The 2024 Sessions at McPike Park
June 14,15,16 August 8,9,10,11
June 14 and August 8 & 9 are evening shows. June 15, 16 and August 10, 11 are full day formats.
Chuck Prophet and The Mission Express Band
Mary Mack
Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound
Joel Paterson’s western elstons
Brass Solidarity
MamaDigdowns Brass Band
Mokoomba
The Great Lake Swimmers
Bernard Allison
John Primer
Los Tangueros del Oeste
Sidi Wacho
The Sessions Spotify Playlist
Buffalo Nichols
Born in Houston, raised in Milwaukee and now based in Austin, Carl “Buffalo” Nichols is the first solo blues act signed to Mississippi’s Fat Possum Records in more than two decades. His eight-song debut shows why — the album is a testament to acoustic blues, showcasing Nichols’ deft fingerpicking and slide work, and an ability to stop you in your tracks with a single line.
Bernard Allison
World class contemporary bluesman Bernard Allison is a virtuosic, blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. The son of Blues Hall of Famer Luther Allison, Bernard grew up with many of the blues greats who influenced his style, among them his father, Edgar Winter, Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Muddy Waters, Albert King, Hound Dog Taylor and Bobby Rush. Having taught himself to play guitar at the age of ten, Johnny Winter taught Bernard how to play slide guitar and Stevie Ray Vaughan coached him about life on the road. Blues legend Bobby Rush is his godfather. - By Martine Ehrenclou
SUNDAY AUGUST 10
John Primer
As the bandleader and lead guitarist for Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Magic Slim & The Teardrops, John Primer's virtuosity as a blues musician was forged by legends.
John started playing on Maxwell Street, the birthplace of Chicago blues and soon became the house bandleader at the infamous Theresa's Lounge for seven years alongside Sammy Lawhorn, Junior Wells, James Cotton and others.
Having played or recorded with a who's who of blues greats including Gary Clark Jr., Derek Trucks, Johnny Winter, and Buddy Guy to name a few, John Primer's personal accolades, including Lifetime Achievement Awards, reflect his countless contributions to the history of the blues.
There are very few blues fans, critics or musicians who will deny the fact that John Primer is the real deal.
You can’t paint the blues without a Primer!
SUNDAY AUGUST 10
Mokoomba
Mokoomba, an explosively talented six-man crew from the Victoria Fall, has been hailed as one of the most exciting band from Africa in the 21st century! With over 40 countries and prestigious international festivals under their belt, they performed at the world’s biggest festivals and venues, Sziget, Roskilde, North Sea Jazz, New York’s Apollo Theater, New Orleans Jazz and many more.
THURSDAY AUGUST 8TH
Shamarr Allen
Shamarr Allen is the definition of New Orleans! Hailing from the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, Allen has influences in jazz, hip-hop, rock, funk rhythms, blues and country. He is the lead vocalist and trumpeter of his band “Shamarr Allen & The Underdawgs.” In addition to performing with his band, Allen has collaborated with many renowned artists around the world such as Willie Nelson, Patti LaBelle, Galatic, Harrick Connick Jr, and Lenny Kravitz, to name a few. He is a sought after artist for festivals and venues around the world. In addition to displaying his skills on the front-line as a lead performer, Allen is also a music composer, writer, and producer. With a scintillating and unique sound, look, and exemplary talents, Shamarr Allen transcends musical boundaries. He is the True Orleans experience!
FRIDAY, JUNE 14
The Stooges Brass Band
The Stooges Brass Band has earned their rank as one of the elite brass bands in New Orleans. The band consistently provides a welcome blast of true New Orleans spirit engaging audiences with their innovative blend of traditional New Orleans brass sounds, contemporary jazz and hip-hop beats.
Emerging onto the scene in 1996, the Stooges Brass Band has gained notoriety as a full-blown musical party immersing the crowd in a cut-loose vibe that is contemporary yet deeply rooted in the culturally rich musical legacy of New Orleans.
SUNDAY, JUNE 16TH
Rosie Flores
It’s telling that Rosie Flores’ e-mail handle begins “chickwpick…” In a long and eclectic career of singing, songwriting and performing, no phrase has ever described the San Antonio native better or more concisely.
In a career that spans more than four decades, Flores has proven to be a musical chameleon. She’s jumped feet first into punk rock (with her ’70-era band, the Screaming Sirens), country of both the Bakersfield and Nashville varieties, the Texas singer/songwriter scene, alt-country, straight-up rock and rockabilly. So much so the latter that her onstage moniker for years was “The Rockabilly Filly.” But always and throughout, she has been the Chick with the Pick.
