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Willow Island garners attention as outdoor rock venue

Katjusa Cisar  —  8/22/2008 10:10 pm

Willow Island is turning out to be the place for a lot more than brats, beer and hot rod shows. Since opening in 2003, the Alliant Energy Center's 79-acre outdoor venue is attracting more and more big concerts.

Coming up in the next few months: Umphrey's McGee and Sound Tribe Sector 9, Poison, WJJO Band Camp (with Hurt, Shinedown and others) and the Madison Roots Festival (with headliners G. Love and Special Sauce and the John Butler Trio).

This week, the Alliant Energy Center is offering a special "4 for $40" deal, where customers can buy a ticket for each of the four Willow Island events for $40 total, with no service charges. That deal is only available directly from the Coliseum box office during business hours through 5 p.m. Friday, July 4.

Bill DiCarlo, Alliant Energy Center's director, says the facility has been stepping up the outdoor shows at Willow Island in response to demand.

"People want to be outside in the summer and promoters are looking for ways to do that," he said. Besides, he added, success has a way of begetting success: after last year's inaugural event headlined by the Flaming Lips, the SoCo Music Festival is returning for a second year, this time with the Roots and the Black Keys.

Next Thursday, July 10, Umphrey's McGee and Sound Tribe Sector 9 (STS9) are teaming up for a marathon night of music. Starting at 6 p.m., they'll play back-to-back at Willow Island. Then, at 11 p.m., Willow Island ticket-holders can go hear STS9 play a special late-night set at the Barrymore Theatre, 2090 Atwood Ave.

There'll be no opening acts at either venue, just extra-long sets from both bands, according to STS9's manager, Eric Pirritt.

Madison is one of a handful of cities getting the special treatment of a post-show, along with Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia and Raleigh, N.C.

"We picked a few of our favorite cities to play post-show sets in because our fans are used to two sets a night," Pirritt said. "We never play the same show twice and it'll be completely different sets at each show. In some places we do scaled-down, more electronic/DJ-type sets but in Madison we're bringing the whole package."

Two days before the show in Madison, STS9 is releasing its latest album, "Peaceblaster."

For more on the week ahead in live music, see this story at captimes.com.

Katjusa Cisar  —  8/22/2008 10:10 pm