Music of Wisconsin
Encyclopedia
Wisconsin was settled largely by European immigrants in the late 19th century. This immigration led to the popularization of galop
Galop
In dance, the galop, named after the fastest running gait of a horse , a shortened version of the original term galoppade, is a lively country dance, introduced in the late 1820s to Parisian society by the Duchesse de Berry and popular in Vienna, Berlin and London...

s, schottisches, waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...

es, and, especially, polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...

s. Classical composers and conductors from Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 include Hans Balatka, Hugo Kaun
Hugo Kaun
Hugo Wilhelm Ludwig Kaun was a German composer, conductor, and music teacher.Kaun was born in Berlin, and completed his musical training in his native city. In 1886 , he left Germany for the United States and settled in Milwaukee, which was home to a well-established German immigrant community...

, Eugene Luening
Eugene Luening
Eugene Luening was a Milwaukee born musician of German descent.He was a conducting student of Richard Wagner and an important part of the Milwaukee music scene, which was heavily influenced by Germany at the time. He was president of the Milwaukee Music Society and acting head of the University...

 and Sarge Boyd
Sarge Boyd
Donald I. "Sarge" Boyd, award-winning band director and teacher, was born in Wendell, Minnesota in 1901 and died in Eau Claire, Wisconsin on March 1, 1987....

.

German- and Norwegian-American music

The 1830s and 40s brought European dances like the schottische
Schottische
The schottische is a partnered country dance, that apparently originated in Bohemia. It was popular in Victorian era ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina , Finland , France, Italy, Norway , Portugal and Brazil , Spain ...

, waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...

, galop
Galop
In dance, the galop, named after the fastest running gait of a horse , a shortened version of the original term galoppade, is a lively country dance, introduced in the late 1820s to Parisian society by the Duchesse de Berry and popular in Vienna, Berlin and London...

 and, most importantly, the polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...

. The 1840s also saw massive immigration from Germany to Milwaukee, which became known as Deutsche Athen (German Athens). Groups formed, such as the Milwaukee Musical Society, to celebrate ethnic German music. Some important figures from this era include Christopher Bach, Hans Balatka, Eugene Luening
Eugene Luening
Eugene Luening was a Milwaukee born musician of German descent.He was a conducting student of Richard Wagner and an important part of the Milwaukee music scene, which was heavily influenced by Germany at the time. He was president of the Milwaukee Music Society and acting head of the University...

 and Hugo Kaun
Hugo Kaun
Hugo Wilhelm Ludwig Kaun was a German composer, conductor, and music teacher.Kaun was born in Berlin, and completed his musical training in his native city. In 1886 , he left Germany for the United States and settled in Milwaukee, which was home to a well-established German immigrant community...

.

While Germans moved to Milwaukee, Norwegians moved en masse to south and west Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

, and surrounding areas. Norwegian musicians like the violinist Ole Bull
Ole Bull
Ole Bornemann Bull was a Norwegian violinist and composer.-Background:Bull was born in Bergen. He was the eldest of ten children of Johan Storm Bull and Anna Dorothea Borse Geelmuyden . His brother, Georg Andreas Bull became a noted Norwegian architect...

 were wildly popular in cities like Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

.

Blues

Perhaps the most influential musical output of Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 came from Grafton
Grafton, Wisconsin
Grafton is a village in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 10,312 at the 2000 census. The village is adjacent to the Town of Grafton and the City of Cedarburg.-History:...

, Ozaukee County during the 1920s, when Paramount Records
Paramount Records
Paramount Records was an American record label, best known for its recordings of African-American jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey and Blind Lemon Jefferson.-Early years:...

 released a series of blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

 and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 recordings by artists from the South.

Punk rock

Probably the most famous punk band from Wisconsin was 1980s cult favorite the Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes were an American alternative rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, initially active between 1980 and 1987 and again from 1988 to 2009...

 from Milwaukee. New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...

 bands from Milwaukee included Couch Flambeau
Couch Flambeau
Couch Flambeau is an American punk rock band, formed in 1981 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band is known for the biting wit of their lyrics. They have released three full length albums: Mammal Insect Marriage on Ludwig Van Ear, The Day the Music Died and Ghostride both on It's Only a Record...

 and The Stellas, later better known as hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...

 band Die Kreuzen
Die Kreuzen
Die Kreuzen was a rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin which was formed in 1981. The name is broken German for "the crosses", and was picked up by the band from a German Bible...