Over the years, Flores has been profiled in Guitar World, Premiere Guitar and Guitar Player magazines. Venuszine cited Flores as one of the “Top 75 Greatest Female Guitarists of All Time” by Venuszine magazine. She performed at a tribute to Chuck Berry at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. She has worked with, and helped propel back in to the spotlight, pioneer female rockabilly artists Wanda Jackson and Janis Martin. In 2007, she won a Peabody Award for her narration of the rockabilly documentary, Whole Lotta Shakin’. She worked with Martin in producing the latter’s 2012 album, The Blanco Sessions, which would prove to be Martin’s last recording.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 9TH
Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound
Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound are the latest in Fresh Venerable. Benefitting from years of unassuming and understated hipness, they bring forth a funky, lyrically charged racket that sits comfortably with soulful sounds the world over.
Intricate but free-swinging, explosive yet intimate, fresh and green as grass.
Taking cues from the dance bands of western Louisiana (and his native Midwest,), the streets (and 45’s) of New Orleans, touring African and Caribbean combos and the soul, funk & blues of his youth coupled with early , teeth-cutting experience in the verbal hotbeds of the coffeehouse scene, Cebar is a masterful synthesist of rhythmic culture
Tomorrow Sound are an elite crew of offhand adepts who bring plenty of their own wood to the fire. Drummer Reggie Bordeaux, casts his nets with a mystifying subtlety bringing his own fleet-footed refinement and grease. Multi-instrumentalist Bob Jennings, lends his bandleader the luxury of implying a much larger ensemble with his multi-hued contributions on keys and reeds. Bassist Mike Fredrickson (a distinguished singer-songwriter in his own right) anchors and prods with the best of them.
SATURDAY JUNE 15
Sidi Wacho
“Fronted by French-Algerian rapper Saidou and Chilean rapper Juanito Ayala, Sidi Wacho unite rebelliousness on both sides of the Atlantic (specifically, Northern Africa and the global south) through activist rap in French and Spanish. Accordionist Jeoffrey Arnone, trumpet player Manel Girard, and drummer Christophe Demazeux accompany the group’s heartfelt, powerful lyrics with dance rhythms from various parts of the world in percussive, driving tunes that fuse Balkan beats, raucous polkas, and banging cumbias. “Lejos de Casa” (“Far From Home”) from their 2022 album, Calle Sound System, is so irresistibly danceable it’ll get every body part you have shimmying and shaking (I dare you to listen and sit still!). But a closer listen to the lyrics reveals the heartbreak of immigrant journeys: “Lejos de casa, risa, tristeza, ¡aguante familia!” (“Far from home, laughter, sadness, hang in there, family!”). Saidou and Ayala’s social-justice anthems uplift with righteously powerful joy and loud, in-your-face badness, expressing their cultural identities with explosive calls to action—“Grita Justicia” (“Yell Justice”), for example, indicts police brutality and other abuses of power. But you don’t have to understand the words to pick up on the emotion behind them; Sidi Wacho are chanting that we refuse to go down quietly. This revolution may not be televised, but we’ll surely be dancing to it.”
- Catalina Maria Johnson, CHICAGO READER
SUNDAY, AUGUST 11TH
Thank you!
Through your contributions we are able to support our wonderful non-profit partners who work so tirelessly with limited resources to create change and opportunities in our community:
Centro Hispano
Community Immigration Law Clinic
The Native Food Network.
The Friends of Ukraine- Madison
Urban League
WORT-FM
Please contact us to get involved and help us further our general pursuit of happiness and community building! If you or your organization would like to join our efforts please reach out.
The Sessions are free & volunteer run
The Sessions at McPike Park are free events that benefit 7 non-profits in the community. They each have a day to promote their programs. We funnel funds to these organizations through our raffle, auction, and profit-sharing plan.
local Food & product Vendors
The Sessions features a fine array of local food and product vendors to nourish and delight. This event is family-friendly.
Where is mcpike park?
202 S Ingersoll St, Madison, WI 53703
Located in the heart of the isthmus in Madison, WI, this nearly six-acre park, formerly known at Central Park, was officially renamed in April 2018 at a dedication ceremony honoring longtime East High School principal, Milton McPike.
Get involved!
The Sessions is entirely volunteer-run by a talented Board and volunteers from our non-profit partners and the community. Contact us if you would like to participate!
