Song Fight! Live 2019: Location

[Jefff]

<-- psyched

errr.... psyched -->

[Pigfarmer Jr]

Also looking forward to my first Song Fight! Live appearance. *crosses fingers it's not during one of my conferences*

[owl]

Before I get in touch with venues about dates, any particular times that do or don't work well for folks who are thinking of attending?

[ken]

I'd say late July/Early August is best for me.

[Lunkhead]

Not the third week of July, and not Labor Day weekend or the week after.

Nailing down the dates is really tough. No dates will work perfectly for everyone and also align with dates available from venues. Just do the best you can.

[owl]

Hi guys,

So far it's looking like August 2-3 at the Rigby in beautiful downtown Madison, just off the Capitol square. (The venue is clear, I'd like to just make sure there aren't any objections on the date from the rest of the WI contingent before making it OFFICIAL official.)

More details to come!

Send event name ideas if you've got 'em!

[Lunkhead]

Wow, very exciting! That place looks cool, check and check on the food and drinks part, too. Looks like they have multiple rooms and performance areas? Would we be on the stage shown in this photo?

https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/the-rig ... bSlrw7HFYg

As far as I know at the moment those dates would be fine for me and Erin.

I forgot to mention earlier that the first weekend in September is bad for us and probably a number of other "old timers" that usually attend SFL as Frankie Big Face is getting married that weekend.

[owl]

I can't tell from that photo where it was taken but I think this would be in their upstairs stage area w/PA... will dig up a pic if I have time. It's most likely the same stage. I've seen shows and played up there, though not in recent years since their DIY show booking vanished for a while... I've seen comedy a couple times in recent years though. There is a main level bar and a basement where they do special events and have pool. The food is pretty good and they have a big list of house-infused vodkas (highly recommend the honey habanero press)

[fluffy]

I have penciled it in and will absolutely do my best to come. Time to start arranging fibromyalgia-friendly versions of songs! (Or getting someone else to learn my guitar parts.)

[Pigfarmer Jr]

The wife and I have tentative plans to attend.

[owl]

Lucky Spoon, Manhattan Glutton, and MicahSommer have confirmed August 2-3 works for them so let's make this official. Song Fight! Live, August 2-3 2019, The Rigby, Madison, WI. Start your engines!

• This is my first time attending, let alone planning, one of these, so let me know if there's anything you think I should know or that you want me to take into account, please.
• When you decide, please let me know if you are seriously thinking about or definitely attending. When it's closer to the date and we have some RSVPs, I'll start figuring out set orders, practice space situations, special needs for backline, etc.
• Logistics for transportation: If you're flying, I highly recommend flying into the Madison airport (MSN) if you can--it's tiny, pretty close to downtown, and easy to navigate, and security takes about 5 minutes to get through. You can see the direct flights on this map.
• However, you can often get cheaper flights or more convenient schedules flying into Milwaukee or Chicago, and there are super convenient buses that will take you to downtown Madison from Mitchell (MKE), O'Hare (ORD), or Midway (MDW). (There's a bus from Minneapolis, too, but it's much more of a trek.)
• Milwaukee is about a 2-hour bus ride, $23 each way
• Chicago is a 3-4 hour bus ride on Van Galder, $30-$35 each way.
• If you opt for the bus, make sure you get one of the UW or downtown stops and not the Dutch Mill Park and Ride, which is outside town a bit.
• And please note there are lots of summertime events every weekend in Madison in the summertime, so hotels and AirBnBs fill up fast!

[fluffy]

I am seriously considering but going to try my hardest.

Regarding the bus, which carriers would you recommend? I'm seeing several options including Van Galder, Megabus, and, of course, Greyhound.

ETA: also how long does the bus ride take?

[Lunkhead]

That's awesome!! Is it official enough for me to post to the homepage and the Facebook group and Twitter account?

Erin and I are seriously interested.

[Niveous]

Lucky Witch is interested. We're gonna look into the logistics of getting the whole band out there.

[owl]

Awesome! Yes post away

[Jefff]

Add and Charm, Offensive are seriously interested.

[owl]

Awesome. So far Micah has suggested "Curds and Chords" for the name. Anyone have any other suggestions or shall we go with that?

[frankie big face]

I would say I will 90% be there. I'll try to firm up that other 10% soon.

[Lunkhead]

Awesome. So far Micah has suggested "Curds and Chords" for the name. Anyone have any other suggestions or shall we go with that?

I somehow only saw this just now. I think that is great!

Also, yay frank!

[owl]

I am seriously considering but going to try my hardest.

Regarding the bus, which carriers would you recommend? I'm seeing several options including Van Galder, Megabus, and, of course, Greyhound.

ETA: also how long does the bus ride take?

fluffy, i'm so sorry, I totally missed your question earlier and just saw it now because the thread got bumped! Which airport would you be flying into? I think for airport trips, I have only ever taken Van Galder or Badger Bus, the defaults I linked in my post, so I'd look into that first; although my husband and I have both done Megabus or Greyhound trips to other cities like Minneapolis or Ann Arbor.

The Milwaukee airport is about a 2-hour bus ride, $23 each way.
Either Chicago airport is a 3-4 hour bus ride on Van Galder, $30-$35 each way.

And also I'm sorry, I totally neglected to say YAY I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO MEETING YOU!!! to everyone who has posted so far that they will be coming or trying to come!

[fluffy]

I'm not sure which airport I'd be flying in via, because I'm trying to figure out the itinerary which seems the least-heinous to me and my chronic pain disability (both in terms of connections and in terms of time of day for actual travel).

[owl]

The cheapest option will usually be to come in via Milwaukee or Chicago, and both bus rides are pretty easy, Milwaukee more so. This may also be the easier option depending on how you feel about changing flights versus getting on a bus (the bus schedule is a bit limited.)

I love flying in and out of MSN since it's such a small and convenient airport, but airport connections may end up being more annoying than bus connections.

It's also not a long drive from Milwaukee, so car rental + driving from MKE can work well too, which would give more flexibility within town in Madison too. The bus rides take longer than driving straight, since obviously the bus is stopping along the way. It's about a 1.5 hr drive from Milwaukee and about a 2.5 hr drive from Chicago (but Chicago traffic can be BRUTAL, so be forewarned about that).

Feel free to PM me if I can help with planning at all!