A year’s worth of the music writing that kept us in tune

Tone Madison‘s music coverage in 2023 was driven by understanding and care.

Over the past twelve months, Tone Madison‘s gone through a lot of changes. All of those changes were made with the intention to push both Tone Madison and its coverage forward. One of the more apparent shifts happened with the way we handled previews. A critical factor in the decision to expand our scope and emphasis was the lack of space our past setup had afforded artists on multi-act shows.

That decision is in keeping with our commitment to a vision for music coverage that emphasizes community. We can’t lift each other up without mutual understanding and proper care, which is something our music writers understand and exemplify through their work. It doesn’t matter if that comes in the form of a loving preview, an incisive feature, or an exploratory historical examination that doubles as tribute. All of it is approached with understanding and care.

We did not publish as many pieces from freelancers as we have in years past. In their relative absence, our editors stepped up in a big way to ensure that we didn’t miss a beat. Pragmatism and necessity played a part in creating that scale and maintaining that volume, but when we did have the luxury of working with a freelancer, the end result was uniformly incredible.

Two of my personal favorite pieces that Tone Madison‘s music section ran this year came by way of freelancers Holly Marley-Henschen and Amelia Zollner. Marley-Henschen’s profile of Screamin’ Cyn Cyn & The Pons is, as far as I’m concerned, the definitive piece on one of the more important acts to come out of Madison since the turn of the century. And Zollner’s examination of Nottingham Co-Op’s lengthy history as a music venue also became a definitive document. One of the more memorable profiles of an artist Tone Madison ran this year also came courtesy of Zollner, who tied together our music and culture sections while covering Shea’s Violin, an artist who covers video game soundtracks.

When it came to crossing or combining sectional barriers, Tone Madison had a healthy amount of productivity. Film Editor Grant Phipps and a few historically film-oriented freelancers bridged the divide between music, film, and culture from several different angles. Publisher Scott Gordon tackled an intersection of arts, culture, and business in a look at Communication’s 2023 fundraising efforts. And I authored a love letter to Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World‘s depiction of music as well as an essay about the myriad conflicts of photography protocols and pricing, especially as pertained to live music photography. One of Tone Madison‘s underlying principles is that there’s a lot to be learned through varied experiences, and 2023 was a good showing on that front.

Phipps kicked Tone Madison‘s 2023 off with a preview of an event that included ties to music, film, and culture. In operating from that cross-sectional standpoint, Phipps wound up inadvertently setting the template for a year of coverage that didn’t shy away from exploring the heart and fringes of subject matter. This proved true in several other pieces Phipps authored for the music section, including an exit interview with the incomparable pianist Luke Leavitt, a sizable handful of event previews, and a personal essay about growing up with nu-metal.

Gordon also remained heavily involved in Tone Madison‘s music coverage throughout the year, providing valuable contributions as an author and as an extra editorial eye. Whether it was in previews for Spiral Joy Band, Ossuary, and Anders Svanoe, reporting on Bandcamp’s recent sale and accompanying layoffs, or even keeping the “Cool Building” torch lit, Gordon’s writing proved invaluable to what Tone Madison‘s music section can accomplish at its best. His insight was also critical in one of the more disturbing developments in Madison’s music community, and one of the more aggravating developments to have an effect on the Madison music community. It didn’t matter if Gordon was covering a tragic loss, the uncertainty presently surrounding some of the city’s underground practice spaces, or profiling a talented local artist, his passion for local music was unwaveringly evident.

As for myself, I continued to work on ensuring there were minimal dead spaces for our music coverage, and that Madison readers had a clear window into an under-served aspect of this city’s cultural identity. Between artist interviews, show previews, news reporting, and personal essays, I wrote around 40 pieces for Tone Madison in 2023 that had direct ties to music. I won’t link to all of them, but will say I continue to strive for comprehension when it comes to interfacing with artists and their work. This further applies to meaningfully examining contextual circumstances and potential outcomes when it comes to reporting on music news, and continuing to cultivate a clear sense of personality when it comes not just to my own work, but the work I edit. Our writers’ distinctive voices, level of knowledge, profound respect for art, and attention to detail deserve to be showcased. Our coverage is made all the better when that’s on display.

And while awards aren’t necessarily indicative of worth, I firmly believe that our second consecutive MAMA for Best Local Music Publication is reflective of the value in our writers’ work and the value of Tone Madison‘s music coverage as a whole. One thing that has consistently separated us from other outlets in Madison is our dedication to pursuing extensive year-end coverage for local releases. In 2023, we shifted the timing so that our lists would publish in January. That decision will carry over into this year’s edition of the series, which stands to be the most extensive in Tone Madison‘s history. We take pride in providing a space that honors our local musicians’ best work, and that’s only a small part of what we aim to accomplish.

You can help us accomplish so much more. Broaden the scope of what we can achieve. Publish more freelance pieces. Open up pathways to integrate recurring multimedia series. Expand our coverage even further to make sure that we’re covering more ground in our reporting.

From now until the end of the year, thanks to NewsMatch and the Loud Hound Foundation, we have the opportunity to triple the value of incoming donations. Reader donations are, and have always been, the biggest factor in keeping Tone Madison operational. We have a long way to go to reach our new goal of $15,000 this year. Every dollar makes a difference. Will you help us keep Tone Madison humming along? 

—Steven Spoerl, Music Editor