. Milwaukee saw some other hardcore action, but the scene soon died out and Die Kreuzen moved on to speed metal
Speed metal
Speed metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from NWOBHM and hardcore punk roots. It is described by Allmusic as "extremely fast, abrasive, and technically demanding" music....

. Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

 spawned a more vibrant scene, including the Tar Babies
Tar Babies
Tar Babies was a band from Madison, Wisconsin, that released several albums on SST Records. They began their career as members of the Bloody Mattresses. This band split and became the Tar Babies and Imminent Attack. Released two EPs on their own Bone-Air Records and then graduated to the SST...

 and Appliances-SFB. Later, the noise rock
Noise rock
Noise rock describes a style of post-punk rock music that became prominent in the 1980s. Noise rock makes use of the traditional instrumentation and iconography of rock, but incorporates atonality and especially dissonance, and also frequently discards usual songwriting conventions.-Style:Noise...

 band Killdozer
Killdozer (band)
Killdozer was an American noise-rock band, formed in Madison, Wisconsin in 1983, with members Bill Hobson, Dan Hobson and Michael Gerald. They took their name from the 1974 TV movie, directed by Jerry London, itself based on a Theodore Sturgeon short story. They released their first album,...

 became an important indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

 group.

Heavy metal

Since the late 1990s Wisconsin has had an upsurge in heavy and extreme metal bands that have consistently played shows across the state and often extending into the surrounding midwest. Recently, for example, Luna Mortis
Luna Mortis
Luna Mortis was an American heavy metal band based in Madison, Wisconsin.The band was formed in late 2001 in Monroe, Wisconsin as The Ottoman Empire. In 2006, the band self-released their debut studio album, Way of the Blade. In June 2007, Luna Mortis played the first Flight of the Valkyries...

 from Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

 was signed by Century Media Records
Century Media Records
Century Media Records is an Independent record label with offices in the United States, Germany, Australia, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, and the United Kingdom.- Background :...

 and Lazarus A.D.
Lazarus A.D.
Lazarus A.D. is a thrash metal band from Kenosha, Wisconsin, originally formed as "Lazarus" in 2005. The "A.D." was added to avoid potential legal issues....

 was signed by Metal Blade. Jungle Rot are currently signed to Napalm Records
Napalm Records
Napalm Records is an Austrian independent record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock.Originally, Napalm Records focused mainly on black metal acts such as Abigor and Summoning and folk metal bands such as Falkenbach and Vintersorg....

.

Since 2003, many metal bands in Wisconsin have teamed up in a loose coalition called the Wisconsin Metal Alliance. The Wisconsin Metal Alliance, or "WMA", helps to promote and organize bands while giving them a place to congregate and pool resources.

Hip hop/Rap

Well-known hip hop music
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

ians from Wisconsin include Nick Hexum
Nick Hexum
Nicholas Lofton Hexum is an American musician, currently the vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the alternative rock band 311.-Early life:Born in Madison, Wisconsin, Hexum went to Westside High School in Omaha, Nebraska...

 and Coo Coo Cal.

Madison

Madison has an active and varied local music scene. Much of the local music caters to the tastes of college students, specifically students of the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...

. Compilation albums, such as Mad City Music, have attempted to extend the local music scene further beyond Madison. The nationally successful Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps
Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps
The Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps is a summer youth drum corps based in Madison, Wisconsin that competes in the Drum Corps International circuit. Founded in 1938, it is the third oldest corps in the DCI circuit, after the Cadets, and the Racine Scouts, founded in 1934 and 1927, respectively....

 also make their home in Madison.

The electronic and dark sides of music are alive and well in Madison. A number of bands in these genres got their start in, or make Madison home: most notably Stromkern
Stromkern
Stromkern is a band that blends electronic music and hip-hop. The band was formed in 1994 by James "Ned" Kirby.Kirby was originally a DJ in Madison, Wisconsin as a teenager, experimenting under the moniker "Flowers for Ravers" before founding Stromkern. Disenchanted with the music he was receiving...

