Spring finally feels like it's here this weekend, and with it comes the culmination of the season at UW-Madison with the Wisconsin Festival of Ideas and Crazylegs Classic. The calendar also includes: productions of Orphan Train and Don Giovanni; the SPRUNG dance presentation; vocal performances by Eliza's Toyes and at The Passion According to Four Evangelists; more live music from Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!, Todd Snider, Schematic, Nahko & Medicine for the People, Gunnar & the Grizzly Boys, Heavy Times, Shadwick Wilde & the Quiet Hollers, The Devil Makes Three, Freddie Gibbs, Roster McCabe, Danny Brown, Mark Kroos, Asumaya with Czech Mate, and Ivan & Alyosha; and, comedy by Impractical Jokers.
Friday 4.26
NOTEWORTHY: Syria ends occupation of Lebanon, 2005.
Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, 9 am-6 pm
This one-day conference brings together faculty and students representing such diverse fields as astrobiology, women's studies, integrative health and journalism to share accomplishments in research and education.
Goodman Community Center Loft, 6:30 pm
This French act add an edge to their fun, melodic pop-punk by incorporating hints of metal and hardcore. See if the songs from their new album, Pardon My French, elicit ooh-la-las from the crowd. With For All Those Sleeping, Upon This Dawning, City Lights and the Scenic Route.
Broom Street Theater, 7 pm. Also Saturday & Thursday, April 27 & May 2, 7 pm
Deanna Reed's play, set in the late 1800s, tells the story of the so-called orphan or baby trains, which relocated homeless and orphaned children from the mean streets of New York to, hopefully, better lives out west.
Overture Hall, 8 pm. Also Sunday, April 28, 2:30 pm
Madison Opera presents one of the greatest works of art ever conceived. Mozart's opera combines comedy and drama in its portrait of an unrepentant seducer, with a conclusion that, if done right, will leave you breathless. Madison Opera is likely to do it right.
SPRUNG: Emerging Dance Artists
Margaret H'Doubler Performance Space in UW Lathrop Hall, 8 pm. Also Thursday & Saturday, April 25 & 27, 8 pm
This is your chance to see the inventive work of 11 student choregraphers in one sitting. Among the group pieces is Meredith Weissert's "LEDigits," which affixes LED lights to dancers' fingers, toes and ears.
Barrymore Theatre, 8 pm
This singer-songwriter is one of pop music's most consistently entertaining performers. Rolling Stone called him "one of the sharpest, funniest storytellers in rock" when placing his album Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables on the Top 50 Albums of 2012 list. With Jason Isbell.
Frequency, 8 pm
Dave Elkins of the emo-ish band MAE has launched another mind-bending project that uses music to unite people from a variety of visual-art disciplines, including filmmaking, painting and graphic design. With Asker, Catch Kid and Dieter Schaaf.
Nahko & Medicine for the People
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
Nahko discovered his musical talents as a young child, while investigating his Apache and Filipino roots. Equipped with guitars, drums and flutes, he and his band use song to help audience members dig into their own cultural heritage.
Regent Street Retreat Stage, 9:30 pm
These Midwestern country rockers are known for their rowdy demeanor, epic-length shows and practical jokes, such as pretending to ambush a Google Street View car in a recent music video. With Mighty Short Bus.
UW Memorial Union Rathskeller, 9:30 pm
Filled with habit-forming hooks and loads of static, this Chicago quartet's noise-pop hurts so good. With Pleasure Leftists and Dharma Dogs.
Shadwick Wilde & the Quiet Hollers
Mickey's Tavern, 10:30 pm
Though these Kentucky musicians like to call their oeuvre "bummerfolk," they've also drawn comparisons to dark yet hopeful artists like Bruce Springsteen. With Tom Teslik and Fluorescent Pig.
Saturday 4.27
NOTEWORTHY: 10,000 march on Washington to call for President Nixon's impeachment, 1974.
Capitol Square, 10 am
The eight-kilometer run/wheelchair race and two-mile walk benefits the UW athletic department. The course finishes at Camp Randall, where you can dance (as your legs allow) to the UW Marching Band and the Chicago cover band Spoken Four.
Gates of Heaven, 7:30 pm. Also Sunday, April 28, Chocolaterian, 4 pm
The Madison vocal group presents "Casino Royale: A Venetian Music-Comedy," featuring chamber music of 17th-century Venice. Plus: a commedia dell'arte skit!
The Passion According to Four Evangelists
UW Humanities Building's Mills Hall, 8 pm. Also Sunday, April 28, 7:30 pm
The UW Choral Union and Chamber Orchestra team up for a powerful portrait of Jesus' death by contemporary composer Robert Kyr.
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
Strut, swing or do-si-do at this folk-punk show featuring elements of rockabilly, ragtime and bluegrass. With Jonny Fritz.
UW Union South Sett, 9 pm
After being dropped by a major label, this rapper has found a way to release more than a dozen recordings that explore his hard-knock beginnings in Gary, Ind. (See Tour Stop). Get to know his flow at this free, ticketed performance. With Lord of the Fly, Mahrv Gee and D-Edge.
Frequency, 9 pm
The Twin Cities quintet describe their sound as "funky reggae dance rock," while Billboard describes the group as one of the country's top five up-and-coming jam bands. With Red Rose.
High Noon Saloon, 9:30 pm
MTV named Brown "one of rap's most unique figures in recent memory." His music has gained top slots on year-end lists by Detroit's Metro Times and national publications like Spin. Get a taste of his forthcoming album, Old, then read a review at thedailypage.com/music Sunday morning. With Kitty and CRASHprez.
UW Memorial Union Rathskeller, 9:30 pm
The 2011 winner of Guitar Player's international competition, Kroos is Internet-famous for playing both parts of "Dueling Banjos" on his double-neck guitar. His live sets are even more impressive, incorporating polyphonic textures and influences that range from American punk to Celtic folk. With Matt Winn.
Sunday 4.28
NOTEWORTHY: Millionaire Dennis Tito becomes the world's first space tourist, 2001.
Barrymore Theatre, 7 pm
In a live version of their hilarious truTV series, the four "Impractical Jokers" dare each other to do ridiculous, embarrassing things around complete strangers. Their cruelty is directed at themselves rather than the passersby, making them more humane than most TV pranksters.
Broom Street Theater, 7 pm
Two loop-tastic solo projects will take the stage at this edition of Broom Street Sessions. CONTROL's Luke Bassuener trades his drum kit for mbira and other African instruments in Asumaya, and Pushmi-Pullyu's Tom Teslik gets pleasantly psychedelic in Czech Mate.
Frequency, 8 pm
There's neither an Ivan nor an Alyosha in this folk-pop band, but both of its founders thought Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov seemed like a good source of names for a group that contemplates morality and religion through song. With Twin Forks and Pioneer.
