to wear your hard hat..but white shoes might be the worse for wear afterwards.
If you've never been to the Willy Street Fair, you've really got to check it out. It's a bittersweet thing, because it means the end of summer. But it's a party like no other. There will be entertainment on ten stages over two days, plus food and beverage vendors, street performances, and a parade that could only happen on Willy Street!
For the 3rd year, the Willy Street Fair teams up with the Wisconsin Union Theatre and the World Music Festival to bring acts from around the world to Madison on Saturday. New this year..free Greyhound bus shuttles from campus to the fair on Saturday.
Here's the entertainment lineup for 2011:
Saturday, September 17 / 1:45 pm to 9:00 pm, 900/1000 block of Williamson StreetMain Stage
1:45 Luisa Maita
3:30 Marco Calliari
5:30 Sergent Garcia
7:30 Bomba Estereo
3:00 & 5:00 pm Dragon Knights Grounds Parade
Folk stage
2:00 Blake Thomas and Josh Harty
3:30 Eric Schwartz
5:30 Cris Plata
Madcat Electronic/DJ Stage
2:00-7:00 Local/Regional Electronic/DJ Performers
7:00 East Coast/West Coast Legend, Dr. Dunks
Sunday, September 18 / 11:00 am to 7:00 pm, 800, 900 and 1000 blocks of williamson street
Willy street fair parade: 11:00 amMain stage
1:00 Emmettville
2:30 the Midwesterners
4:00 Bumpus
5:45 the Kissers
Kidâs Stage
1:00 Mad Rollinâ Dolls Demonstration
2:00 Wil-Mar Teen Fashion Show
3:00 Madgadders
4:00 EMCC BreakDancers
5:00 Truly Remarkable Loon
6:30 Willy Street Fair Raffle
Culture Stage
11:45 Yid Vicious
1:00 Cajun Strangers
2:00 Sadira and the Riad Dance Company
2:45 An Blas Quartet
3:50 Xtring
4:55 Atimevu Drum and Dance
6:00 Charanga Agosa
WORT Underground Stage
12:00 Whitney Mann (& Band)
1:10 Roboman
2:20 the Shabelles
3:30 Venus In Furs
4:40 Weapons of Mass DeFunktion
5:50 (From Toronto, Canada) The Sadies
Folk Stage
12:00 Small Potatoes
2:00 Bret & Frisk
3:30 Bill & Kate isles
5:00 Moonhouse
You've gotta hand it to the folks with the Marquette Neighborhood Association..they've put together a great lineup for this weekend's Waterfront Festival.
I'm particularly exited about two of the acts--Robbie Fulks, who plays Sunday afternoon at 2:45, and the Bottle Rockets later on at 6:15.
Robbie Fulks is a gifted singer-songwriter who is just twisted enough to keep it interesting. I've never seen him live, so I'm really looking forward to it.
I'd say the Bottle Rockets are going to end the festival with a bang (because of their name)...but that sounds a bit trite. So I'll just say this is rock and roll...wait here's a line I can steal that sums them up perfectly. The Spartanburg Herald says "If Uncle Tupelo is the Beatles of the alt-country movement, the Bottle Rockets are certainly the Rolling Stones. Featuring a brash, in-your-face sound with as much of a Lynyrd Skynyrd influence as Gram Parsons." I'm not sure where Spartanburg is, but I love the quote! I saw the Bottle Rockets twice..once they opened for John Fogerty in Milwaukee..and the second time I saw them at the Annex in Madison and I'm a big fan.
The Marquette Waterfront Festival is this Saturday and Sunday (June 11th &12th) at Yahara Place Park, on the shore of Lake Monona where it meets the Yahara River..just a couple blocks off Williamson Street. It's the first of a lot of great Eastside festivals..with plenty of food and beverage vendors. They depend on sales of beer to break even or hopefully make a profit..so don't bring in your own beer. That's just lame.
See the full schedulehere.
Here's another chance for you to enjoy some great music, and help somebody at the same time.
