Ween-influenced genre hoppers, Cribshitter is Madison, Wisconsin's premier fog machine-forward soft rock act. No one in their right state of mind could’ve possibly seen the first iteration of Madison’s most unapologetically unhinged band and predicted they’d be one of the most enduring acts the city would have throughout the 2000s, 2010s, and into the 2020s.

What started out as a near-parody of pop bands has turned into a seriously ambitious musical effort spiked with loads of obscure cultural references that will make you laugh. Cribshitter could well be Madison’s Flight of the Conchords.

And we’ll start our evening off with Free Dirt.

Free Dirt writes sturdy, dependable, sometimes funny songs that ring familiar while also feeling a bit tough to pin down. On stage they take those songs, pull them apart and use the bricks to fashion a wobbling Tower of Babel. Come see how close they get to heaven before it all tumbles back down to earth.

Tickets $12 in advance/$15 at the door

Madison, Wisconsin based funk band, RARE ELEMENT has developed a strong reputation for its high-intensity, live shows.  The band's highly talented 7-piece roster, including 3-piece horn section, bring massive energy to the stage at each performance.  The band is influenced by classic funk artists such as Fred Wesley, The Meters, Clyde Stubblefield, and Herbie Hancock.  See for yourself why Maximum Ink Magazine dubbed Rare Element as "Madison's Newest Super Group"!

Tickets $15 in advance, $20 at the door

We’re thrilled to welcome back Drew Peterson to Slowpoke with DellWood. Drew has a brand new album coming this spring, and a fresh vinyl pressing of his first album with Forty Watt Bulb, in honor of the 20th Anniversary. This is going to be a special show from one of our favorite performers.

Drew Peterson is an independent Americana singer-songwriter who has captivated fans across the Midwest for over 20 years. Since fronting the Minnesota-based group Forty Watt Bulb, Peterson has spawned two other successful Roots projects; the twangy, upbeat Dead Pigeons and bluegrass-influenced Boxstore Bird.

Opening our evening will be special guest, DellWood.

DellWood is a duo of young musicians with enough skill and talent to entertain for hours and a repertoire that's bound to capture the hearts of music lovers of all ages. 
They have an energetic and diverse stage presence with songs ranging from originals and Americana to their spin on an assortment of your favorite songs.

$15 in advance, $20 at the door

Gloria Swansong resurrects the great Dames of Broadway and Old Hollywood! From being NYC's premiere Judy Garland, to recreating your favorite iconic Hollywood costumes, to delivering show-stopping Broadway numbers - she'll always leave you wanting more. Never one to be left in the dust, Gloria Swansong is also a political SLAM poet and gives lectures on the history of queer fashion demolishing the gender binary. She speaks openly about her experience as a trans non-binary individual and happily educates audiences on gender theory and the modern trans rights movement.

Tickets $15 in advance/$20 at the door

Regular artists at House of Blues- Chicago, The Blue Olives (based out of Madison, WI) have performed over 3500 shows nationally. Once described as "tight enough to be professional. yet loose enough to be really fun..." we feature a hornline, killer vocal harmonies, searing guitar and funky  rhythm section.  Known as one of the fiercest jam bands around with a huge repertoire, we easily go from playing formal corporate events to large venue rock concert atmospheres.

Tickets $15 in advance, $20 at the door

Boasting a lifelong career as an actor (including 3 seasons with APT) with a deep knowledge of funk and soul music under his belt, Barlow aims to be the Renaissance Man of your alt-R&B fantasies. Expressive lyrics, believable angst and a colored past all bubble together for impressive, passionate music. Reminiscent of Daniel Caesar, Anderson .Paak, and Miguel, Barlow's debut self-titled EP with veteran producer Bionik (Lizzo, Far East Movement, Sophia Eris) is raw, eclectic and carries on the tradition of great R&B from Minneapolis, Minnesota. His live band includes Bionik (guitar, vocals) and Eric Mayson (keyboard, vocals).

Tickets $15 in advance/$20 at the door

Zach Pietrini’s Midwestern, indie americana songwriting aesthetic is the sonic embodiment of a well-worn denim jacket. At the forefront of the Americana resurgence, Pietrini—lead vocalist and guitarist for his namesake band—takes an everyman’s approach to the genre with a knack for honest storytelling and a wistfulness that comes across in both the music and lyrics. The band takes its cues from Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, and David Ramirez, reinterpreting and rejuvenating American roots styles through a contemporary lens. Pietrini’s songs “situate him at the confluence of all that an urban Millennial audience finds relatable” (Milwaukee Magazine), performing old-soul themes of ennui, regret, disappointment, and nostalgia with a modern twist.

