Entertainment Alternatives in Madison, WI

The main downtown thoroughfare is State Street, which links the University of Wisconsin campus with the State Capital square, and is lined with restaurants, espresso cafes, and shops. Continuing on the other side of the Capitol Square is King Street, which has more appeal to the growing young white-collar high-tech population in Madison as opposed to the student-like character of State Street, thus providing King Street with higher-end restaurants and cafes.

On Saturday mornings you can visit the Dane County Famers' Market that is held near the Capitol's Square, while on Wednesday nights the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra performs free concerts on the Capitol's lawn.

The Great Taste of the Midwest Craft Beer Festival is the second longest running event in North America and often has tickets selling out within an hour of going on sale in May.

Madison is home to the Rhythm and Booms, an enormous fireworks celebration that is coordinated to music that begins with a fly-over by a group of F16s from the local Wisconsin Air National Guard.

During the winter, Madison provides Kites on Ice, which is a gathering of kite-flying fanatics on the ice of the local Lake Monona near the State Capitol.

Madison also has designated bike lanes and has one of the most extensive bike trail systems in the nation.

Madison is a thriving independent rock scene, and local independent record labeles include Sector Five Records, Crustacean Records, Beeftone Music and Uvulittle Records. The city is also home of the producer-musician Butch Vig of Viroqua. Vig is well known for producing albums for some of the most popular bands like The Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana.

Madison is also home to the funky drummer Clyde Stubblefield, and musicians Roscoe Mitchell, Ben Sidran, Reptile Palace Orchestra and Harmonious Wail.

Madison also has many wonderful music festivals, the most popular ones being the Waterfront Festival, the Willy St. Fair, Atwood Summerfest, Madison Area Music Awards Show, The Orton Park Festival, Greekfest, the WORT Block Party, and the Madison Blues Festival. One of the latest additions to the festivals is the Fete de Marquette, taking place near or on Bastille Day at Central Park. This particular festival celebrates French music, with a focus on Cajun influences.

Outside of these particular events, Madison is also home to a number of art museums, and many wonderful architectural achievements like the Wisconsin State Capitol dome, which is closely modeled on the dome of the U.S. Capitol, and is visible throughout the Madison area.

Madison is also well known for its crazy passion for sports, primarily because of the University students. The UW-Madison teams play all of their home-field sporting events in venues in around Madison. Their football team plays at Camp Randall Stadium, which can hold about 80,321 people. However, crowds of as many as 83,000 people have attended the games.

Basketball and hockey teams play at the Kohl Center.

The Madison Mallards, a college wood-bat summer baseball league team in the Northwoods League plays in Warner Park on the city's North side.


What to See and Do