, Null Device
Null Device
Null Device is an electronic pop band from Wisconsin, USA.-Band history:Null Device is an electronic band formed in 1995 by Eric Oehler, William Annis, and Tom Lawrence at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. After the amicable departures of Annis and Lawrence, Dr. Eric Goedken joined as a...

 & Caustic (band)
Caustic (band)
Fanale has claimed Caustic's genre to be "Jizzcore," as a joke about the amount of self-indulgent, artist-created subgenres in industrial.Influences Matt Fanale has referenced include Revolting Cocks, Hank III, Pop Will Eat Itself, Chemlab, Atari Teenage Riot, and Stromkern, as well as the...

, plus a number of others. The scene was started and kept alive through the efforts of Sonic Mainline records, Reverence (music festival)
Reverence (music festival)
Reverence was an electronic music festival, held annually in Madison, Wisconsin, United States 2003-2009. Showcasing primarily aggrotech, electro-industrial and synthpop bands, it has included other electronic dance music genres as well...

 and the Inferno nightclub.

World music is well represented with such award-winning acts as Reptile Palace Orchestra
Reptile Palace Orchestra
The Reptile Palace Orchestra is an eclectic worldbeat band based in Madison, Wisconsin which specializes in lounge, klezmer and other Eastern European music. It began in 1994 with a gig at the Club de Wash, and since that time has become a notable fixture in the Madison music scene...

 and Yid Vicious and the yearly Folkball.

Wisconsintes Duke Erikson
Duke Erikson
Douglas Elwin Erickson , better known as Duke Erikson, is a founding member of the band Garbage. At 16 years old he formed his first band, The British. Erickson studied art history, and financed his studies with numerous jobs such as carpenter or truck driver...

 and Butch Vig
Butch Vig
Butch Vig is an American musician and record producer, best known internationally as the drummer of the Madison, Wisconsin-based alternative rock band Garbage and the producer of multi-platinum selling album Nevermind by Nirvana....

 , formed Garbage
Garbage (band)
Garbage are an alternative rock band formed in Madison, Wisconsin in 1994. The group consists of Scottish singer Shirley Manson and American musicians Duke Erikson , Steve Marker and Butch Vig . All four members are involved in songwriting and production...

 with Steve Marker
Steve Marker
Steve Marker is an American musician and record producer, best known internationally as the guitarist of the Madison, Wisconsin-based alternative rock band Garbage.-Early life:...

 and Shirley Manson
Shirley Manson
Shirley Anne Manson is a Scottish recording artist and actress, best known internationally as the lead singer of the alternative rock band Garbage. For much of her international career Manson commuted between her home city of Edinburgh to the United States to record with Garbage but now lives and...

, which is based in Madison. Currently Richard Davis, Ben Sidran
Ben Sidran
Ben Sidran is an American jazz and rock pianist, organist, vocalist and writer born in Chicago, noted for his work with the early Steve Miller Band.-Biography:...

 and weekly performer and world's-most-sampled funky drummer Clyde Stubblefield
Clyde Stubblefield
Clyde Stubblefield is a drummer best known for his work with James Brown.Stubblefield's recordings with James Brown are considered to be some of the standard-bearers for funk drumming, including the singles "Cold Sweat", "There Was A Time", "I Got The Feelin'", "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm...

 all call Madison home.

Aside from the many summer festivals, Madison hosts a yearly Madison Area Music Awards show, much like Milwaukee's Wisconsin Area Music Industry
Wisconsin Area Music Industry
Wisconsin Area Music Industry is an American volunteer organization founded in 1980, and based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its stated purpose is "to educate and recognize the achievements and accomplishments of individuals in the Wisconsin music industry." The organization is best known for its...

 Awards show.

Eau Claire

The Chippewa Valley, especially Eau Claire
Eau Claire
Eau Claire is the name of a number of locations and features in North America. The name is pronounced as if it were spelled "O'Clare".-Communities:*Eau Claire, Calgary, a neighborhood in Calgary, Alberta...

