This Saturday there are two standout musical performances that I strongly place in the “must attend” category. One is at 6pm and one is at 8pm, so in theory you could go to both. But whatever you do, pick one and go! This Saturday is a prime example of why it’s so special to live in (or visit) Indiana’s Music City.
The first show is Becki Davis, playing at the historic St. Michaels Church at the far east end of 3rd Street, starting at 6:00pm. The show is sponsored by Lanier Historic Site as part of their “Music at the Mansion” series, and the concert is one of the many events happening this weekend as part of the Hoosier Heroines Community Celebration. The show is free, and you can learn more about all the Heroines events at MadTixEvents.com.
The second show is at Red Bicycle Hall, the premier venue in the region for seeing quality live music, and it’s the Bibelhauser Brothers with special guest Michael Cleveland on fiddle. This is a ticketed show (tix at MadTixEvents.com) and it starts at 8pm. The show is sponsored by the Kindred Folk Society and is the second event in their Still Folkin’ Music Series.
I had the pleasure of talking to both musicians, Becki Davis and Aaron Biblehauser, to get a little more insight into what concert goers might expect at these shows. See which one might be best for your tastes, then call some friends and make plans to attend.
Becki Davis has Hoosier roots, having grown up around Indy and gone to school at Ball State. Then she was off to the east coast to make her way in the world. “I worked for Mitch Daniels in D.C. at one point, plus I was playing in a band, really honing my stage chops and vocal skills,” relates Becki. “But my kids are in college now over here in the Midwest, so I thought it was a good time to move back to Indiana.
“I’ve been a songwriter for quite some time, working with the band and also as a duo act with one of the band members. So I launched my solo career in 2024 and it’s been great. I’m very excited to come to Madison and be a part of this Hoosier Heroines program. It’s an honor, really. I wrote a song called Fever in the Heartland, about a Hoosier woman who stood up to the Klan and brought them down with her testimony. I’ll be closing the show with it.
“My performances are very much lyric driven, with strong vocals and good storytelling. I’m going to have a small band for this show, to fill out the sound, and I’m hoping for a genuine community moment, where the band and the audience sort of come together for a shared musical experience. It should be a good one!”
Now the other show on Saturday night at Red Bicycle Hall will be an entirely different type of experience, much more high energy and intense. The Biblehauser Brothers (twins Aaron and Adam on guitar and bass, plus players on banjo and mandolin) are Louisville-based bluegrass legends who have been spreading the Midwest “Grass” tradition all over the region.
“There are specific flavors of bluegrass over in the mountains,” explains Aaron Bibelhauser, “from Eastern Kentucky or Tennessee or North Carolina. But a lot of those people moved north to the Midwest to find jobs and bluegrass and it all blended together in a more diverse style. That’s the space we live in, more of a mash-up of all the flavors.
“But the thing that is going to make this Madison show extra special is the addition of Grammy-winning fiddler Michael Cleveland on fiddle. It’s the Bibelhause Brothers with jet-assisted take-off! Michael lights a fire under any music he plays, and Saturday will be no exception. There will be a kind of spontaneous collaboration and exploration that you only see when you get the very best musicians on stage all together.”
Incredibly, as I write this, there are still a couple dozen tickets available for this bluegrass show. If people had any idea what an explosion of bluegrass energy is gonna happen on that stage, these tickets should be long gone. Anyway, pop onto MadTixEvents.com and hopefully they are not sold out as you are reading this. If you get one of the last tickets, you will truly be in for a magical evening.
Finally I should say that even though I’ve done this entire column on two special shows on Saturday night, this being Indiana’s Music City, there is always more music just around the corner. If you like your live music in a more casual setting, there are 4 downtown venues and 1 on the hilltop with live music going on (see the calendar below.) Plus music on Thursday and Friday, too. It’s springtime people, let’s get out there and enjoy the warmth of good live music.
HOT TIP OF THE WEEK
I think I just “hot tipped” all I can tip in the column above. Take a look at the calendar, pick your style of music, and get out and enjoy the fruits of living in a great music town.
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