Tickets $12 in advance/$15 at the door

The Moon Gypsies officially became a band in 1998 when Robert J. Conaway (known by most as Robert J) joined forces with bassist/vocalist, Mary Gaines, and multi-instrumentalist, Chris Wagoner at the end of their almost decade-long run with partner, Asa Miura, in The Common Faces.  Drummer, Mauro Magellan (of Georgia Satellites fame) rounded out the original lineup of the Moon Gypsies. The Moon Gypsies released three recordings from ’98 until 2008.  Their first release, “The Moon Gypsies” featured Mary singing Robert J’s song, “A Million Miles Away” which won 1st place in the Billboard Magazine Songwriting Contest followed by “jumping in the band van” and hitting the road—playing venues all over the country and opening for a long list of top bills including Taj Mahal, The Subdudes, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Delbert McClinton, Keb Mo, Dr. John and others.   

Veteran Midwest musicians, Robert J, Chris Wagoner and Mary Gaines are all Music Notes Lifetime Achievement award winners along with multiple WAMI’s (Wisconsin Area Music Industry) and MAMA’s (Madison Area Music Awards).  Reunited after years of other projects (Robert J’s “Rowdy Prairie Dogs” and Chris & Mary’s various groups—Bob Westfall Band, Graminy, The Stellanovas), the original lineup of the The Moon Gypsies is back at it with Mauro Magellan on the drums, bringing a full blown bluesy Americana vibe to all their shows!

Tickets $15 in advance/$20 at the door

"Ain’t Nobody"... that can..."Rock Steady" like the R&B funk band V Funk! Valerie B. & the Boyz, aka “V” Funk, is a Milwaukee based R&B funk cover band led by bandleaders and managers Valerie Benton and Vincent Chambers. V Funk is a high powered, high energy funk band that has hit the music scene entertaining and engaging music loving fans from all across Wisconsin and the Midwest, since 2012. Contemporary R&B, soul and funk is evident in the sound of the band. They can take a funky, old school tune and apply their own mix of versatility, originality, and creativity into that song. They have been described as “…one of the best Soul, R&B groups EVER HEARD!! They BLEW US AWAY!!” V Funk adds their own musical flavor to cover Old School, Funk, R&B/Soul, Blues, and popular songs spanning the 60's to today's current hits. That musical flavor is called “V” Funk!

Tickets $15 in advance/$20 at the door

The Stop and Listen bring old-time music to the modern era with grit, drive, and radiant harmonies. Together they play hot-old time fiddle tunes, jug band blues songs, and the occasional early country song or bluegrass standard. Known for their contemporary take music by classic string bands like the Mississippi Sheiks (where they got their name), the Skillet Lickers, and Gus Cannon’s Jug Stompers, The Stop and Listen brings their high energy to the low fidelity. Stop, listen, and let‘er rip! 

We’ll begin our evening with The Firesides.

The Firesides have spent the better part of the last 10 years playing barn dances throughout the beautiful Driftless Area of rural Southwestern Wisconsin! The Firesides, perform a variety of Appalachian & Midwestern instrumentals, cowboy songs, blues, traditional song-gems, and their own originals.

Tickets $12 in advance/$15 at the door

Slowpoke is excited to welcome Rianna Marie and her band. Rianna is based in Madison, WI. Throughout her years of writing she’s been inspired by artists like James Taylor, Lori Mckenna, Norah Jones, Carole King, and Tyler Childers. Fiddle crying & banjo picking accompany her strong sense of lyricism. With folk roots and western branches, she creates a forest of songs and stories.

We'll start our evening off with the Spine Stealers. The Spine Stealers are a two-gal duo making “spooky folk” influenced by the north-wood Wisconsin pines, 24/7 truck stop diners, heartbreak and dark lakes.

Tickets $12 in advance/$15 at the door

Founded in 2014, the Bill Roberts Combo brings a tight, nuanced, and rhythmically powerful presentation to blues-jazz unlike anything you've heard before. Bill Roberts has been voted best electric guitarist in the Madison area, and his award-winning album Blues Rides Shotgun has received critical claim as best blues album of the year. Backing Bill is a band of veteran players who have performed nationally and internationally in such places as France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Mexico, and elsewhere. BRC delivers grace, subtlety, power and passion in their unique and mesmerizing take on the jazz-blues tradition every time they take the stage.

