‘The fastest girl drummer in the world’: Celebrating Wisconsin’s Viola Smith
Drummer Viola Smith was a musical trailblazer and innovator. Known as "the fastest girl drummer in the world," her career ...
Wrapping up Concerts on The Square with “Home to Madison,” just off Highway 51
Picture this: you're sitting on a blanket on the Capitol Lawn in Madison. It's a warm summer evening, and you're ...
The Rebirth of Jazz Saxophonist Frank Morgan
Imagine making it as a musician not only once, but at two distinct moments in your life. That’s what happened ...
Madison’s Ricardo Gonzalez and the Cuban Salsa Band
(This story is an excerpt from the podcast, “WPR Reports: Uprooted.”) Ricardo Gonzalez was 12 years old the day the ...
Joni Mitchell Skates On Lake Mendota—And Into Music History
This story brings together a mid-winter ice storm, the southeast shore of Lake Mendota in Madison, ice skating, and a ...
The Heist In Ripon Fosters A Creative Community
There’s a place in Ripon that’s providing a space for musicians and artists to get as creative as they want ...
‘Music Is A Conversation’: Milwaukee’s Klassik On His Art, Being Subject Of Upcoming Book
Klassik is an artist with many talents: he’s a producer, mentor and activist. The Milwaukee musician is a singer, rapper ...
UW-Milwaukee Musicians Play On Amid Pandemic
On the stage of UW-Milwaukee’s Bader Concert Hall, clear rain ponchos hide clarinets, white cloths cover trumpet bells and special ...
Rapper Ted Park Talks Madison Roots, Finding His Creative Spark In South Korea
When he’s not on tour, the 25-year-old rapper Ted Park keeps busy making music videos on the streets of New ...
Live Music Returns To The Stage At The Jazz Estate In Milwaukee
Music stages across Wisconsin (and around the world) have been silent since March as the COVID-19 pandemic forced venues to ...
Musician Madison Malone On Her ‘Simple Love’ And Writing In Los Angeles
Musician Madison Malone got her start at 16 playing in her uncle Kevin's bar, Malone's Blarney Stone. It’s in her ...
Artist Zhalarina Sanders Explores Love, Identity With ‘The Light’
Zhalarina Sanders is an artist who does it all. Her craft is steeped in theater and music — so lyricist, ...
Musician Lou Shields Embraces Driftless Region, Sounds Of The Past
Musician and artist Lou Shields is much like the old school troubadours he sounds like. With his scraggly hair, work-jeans ...
What Was Milwaukee’s First Hip-Hop Song? ‘Backspin’ Podcast Digs Into History
If you’re a big music history nerd, you know there’s a ton of information out there about hip-hop’s roots in ...
The Music Of Circe Johnson
Monona Grove Liberal Arts Charter School freshman Circe Johnson expresses herself through poetry and music. She wanted to share a ...