Tone Madison

Look out for our next compilation album, "Resolution" Our fourth Bandcamp collection features unreleased material from Madison artists.

This Friday, we'll be releasing "Resolution"—a new Bandcamp compilation—as part of our year-end fundraiser. Music Editor @stevenmps.bsky.social goes over the concept, reveals some contributing artists, and outlines the advance listening party in our latest.

tonemadison.com/articles/loo...

Tone Madison and Madison Area Music Association Present: New Artist Listening Room. Saturday, November 29, 7 p.m. door (8 p.m. show). Harmony Bar & Grill, 2201 Atwood Avenue. Featuring Marigold Motel, Jonathon Millionaire, The Stoplights, and Rockstar & Elise.

On Sat, Nov 29, we've teamed up with MAMA to spotlight four emerging acts as part of the "New Artist Listening Room" at Harmony Bar & Grill. Show starts at 8 p.m., and cover is just $10!

Hear on-the-rise local talents Marigold Motel, Jonathon Millionaire, The Stoplights, and @rockstarelise.com. 🎶

Tone Madison and Madison Area Music Association Present: New Artist Listening Room. Saturday, November 29, 7 p.m. door (8 p.m. show). Harmony Bar & Grill, 2201 Atwood Avenue. Featuring Marigold Motel, Jonathon Millionaire, The Stoplights, and Rockstar & Elise.

On Sat, Nov 29, we've teamed up with MAMA to spotlight four emerging acts as part of the "New Artist Listening Room" at Harmony Bar & Grill. Show starts at 8 p.m., and cover is just $10!

Hear on-the-rise local talents Marigold Motel, Jonathon Millionaire, The Stoplights, and @rockstarelise.com. 🎶

it’s never a bad time to start a $5/month donation to @tonemadison.bsky.social

Tone Madison Presents: MAMA New Artist Listening Room Join us on Saturday, November 29, at Harmony Bar & Grill for a night of live music from emerging Madison artists.

On Sat, Nov 29, we're co-hosting a showcase of new and emerging local artists with Madison Area Music Association at Harmony Bar & Grill (2201 Atwood Ave).

In this week's Microtones, Music Editor @stevenmps.bsky.social shares a few words on the announcement and our valuing of the music community.

Is Group Health still a Cooperative? Instead of union-busting, the Board should see union organizing as a gift of collective problem-solving.

"What does it mean to be a co-op if the Group Health Cooperative Board is now going to disregard the unanimous votes at a well-attended and well-noticed meeting of its own membership?" ask Adam Chern and Rebecca Kemble in a joint guest column.

INERTIA FOLLIES runs for a final weekend—November 20 to 23—at @broomstreettheater.bsky.social. Broom Street artistic director Maria Dahman will lead a special talkback with the performers after the 7:30 p.m. show on Nov 21.

The semi-improvised parameters of "Inertia Follies" engender its subtly and radically transformative scenes The avant-garde performance-art showcase, which involves six local artists, runs for a final weekend—November 20 through 23—at Broom Street Theater.

"The sequential rhythms of INERTIA FOLLIES are intermittently anxious and contemplative but persistently thrilling. Credit that to director Chelsea Gaspard's guiding belief in the show's improvised components as 'living and breathing and shifting,'" writes @nothingunfinished.bsky.social. 🎭

The shady tactics shaping policy in the UW System Unwritten "political deals," perpetual audit threats, and fear are being used to reduce educational opportunities outside of UW–Madison and UW–Milwaukee.

"We are asking the UW Board of Regents to stand up for students' right to learn and the faculty's right to teach, both of which are intertwined with democracy itself," writes Neil Kraus, AFT-Wisconsin VP of Higher Education.

Amid industry tumult, the 2025 MDEV conference captured Madison as an impending game-development hotspot On the ground with indie developers and industry representatives at the annual, bustling, two-day showcase of video games.

"Even as MDEV expands, making the industry accessible to newer indie developers remains a key focus of the conference."

@manateemailbox.bsky.social reports from the @wigamesalliance.bsky.social MDEV conference (Nov 7-8), and talks with game developers and industry representatives alike. 🎮

Small Bites: To make it through the fall, roast your vegetables A low-effort guide to bringing maximum flavor to your table when seasonal produce is limited.

"Low on prep and high on passive cooking time, roasting is a godsend."

In this month's "Small Bites," @jesseraub.bsky.social gives us a low-effort guide to bringing maximum flavor to the table when seasonal produce is limited in late autumn.

What Dane County needs vs. what Sheriff Barrett wants The Dane County Board's 2026 budget amendments meet the moment.

Amendments to the 2026 budget the Dane County Supervisors passed—including freezing 20 unfilled positions at the Dane County Sheriff's Office—better fit the county's needs than the original budget by Dane County Executive Melissa Agard, writes @stinadale.bsky.social.

In its third year, the Black Film Festival commits to deeper regional representation The Nehemiah Center and Justified Anger partner with Madison Public Library to honor Black lives and culture November 12 through 15.

The Black Film Festival returns this year—November 12 thru 15—with screenings and discussions at Fountain of Life Covenant Church and @madisonlibrary.bsky.social locations throughout the city.

Film section editor @nothingunfinished.bsky.social takes a closer look at the scope of the programming.

Join us for Office Hours next week at State Line Distillery! We'll be kicking off our year-end fundraiser and raffling off merch, copies of our body cameras zine, and tickets to "The Moth" StorySLAMs in Madison.

tonemadison.com/event/tone-m...