, has groups and performers in the indie rock, metal/hardcore, hip hop, jam, blues, bluegrass, and jazz genres. Bands such as Bon Iver
Bon Iver
Bon Iver is a Grammy nominated folk band founded in 2007 by American indie folk singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. It includes Michael Noyce, Sean Carey, and Matthew McCaughan. Vernon released Bon Iver's debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago independently in July 2007. The majority of that album was...

, The Daredevil Christopher Wright, Laarks
Laarks
Laarks is an indie-rock band based out of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Absolutely Kosher Records, an independent California-based music label, signed a recording contract with Laarks in August, 2009...

, the New North String Band, and Farms have achieved varying levels of national success. Eau Claire
Eau Claire
Eau Claire is the name of a number of locations and features in North America. The name is pronounced as if it were spelled "O'Clare".-Communities:*Eau Claire, Calgary, a neighborhood in Calgary, Alberta...

 is also the original home of national artists such as Peter Wolf Crier and Megafaun
Megafaun
Megafaun is an American psych-folk band based in Durham, North Carolina.-History:Brothers Brad Cook and Phil Cook are from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and Joe Westerlund is from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. They first met at the H.O.R.D.E. festival in 1997, and played together in various combinations,...

 as well as many of the Minneapolis scene's popular acts including Rifle Sport, Flour, Mel Gibson & the Pants, Digitata, Lookbook, Solid Gold and many more. This success could be partly due to the award-winning music programs at area high schools and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
The University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire is a public liberal arts university located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and has an annual enrollment of more than 10,000 students...

, a healthy club, coffeehouse, and outdoor music scene, not to mention the profound influence of master showman Sarge Boyd
Sarge Boyd
Donald I. "Sarge" Boyd, award-winning band director and teacher, was born in Wendell, Minnesota in 1901 and died in Eau Claire, Wisconsin on March 1, 1987....

 over a period of half a century.

Oshkosh

During the 70's, Oshkosh was home to the Cimmeron Show Review
Cimmeron Show Review
The Cimmeron Show Review was originally a 1960s Revival Band originating in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA in 1972. The group consisted of four University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh students, Phil Barry, Scott Nelson, Jeff Kannenberg , and R.B.Smith. When they first started, the idea of the band was to make...

. Cimmeron was a four piece pop group formed by four students that attended the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Cimmeron was considered a show band and specialized in strong vocals and a well rehearsed stage show. Cimmeron had two 45 record releases . In 1975 they had a hit single "See Me Through" which registered 13 play lists and in 1976, they released "We Can Fly (Pass An Apple)" which reached 17 registered play lists according to "Radio & Records
Radio & Records
Radio & Records was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It originally started out as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006, up until its final issue in 2009.-History:The company was founded in 1973 and...

". Cimmeron was active from 1972 to 1979 and became a headliner early in the conception. They were extremely popular and very successful in the 5 surrounding states.

Waukesha

Notable artists from Waukesha
Waukesha, Wisconsin
Waukesha is a city in and the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, in the Upper Midwest region of the United States. The population was 70,718 at the 2010 census, making it the largest community in the county and 7th largest in the state. The city is located adjacent to the Town of Waukesha...

 include multi-track recording and electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...

 inventor Les Paul
Les Paul
Lester William Polsfuss —known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which made the sound of rock and roll possible. He is credited with many recording innovations...

 and The BoDeans, who are a Summerfest
Summerfest
Summerfest is a yearly music festival held at the Henry Maier Festival Park along the lakefront in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. The festival lasts for 11 days, is made up of 11 stages with performances from over 700 bands, and since the mid-1970s has run from late June through early July, usually...

 favorite.

La Crosse

There is a vibrant punk, hardcore, metal, indie, and alternative music scene in La Crosse nurtured by a solid fan base. Many bands claim origin to La Crosse and the surrounding area. La Crosse contains different venues for different types of music. The Root Note is the prime venue for indie/underground music, The Warehouse is the hotspot for alternative music, and the La Crosse Center is the main place for popular musicians performing in the area. La Crosse exhibits an extraordinarily deep music scene for a city of its size. Notable bands from La Crosse are T.U.G.G, Space Bike, Neon, and Shoeless Revolution. Popular musician Stephen Jerzak also lived and previously attended both public high schools (Central and Logan) in La Crosse, although he has since moved out to California.
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