A benefit concert featuring Spare Time Bluegrass Band, David Landau – Children’s Entertainer and The Bearded Hams in Tyranena‘s newly expanded, outdoor Beer Garden.

How is this a benefit? Well, Tyranena is donating $2 from every pint served to the Sugar Maple Music Festival… so grab yourself a glass and support great music! (And great beer, of course.)

Live music beginning at 1 pm with The Rodeo Wagon also on hand serving up southern comfort food such as corn on the cob, Triple Cheesy Mac, and big beef sandwiches!

An Evening with The Jerry Douglas Band
An Intimate Seated Show

Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Majestic Theatre
Madison, WI

Tickets On Sale Now:
Tickets available at at MajesticMadison.com, 800-514-ETIX, and at the Majestic Theatre Box Office.

Dobro master and 14-time Grammy winner Jerry Douglas is to the resonator guitar what Jimi Hendrix was to the electric guitar: elevating, transforming, and reinventing the instrument in countless ways. In addition to being widely recognized as the foremost master of the Dobro, Jerry Douglas is a freewheeling, forward-thinking recording artist whose output incorporates elements of bluegrass, country, rock, jazz, blues and Celtic into his distinctive musical vision.

Called “dobro’s matchless contemporary master,” by The New York Times, fourteen-time Grammy winner Jerry Douglas is one of the most innovative recording artists in music, both as a solo artist and member of groundbreaking bands including J.D. Crowe & the New South, the Country Gentlemen, Boone Creek, the Grammy-winning The Earls of Leicester, and Strength In Numbers. Douglas’ distinctive sound graces more than 1500 albums, including discs released by Garth Brooks, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Elvis Costello, Earl Scruggs, and Ray Charles, among many others.

Since 1998, he’s been a key member of “Alison Krauss and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas”, touring extensively and co-producing and playing on a series of platinum albums. He has produced albums for Krauss, the Del McCoury Band, Maura O’Connell, and Jesse Winchester and is is co-Music Director of the acclaimed BBC TV series Transatlantic Sessions, and his latest solo album Traveler features guest appearances by such notable friends as Paul Simon, Mumford & Sons, and Eric Clapton, among others.

As he continues his incalculable influence on Americana, bluegrass and their many related genres, Douglas forges as a true pioneer in American music.

Sugar Maple Music Festival presents Red, White and Bluegrass at the High Noon Saloon on Sunday July 2.

Celebrate our nation with some local bluegrass music this holiday weekend! The afternoon will feature some of the area’s best traditional bluegrass inside along with an open-jam outside on the patio.

Willie Jones and his Dime Store Posse Country weepers, crooner classics, more…

Sortin’ the Mail  Keepin’ the “ass” in “Bluegrass” since 2012… with:
Bobby Batyko, Alex ‘The Kid’ Genova, Lonesome Willie Jones, Evan Childress and Brad Astor

Milkhouse Radio We’re a Madison area stringband specializing in bluegrass and ringing the rafters with country, blues, and fusion covers of whatever strikes us right.
Milkhouse Radio features Brad Astor on Upright Bass, Scott Baumann on Banjo, Michael Farnsworth on Guitar, Jen Paulson on Fiddle, and Bruce Stein on Mandolin

Down From The Hills plays bluegrass music inspired by the likes of Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs & John Hartford. Our music features both instrumental solos & vocal harmonies. Recently, we’ve added Cajun music to our shows, with Pat on the Cajun button accordion.

Northern Comfort Bluegrass The group Northern Comfort Bluegrass have spent many years playing and singing bluegrass and traditional country music. Their sound comes straight from the heart and features high lonesome vocals and harmonies, a driving beat, and tight instrumental passages.

Doors open at 12 pm with music starting at 1 pm.  $8 cover

The Sugar Maple Music Festival is pleased to welcome festival artists Big Sadie  and The Tillers  back to Madison!

Big Sadie is a Chicago-based acoustic band fronted by Elise Bergman (upright bass, vocals) and Collin Moore (guitar, vocals). Defined by rich, intricate harmonies and rustic yet sophisticated instrumental arrangements, Big Sadie takes a modern yet timeless approach to American roots music.

Big Sadie, presented by Madison Music Sessions , will be playing at Maven Vocal Arts on Friday June 16, 2017 at 7 pm.  Tickets and information here.

The Tillers  got their start in August 2007 when they started thumping around with some banjos and guitars and a big wooden bass. Their earliest gigs were for coins and burritos on the city’s famous Ludlow Street in the district of Clifton. The songs they picked were mostly older than their grandparents. Some came from Woody Guthrie, some were southern blues laments, and many were anonymous relics of Appalachian woods, churches, riverboats, railroads, prairies, and coal mines.

Their look didn’t fit the stereotype. They were clearly recovering punk rockers with roots in city’s west side punk rock and hardcore scene. The punk influence gave their sound a distinctive bite, setting them apart from most other folk acts- a hard-driving percussive strum and stomp that brought new pulse and vinegar to some very old songs. But their musical range soon proved itself as they floated from hard-tackle thumping to tender graceful melody, all the while topped by Oberst and Geil’s clear tenor harmonies.

Musically, the band wears many hats. Their sound has proven to be an appropriate fit with a wide range of musical styles- traditional folk, bluegrass, jazz, punk rock and anything else they might run into. They have shared the stage with a broad swath of national touring acts, ranging from renowned folk legends such as Doc Watson, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Guy Clark, Country Joe McDonald, Jerry Douglas, Iris Dement, Pokey LaFarge and The Carolina Chocolate Drops to rambunctious rock daredevils like the Legendary Shack Shakers.

You can catch The Tillers on Thursday, June 22, 2017 at 8 pm at the High Noon Saloon.  Tickets and more info here.

“It’s the start of a brand new adventure…” sings Gary Louris on “Quiet Corners & Empty Spaces,” the opening track on The Jayhawks’ new album Paging Mr. Proust. The band itself is not brand new, having formed in Minneapolis in 1984, the album shows a commitment to adventure and forward motion which makes this collection of songs exciting and instantly memorable.

Join us in welcoming the Jayhawks to Madison on Friday, April 28.