Willy St Fair: Saturday WORT Stage Spotlights

WORT Music Playlists

What was that song I heard? Who was the artist, what is the album title, where can I get it? Where can I find the entire playlist for a show?

Click on the Playlists button to bring up a calendar where you can choose any date to find the playlists for that day. If you can’t find the right playlist or the song you’re looking for, your best bet is to call the station the next time that program’s on and ask the host yourself. If that’s not possible we may be able to help you, but please have as much information as possible at hand when you contact us, such as: approximate day and time the music was played, what type or genre of music it was, who hosted the show and any other information you remember about the selection and we’ll do our best to track it down.

Contact Information

Music Director: Sybil Augustine – musicdirector@wortfm.org (for music submissions, charts and tracking, promotional exchanges for music events and following up on volunteer applications or other requests. Please include specifics in your subject line, such as “Hiphop Music Submission” etc, )

Digital Production Director: Aaron Scholz – aaron@wortfm.org (for record donations and sales, promos recording volunteers, etc.)

Music Calendars: Submit your events online here or send by email to calendar@wortfm.org

How do I get my music played on WORT?

We accept submissions in most genres and styles of music, focusing on noncommercial, out-of-the-mainstream, independent releases (check out our playlists and music charts for more information.) It may take up to a few weeks for us to review and process your submission so we appreciate your patience, and feel free to contact us to follow up. Please send your music, indicating any tracks with language that needs to be aired after 10 pm and including a one-sheet description and any biographical and tour information, to WORT Music Director, 118 S. Bedford St, Madison, WI 53703 and/or to musicdirector@wortfm.org.

We do accept digital files on .wav or mp3, but currently we still prefer CDs to digital submissions because it’s the quickest way to get it into the hands of our programmers and onto the airwaves, though we have a growing digital library. Digital submissions should be .wav or other lossless files, or high quality mp3s [128-320 kbps.]

You can follow up or “track” your submissions by email, or call 608-256-2001 on Wednesdays between 1-4 pm CST to ask if we received it, has it been reviewed, has it been added to our library, and what kind of airplay it’s getting—e.g. light, medium, heavy or charting. Thanks and we look forward to hearing your music!

TBA means To Be Awesome! 5 GREAT bands play on the 900 Block of Willy St. Final lineup:

1:00 | Josh Caterer Trio (Smoking Popes)

3:00 | Tony Castaneda Latin Jazz Band

5:00 | November Criminals (hiphop polka)

6:30 | Orquesta SalSoul Del Madison

8:30 | Something to Do (rockin’ ska)

Kicking off with a bang this year, the WORT-curated Main Stage taps the Smoking Popes‘ Josh Caterer, a big name from the lively Windy City rock scene, for the 1 pm opening slot! The Josh Caterer Trio, led by the frontman for prestigious punk band Smoking Popes, will be kicking off the fair by delivering brand new material debuted during a livestreamed performance at an empty Chicago club (famed underground hang The Hideout) as well as from the similar gig/album release Space Sessions, also named after the Chicago concert hall where that show was performed. With a catchy formula employed by his heyday in their punk rock outfit, the trio’s new live material includes pop-punk styled songs as well as re-imagined covers of classics made famous by Frank Sinatra, Etta James and Willie Nelson, to name a few.

Hailing from Chicago, Caterer first established The Smoking Popes in 1991 alongside his two brothers, Eli and Matt. During a hiatus lasting until 2005, Caterer began releasing solo material as well as performing with Duvall, which featured other Popes alumni. After three more albums under the Popes moniker, Caterer resumed concentrating on his solo work and began collaborating with bassist John San Juan (of Hushdrops) as well as John Perrin from NRBQto form the current trio line-up. Caterer is no stranger to Madison’s live music scene, earning a riveting live reputation among fans. The band will be hitting the stage to start off the day’s festivities at 1:00 PM, and their 90 minute set runs till 2:30 pm.

The Tony Castañeda Latin Jazz Band captures the spirit of what may be considered the Golden Age of Latin Jazz. After establishing his music ambitions with his first band, Olmeca, Tony Castañeda began collaborating with new as well as remaining local jazz musicians on the current project, while influenced by the jazz fusion and psychedelic elements of the previous band. Over 20 years later, the ensemble is still going strong, earning 14 Isthmus annual awards for Madison’s Favorite Jazz Band! Catch them perform at Saturday’s main stage at 3 PM.

November Criminals, hailing from Milwaukee, bring an unrelentingly unique sound to the stage as the only non-ironic polka hip-hop band in the world. The project began in 2011, citing influences such as A Tribe Called Quest and Gogol Bordello, using their lyrical energy towards both socially-conscious ideals (class struggles, anti-fascism) as well as feel-good party anthems (pirates and beer, anyone?) In 2019, the band established prominence in the scene through earning the honor of “Best Polka Band” from the Wisconsin Area Music Industry Awards, aka WAMIs. November Criminals seize the main stage at 5 PM.

Orquestra SalSoul Del Mad is a rhythmic combination of salsa and soul, featuring a 15-member ensemble that culturally fuses a variety of danceable styles, including renditions of Nina Simone, Michael Jackson, Adele and Lionel Richie. The Orquestra comprises a true “melting pot” of styles, featuring an amalgamation of Puerto Rican, German, Portuguese, Italian, Indian, American and Dominican Republican musicians. The Orquestra christened themselves in 2015 at the Latino Musical Festival in Madison and have continued to expand their creative horizons since. Orquestra Salsoul will take the stage at 6:30 PM.

Something To Do (S2D), Milwaukee’s premier long-running ska band, will be closing out the festivities Saturday evening. S2D has been a cherished staple of the Wisconsin ska community since its inception in 2003, providing the perfect up-beat and energetic punch to close out the night. Known for their catchy songs, S2D have six acclaimed albums under their checkered belt and show no sign of slowing down. With a familiarity among such acts as Reel Big Fish, Goldfinger and Vampire Weekend, the band crystallized their success in 2021 when S2D received a WAMI award for “Best World/Reggae/Ska band.” The band will take the stage from 8:30 until 10 pm.

Check out this recent video for a nice taste of what the Josh Caterer Trio will cook up Saturday afternoon!!