Roscoe Foster is an American blues and blues rock singer from Minneapolis whose deep melodies and thrilling intensity transcend boundaries and enthrall audiences. In the music business, Foster has made a name for himself with his distinctive fusion of modern rock and traditional blues.

$12 in advance/$15 at the door

If Automatic Lover is a concept band, the concept is simple: bring together a lifetime of inspiration to make music that moves.

It’s a sound that can change on a dime. Like pulling from a wall full of vinyl, the band slides from deep groove to backbeat, from driving rock to soca, to find music that revels in surprises.

Page through their influences and you’ll hear strands of the Budos Band and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Khruangbin and Deep Sea Diver. They can be as electric as early Police, as funked out as the Brand New Heavies, and as joyful as Manu Chao.  

Tickets $12 in advance/$15 at the door

Christo Ruppenthal is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist whose professional music career started in 2003.  He presents a unique mixture of Jazz / Vaudeville era novelty infused hot steel guitar and ukulele playing from the 1920s and 30s "Hawaiian Craze" as well as the swinging sounds of Django Reinhardt’s 1930s and 40s guitar-driven Hot Club jazz. Think “Hot Hawaiian guitar meets Jazz à la Django!” Christo is an avid recording artist and performer with thousands of gigs both across the U.S. and internationally to his credit.

Much of his Novelty Combo's repertoire comes from Christo's “Antique Aloha” series of solo recordings and his all original "Café Alongé" release. They also showcase a wide variety of exciting guitar and steel guitar centered jazz standards. They present that repertoire in high-energy eclectic shows. 

Tickets $12 in advance/$15 at the door

Join us as Violet Palms celebrates the release of their newest album!

Violet Palms combines early 2000s nostalgia and modern influences to create tight, direct rock music that is honest, occasionally goofy, and - because they can't help themselves - funky.

Birthed from late night songwriting sessions between two longtime friends, the power of the dimly-lit kitchen table inspired Marcus Truschinski and Ben Feiner to share their music with friends, who were naturally added to complement the sound. Long time local music maker and engineer, Michael Mertens hopped back on the kit after years of playing guitar and Tim Gittings, actor and advocate, brought the funk on bass. Craig Benzine, Driftless Pony Club singer/guitarist, YouTube star and Marcus’s best friend from elementary school completed the band by playing off of Ben’s chugging guitar work to create a synchronized and dueling attack.

Pay what you choose. Suggested $10 at the door.

Slapdash Bluegrass is an old time, country, and bluegrass band that weaves melodic picking with tight vocal harmony. The band plays original music, traditional old time and bluegrass tunes, and folk and country covers. From festival stages to dive bars to fellowship halls, Slapdash Bluegrass draws a crowd with foot-stomping, finger-blazing barn burners, and keeps a crowd with nuanced writing and charm.

$12 in advance / $15 at the door

The Honey Pies is an exciting collaboration of Madison-based music veterans. Jodi Jean Amble made a major splash in the Chicago scene fronting her eponymous band—nominally jazz, but equally at home with, pop, country, and more—and as a member of the highly eclectic ensemble Jenny Dragon. Tom Waselchuk leads the MAMA Award-winning Americana band The Dang-Its and has performed for more than twenty years in a free-swinging guitar duo with multi-instrumentalist Doug Brown. Doug has long been among the most in-demand freelance sidemen on the Madison music scene in a variety of genres, as well as being a band-leader, composer, and arranger. Matt Rodgers is among southern Wisconsin’s busiest bass players, equally at home in most any style of music. 

Tickets $12 in advance, $15 at the door

Jambidextrous is a 5 piece jazz group of recent vintage, but comprised of 5 veteran musicians from the Spring Green area.  A history of jazz is presented from the original masters of Count Basie, Miles, Monk, Coltrane... through the progressive jazz, funk, and rock  era of Herbie Hancock, Traffic and Santana.  The group is led by keyboardist, Ted Frank, a 45 year jazz-rock performer and alumnus of the 1978 UW Madison jazz ensemble led by Richard Davis, with Rob Steffen-drums, Aaron Simays-tenor sax, Dave Saperstein-Bass, and Patrick Michels - percussion.   

No cover, but tips for the performers are welcome and encouraged

After living on opposite ends of the country for more than 10 years, brothers Jason (bass) and Adam Braatz (keys) reunited in Milwaukee to bring their dream band to life. Combining their vast experience as professional touring musicians with a love of boundary-pushing progressive rock and an eclectic style that pays homage to the video game-centric sounds of their childhood, the brothers assembled a virtuosic team of performers — featuring Rae Prettyman (vocals) and Ben Piette (drums) — to share their unique, original music with the world. The result: Pretendacle.

