• Léon Pradeau, Tuesday, June 16, A Room of One’s Own, 6 p.m.: Léon Pradeau is the headliner but this quadruple poetry bill is more than just the headliner. Chicago’s Pradeau is in town to read from his new English translation of Superliquid Water by Cécile Mainardi. He is joined by Madison’s own Steve Timm. Steve Timm is still around!? You bet, and he’ll read from his recent work, including 2024’s Ornithocracy. Milwaukee’s Lewis Freedman will also read, presumably including poems from his forthcoming collection from Krupskaya Books. And Chicago’s Kai Ihns will showcase her work and her recent book Of. What better time to revel in poetry than the long evenings of mid-June?
• Water for Elephants, June 16-21, Overture Center-Overture Hall: Sara Gruen’s 2006 hit novel, Water for Elephants, is one of those wildly inventive tales that wouldn’t seem to be bestseller material, much less ripe for adaptation for a major motion picture and a Broadway musical. But life is surprising that way (also a theme of this material). After a family tragedy, a young veterinary student hops a train that turns out to be a circus train. The carpe diem themes work well with the exuberant circus staging and heartfelt songs. This is the show’s Wisconsin premiere, with performances at 7:30 p.m. June 16-19, 2 & 7:30 p.m. June 20 and 1 & 6:30 p.m. June 21. Tickets at overture.org.

• The Wallflowers, Tuesday, June 16, Barrymore, 8 p.m.: You might have seen the Wallflowers before, but not like this. On their current tour, the alt-rock mainstays will perform the quadruple-platinum 1996 album Bringing Down the Horse in its entirety. The second release from the band led by Jakob Dylan (yes, Bob’s son) spawned four singles — including “One Headlight” and “6th Avenue Heartbreak.” But that’s not all. The Wallflowers also will perform Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ often-overlooked 1982 album, Long After Dark, from front to back. Petty asked Dylan to induct Petty and his band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, and now Dylan is honoring a major influence. Singer-songwriter Early James, who is signed to the label of The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, opens. Tickets at ticketmaster.com.
• Home Grown, June 17-Aug. 8, Textile Arts Center: Fiber and textile artists in the Midwest don’t always have the opportunity to work with materials from their own home areas; the Midwest Linen Revival collective is working to change that. As part of its annual Field to Frock events series (June 23-28), the organization is partnering with the Textile Arts Center on “Home Grown,” an exhibition featuring contemporary artists incorporating Midwestern fibers and dyes in their work. A reception takes place from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on June 26; regular gallery hours are noon-4 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday.
• Wisconsin Assembly District 76 Candidate Forum, Wednesday, June 17, Garver Feed Mill, 5 p.m.: The 76th Assembly District covers the isthmus and parts of north and east Madison, and is currently served by Rep. Francesca Hong, who gave up the seat to run for governor. Hear from candidates for the seat at this forum hosted by Indivisible Madison East, SASY Neighborhood Association and Williamson Marquette Business Alliance, with a social hour at 5 p.m. and the forum at 6 p.m., moderated by Isthmus staff writer Chali Pittman. Candidates scheduled to participate are Isaia Ben-Ami, Juliana Bennett, Tony Castañeda, Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford and Zoe Sullivan.

• Luicidal, Wednesday, June 17, The Annex, 6:30 p.m.: This early evening concert is the pick of the week for anyone who likes old-school punk rock. The bill is topped by Luicidal, a long-running California band featuring members of Suicidal Tendencies and continuing that band’s hard-edged attitude. Also visiting is Oshkosh trio Smoke Free Home, whose recordings are speedy punk with an occasional math rocky-y spin. Madison is ably represented by Los Kausas, which plays no nonsense punk sung in Spanish, and Dogsblood, a hardcore supergroup featuring members who have played in bands such as Brass Tacks, Poison Idea, Funrod, Wartorn, and countless others. Tickets at eventbrite.com.
• Dylan LeBlanc, Wednesday, June 17, The Bur Oak, 8 p.m.: Dylan LeBlanc, a Louisiana-born singer-songwriter with a sweet-sounding tenor voice who got his start playing gigs around Muscle Shoals, Alabama, is celebrating the 10th anniversary of his third album, Cautionary Tale. In May, he re-released the album, which upon its initial release the UK’s Uncut magazine called “a finely crafted exercise in country-soul classicism.” He also recorded a new version of the title track. Expect LeBlanc to revisit this material, as well as play songs from his other albums, including 2023’s Coyote. Nashville-based Americana singer-songwriter Carlyle Griffin opens. Tickets at theburoakmadison.com.

• Our Home States: Mountain Region, through June 21, Broom Street Theater: Year four of Broom Street Theater’s Our Home States series traveling the country through short plays lands in the Mountain region. Works by seven playwrights include Belly Up To the Bar, a story of “catharsis in wartime” by prolific Chicago writer Donna Latham, and Throw Me Out by New Zealand-based Rex McGregor. Performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday; ticket info at bstonline.org.
• Tom Antell, Romano Johnson, through July 12, James Watrous Gallery: The power of color leads the conversation as the James Watrous Gallery features a pair of exhibitions by Wisconsin artists. Romano Johnson’s collection “Gospel Love Heart” goes big — angels, racing cars, church clothes, and plenty of glitter — in large-scale imagery that fills a room and will keep your eyes moving. Tom Antell’s “Democratic Vistas” blends playful imagery with dark themes considering Indigenous history as shaped by colonization. Regular gallery hours are noon-5 p.m. Thursday-Sunday.
• Paul Otteson album release, Thursday, June 18, Bur Oak, 8 p.m.: Many local music fans know chamber folk singer-songwriter Paul Otteson as the front man for Madison’s Faux Fawn. His new solo album, Alright, I Get It, Alright, marks Otteson’s emergence from a music hiatus and is a chilling collection of retrospection, the thoughts and musical musings of a middle aged man not afraid to think out loud about flailing within the chaos of his life. Opener Bright Arcana is a perfect pairing; John Everett Hardin also digs deep in search of some ever elusive tranquility. Tickets at theburoakmadison.com.

• Hot 8 Brass Band, Thursday, June 18, Atwood Music Hall, 8 p.m.: From the street parades of New Orleans to the international stage, the Hot 8 Brass Band has blended the oversized sounds of traditional marching bands with jazz, funk and hip-hop for more than 20 years. Known for their vibrant original tracks as well as passionate renditions of classics by artists ranging from Marvin Gaye to Joy Division, expect a non-stop, sweaty stage performance featuring several trombones, saxophones, trumpets, drums and the deepest of bass notes that could only come from a tuba. The band is also renowned for their resilience through tragedy — including Hurricane Katrina and, separately, the deaths of several band members — and this show will be both high energy and high emotion. Tickets at theatwoodmusichall.com.

Find the individual Picks collected here, and as part of the full calendar of events.