While barriers persist, factory-built homes are helping families realize ownership dreams A more efficient, affordable development model helps Habitat for Humanity build more homes during a housing crisis. But some Wisconsin municipalities exclude manufactured homes from neighborhoods.

In a story we're republishing from @wisconsinwatch.org and Wisconsin Public Radio, @addiecostello.bsky.social and Trisha Young report on Habitat for Humanity's La Crosse affiliate embracing an affordable manufactured housing project and development model.

Basketball is back, but it never really left Madison's basketball courts are reflective of endurance, persistence, and Wisconsinites' growing embrace of the sport.

As a number of Wisconsin basketball teams kick off their seasons, Music Editor @stevenmps.bsky.social examines the state's relationship to basketball, touching on everything from Madison's many courts to the influx of excitement surrounding the sport.

tonemadison.com/articles/bas...

Join us for Office Hours next week at State Line Distillery! We'll be kicking off our year-end fundraiser and raffling off merch, copies of our body cameras zine, and tickets to "The Moth" StorySLAMs in Madison.

tonemadison.com/event/tone-m...

As a musician stages his comeback, his accusers ask where the accountability is Four years after allegations of grooming and sexual misconduct, David Henzie-Skogen is back on the road with Youngblood Brass Band.

"The women interviewed for this story all pointed out that accountability and making amends are crucial concepts in the world of recovery, and yet they’ve seen little in the way of [that]."

Four years after grooming allegations, David Henzie-Skogen has reemerged. @scottgordonwi.bsky.social reports.

Help Tone Madison live to fight another day With advertising revenue down, we need your help more than ever.

For 11 years, Tone Madison has made it our mission to cover the corners of culture involving the people, places, and movements that often get overlooked in our local media landscape. Help us continue to tell those stories.

tonemadison.com/donate/

Local open-mic cinema Project Projection at Arts + Literature Laboratory is assembling all facets of Madison's DIY and more professional film culture alike.

In today's Microtones, film section editor @nothingunfinished.bsky.social defines what Project Projection—the soon-to-be quarterly local film and video art showcase at @artlitlab.bsky.social—has meant to the culture of Madison since programmer James Kreul began hosting.

Madison musicians bare their teeth New releases from September and October seize a cathartic aggression.

Music Editor @stevenmps.bsky.social highlights—and finds what unifies—great recent releases from Aergo, Baby Tyler Band, Calamity, Frozen Charlotte, Alex Yaco Kalfayan, and a collaboration between Slick and In Ropes in our latest.

tonemadison.com/articles/mad...

Oddsconsin: Flesh-eating beetles Touring the dermestid beetle colony home at UW Zoological Museum.

This week, in our final "Oddsconsin" selection for spooky season, Howard Veregin tours the UW Zoological Museum (at 250 N Mills St). He observes the thousands of dermestid beetles that clean animal skeletons so they can be preserved for study and research.

Another perspective on Dairy Drive Madison Common Council President Regina Vidaver responds to David Rivera-Kohr's October 7 editorial.

"Keep holding us accountable. But please do so with curiosity rather than condemnation."

In response to David Rivera-Kohr, Madison Common Council President Regina Vidaver offers her point of view and further clarity on the recent closure of the Dairy Drive encampment.

Resilience and strength in ethnic studies Federal attacks on representation can't overshadow visibility, as UW–Madison establishes the first Midwestern Puerto Rican Studies Hub.

"No amount of scrutiny and harassment is going to force any community to hide its pride."

In this week's Microtones, News and Politics Editor Juan Carlos Garcia Martinez celebrates the new Puerto Rican Studies Hub at @uwmadison.bsky.social, the first of its kind in the Midwest.

Bats in the bedroom Spooky season coincides with increased human-bat encounters.

Our Managing Editor @stinadale.bsky.social examines the increased frequency of human-bat encounters during this time of year. Lieffring talks with Madison East-Sider Sara Woolery, who was awakened in the middle of the night last month to a brown bat in her bedroom. 🦇

Oddsconsin: UFOs and alien abductions Perhaps we should be proud of our state's status as a hotbed of UFO sightings.

Wisconsin has more UFO sightings per capita than any other state in the Upper Midwest with 2,544 since 1947.

Howard Veregin recaps the phenomena in our "Oddsconsin" pick for this week.

Sasha Debevec-McKenney catalogs a museum of her 20s in "Joy Is My Middle Name" The formerly Madison-based poet gives justice to our city and the richness of girlhood in this debut poetry collection.

"...I'll use the title as a way to get us all on the same page. I really want my audience to be engaged from the beginning, so that you can trust me, and I'll carry you through the poem."

@rmbanting.bsky.social talks with poet Sasha Debevec-McKenney about her debut collection, JOY IS MY MIDDLE NAME

*Saturday, October 18, at 7 p.m. (sorry)

Small Bites: How to make a cheeseboard An informative guide to an affordable luxury while ICE terrorizes the United States.

In this month's "Small Bites," @jesseraub.bsky.social turns to express his feelings on the inanity of ordinary life while our country descends into havoc under the current regime.

"Welcome Poets" provides a portal into the Wisconsin places that shaped Lorine Niedecker's identity A meditation on the 20th-century Wisconsin poet's artistic impact, in relation to Poet Laureate Nicholas Gulig's own six-part series that screens at Art Lit Lab on October 18.

"WELCOME POETS shows the ways in which Lorine Niedecker's influence continues to ripple outward..."

Ahead of @artlitlab.bsky.social's screening of the @pbswisconsin.bsky.social series this Sat, Oct 10, at 7 p.m., @mminkoff.bsky.social meditates on her connection to the 20th-century Wisconsin poet.