We’ll start our evening off with Wisconsin Space Program, a three-piece psych-rock band from Milwaukee, exploring sounds ranging from sun soaked ‘60s psych pop to heavy, fuzzed-out stoner metal. Formed in the winter of 2024, the group consists of members from regional stalwarts like NEWSKI and The Delta Routine. Known for their electrifying live performances, fans can expect lush harmonies, unpredictable grooves, and a relentless energy that evokes rock bands from a bygone era. 

$12 in advance / $15 at the door

Join us for a night of Halloween fun with live music, costume contest, and more!

Playing a mix of funk, soul and rock 'n roll, Sugar Mama and the Rent Check are a Spring Green-based band featuring Laura Burbaugh on vocals, Ellie Barta-Moran on vocals, killer tambourine and guitar, Todd Miller on lead guitar, John Christensen on vocals and keyboard, Tim Gittings on bass and harmonica, and Rob Steffen on drums.

Suggested donation $5-10 at the door

Fareed Haque is a modern guitar virtuoso. Steeped in classical and jazz traditions, his unique command of the guitar and different musical styles inspire his musical ventures with tradition and fearless innovation.

Haque has toured and recorded with Joe Zawinul, Billy Cobham, Dave Holland, Paquito D’Rivera, Sting, Zakir Hussain, Bob James, Joe Henderson and many others, in addition to co-leading groups with Tony Monaco, Paul Wertico, Goran Ivanovic, Garaj Mahal, and The Chicago Immigrant Orchestra. Haque has released numerous albums as a leader, in jazz, classical, world music and fusion styles, and is the recipient of numerous accolades and awards including  Best World Guitarist, Guitar Player Magazine 2009, 2004 Acoustic Album of the Year, 2007 Independent Music Award, and Best New World Music Group in Chicago Reader Poll 2020.

Tickets $20 in advance/$25 at the door

LAAMAR is the latest project led by Minneapolis-based singer, songwriter, saxophonist, and composer Geoffrey Lamar Wilson. Former frontman of Brooklyn-based Jus Post Bellum, Wilson is also known for his multilayered looped saxophone performances and catchy podcast ditties (Terrible, Thanks for Asking). On the band’s debut EP, Flowers, Wilson blends his idiomatic inspirations bridging folk, soul, R&B, and country with a constant ear toward racial and social justice issues and the shared human experience.

Recent acclaim for LAAMAR includes debut single “Home to My Baby” being named KAXE’s “Best Song” of 2023 and a nod as one of First Avenue’s Best New Bands.

“With Flowers,” writes Malachy Koons of KAXE, "LAAMAR has crafted a stunning debut that does not shy away from difficult topics. The new EP features four instantly catchy songs, with each taking a different approach to issues of racial and social justice.”

The band is working with Nat Harvie (Low, Cole Pulice) on their debut full length, tentatively planned for release this Fall.

Tickets $12 in advance/$15 at the door

The Commercialists are a Milwaukee-based jazz trio whose goal in life is to spread holiday cheer through the music of A Charlie Brown Christmas, Vince Guaraldi, badly timed humor, and epic holiday poetry.

The Commercialists are: 
Anthony Deutsch (piano and voice), Clay Schaub (bass), and Patrick Morrow (drums).

Tickets $25 in advance/$30 at the door

Americana flavored Gypsy Jazz on full tilt! Harmonious Wail combines the searing wit, humor and mandolin virtuosity of vintage Jethro Burns performances, the Continental panache of Django and charm of Edith Piath inspired vocals to create a unique musical journey.

“In the gypsy jazz field, no one does it any better than the Madison, Wisconsin based group Harmonious Wail.” -Jazz Review

”Intense playing & sense of purpose that never wavers… a mind altering experience.” -The Washington Examiner

Harmonious Wail is Sims and Maggie Delany-Potthoff joined by Aden Stier on Bass and Scott Hlavenka on Guitar.

Tickets $15 in advance, $20 at the door

Feestet (pronounced “Feest-tet”) is a Madison-based jazz ensemble fronted by vocalist Helen Feest. Formed in 2021, their blend of arranged jazz classics and originals pay tribute to the sounds and stories that withstand the test of time.

Tickets $12 in advance/$15 at the door