IT'S TIME TO GET LIT!

Join us July 14th, 2023 on the 100 Block of State Street in Madison, WI for the official launch of the 2023 Mad Lit event series! All upcoming event dates are listed below, stay tuned for artist confirmations!
 
Latest update: April 7th, 2023

7/14

Artists Confirmed:
Rebulu, Grupo Candela, and Rey Cruz

7/28

Artists Confirmed:
Ted Park & Parlay Pass

8/11

Artists Confirmed:
Fresh Force

8/18

Artists to be announced!

9/08

Artists to be announced!

9/22

Artists to be announced!

9/29

Artists to be announced!

Interested in vending during this years Mad Lit event series?

Take a moment to fill out our interest form!

More Lights

"I was talking with one of the owners of one of the restaurants and the conversation started as, 'You know what this street needs: more lights.' And that's really how the whole thing kind of evolved."
Rob Franklin
Founder of Mad Lit

Interested in sponsoring Mad Lit?

View our sponsorship packages.

Background:

Mad Lit began in the Summer of 2021 every other Friday on July 2 through October 8, on the 100 block of State Street. Mad Lit is a free concert series featuring live music and highlighting local artists, and businesses of color. The series ran from 8 PM until 11 PM and included pop-up shops, visual exhibits, and community-led workshops.

The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted State Street businesses and culture, and this new event series was a way to help revitalize the 100 block of State Street. Although this area has not always been a welcoming space for people of color, the social justice murals that went up during the summer and fall of 2020 brought a new and diverse group of people downtown – some for the first time.

Previous Sponsors

This project is supported by Dane County Arts with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation; The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The Capital Times; the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation; and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation.

Previous Sponsors:

This project is supported by Dane County Arts with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation; The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The Capital Times; the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation; and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation.

Photo Collages:

Click an image to enlarge the 2021 and 2022 photo collages created to showcase our previous Mad Lit performing artists, vendors and visual artists.