You may have heard that Donna Linderman, the wife of blues harmonica player Westside Andy, is going through a major health battle..and although they do have insurance, costs are mounting. Local musicians are holding another benefit this Sunday at the Harmony Bar.
Suggested donation is $10..which is a steal to see these great bands: Cash Box Kings, the Midwesterners, Frankie Lee, Mel Ford, Billy Flynn and Glenn Davis. The music goes from 3-9pm.
To get you fired up for the show..check out this great performance from Cash Box Kings at the House of Blues.
Today is World Goth Day, a day to celebrate the post-punk, anti-establishment, dark clothes-wearing subculture.
I'm pretty sure I was a Goth for at least for little while, for two reasons.
1) I almost hardly ever wear pastels.
2) I used to...
Hello to all from Nfusion. Another round of challenges has moved beyond us all. Congrats to those of us lucky enough to have survived to this point. Sad to see the others eliminated as they were all very creative and talented. Good Bye to our new friends...
This morning it seemed like just about everyone was in the mood for some Funky Cold Medina...except Kitty. This ridiculous song made it all the way to number 3 in 1989. Jonathan says any song that references advertising dogs from the 80's has got...
Madison's summer music festival season kicks off this weekend with Brat Fest at Willow Island, where there are more bands than you can shake a bratwurst at! Check out the Brat Fest website to plan your itinerary.
Next up is the Marquette...
John Fogerty is making the talk show rounds this week, stopping in to see David Letterman Tuesday and Wednesday, and the ladies of "The View" on Thursday.
He's promoting his new album, "Wrote a Song For Everyone" which comes out next Tuesday...
It's a miracle that both Jonathan and KItty wanted to hear Barry Manilow this morning. They were not alone. Plenty of Fanilow's called in to vote yes. One caller claimed to have seen Manilow in concert 25 times!
The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, it is another gorgeous Monday, fit for another great show at the Crystal Corner tonight.
Through locking ourselves in the barn on Irish Lane, tossing some ideas around, as well as a few choice beverages to...
Hey everybody, we were thrown for a loop by the twist this week, but were able to make one of our "oldie but a goldie" songs fit the mold.
We have a few songs that we have played consistently over the years, and we are very happy that we will be...
Today is World Goth Day, a day to celebrate the post-punk, anti-establishment, dark clothes-wearing subculture.
I'm pretty sure I was a Goth for at least for little while, for two reasons.
1) I almost hardly ever wear pastels.
2) I used to...
Hello to all from Nfusion. Another round of challenges has moved beyond us all. Congrats to those of us lucky enough to have survived to this point. Sad to see the others eliminated as they were all very creative and talented. Good Bye to our new friends...
This morning it seemed like just about everyone was in the mood for some Funky Cold Medina...except Kitty. This ridiculous song made it all the way to number 3 in 1989. Jonathan says any song that references advertising dogs from the 80's has got...
Madison's summer music festival season kicks off this weekend with Brat Fest at Willow Island, where there are more bands than you can shake a bratwurst at! Check out the Brat Fest website to plan your itinerary.
Next up is the Marquette...
John Fogerty is making the talk show rounds this week, stopping in to see David Letterman Tuesday and Wednesday, and the ladies of "The View" on Thursday.
He's promoting his new album, "Wrote a Song For Everyone" which comes out next Tuesday...
It's a miracle that both Jonathan and KItty wanted to hear Barry Manilow this morning. They were not alone. Plenty of Fanilow's called in to vote yes. One caller claimed to have seen Manilow in concert 25 times!
The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, it is another gorgeous Monday, fit for another great show at the Crystal Corner tonight.
Through locking ourselves in the barn on Irish Lane, tossing some ideas around, as well as a few choice beverages to...
Hey everybody, we were thrown for a loop by the twist this week, but were able to make one of our "oldie but a goldie" songs fit the mold.
We have a few songs that we have played consistently over the years, and we are very happy that we will be...
