Andrew Fitzpatrick, Patrick Best at Arts + Literature Laboratory

Patrick Best’s contributions to both drone and folk music in Wisconsin trace back to Richmond, Virginia and the formation of Pelt in the 1990s. Performing and recording solo, as well as with Troy Schafer and Pelt member Mikel Dimmick in Spiral Joy Band, Best switches among guitar, viola, harmonium, vocals, and piano. Best’s music often yields a deep listening, trance-like experience. He tells Tone Madison that his goal for this solo performance at Arts +Lit Lab is to “deepen the trance.” He’ll be building a drone on harmonium and working with a drum loop, trying something new with elements that have formed the foundation of his musical endeavors for the past 30 years. 

Madison-based improviser, guitarist, and synth manipulator Andrew Fitzpatrick (sometimes operating under the alias Noxroy) plays in a number of projects including Cap Alan, Volcano Choir, All Tiny Creatures, and Bon Iver. While he often collaborates with any number of local experimental artists, Fitzpatrick performs here solo, offering an improvised set with guitar and electronics while in between Bon Iver tours. Historically, solo Fitzpatrick sets offer a hazy, gauzy warmth interspersed with bright, gleaming tones that should fill the room at ALL beautifully. 

—Emili Earhart

In the River by Spiral Joy Band
Illustration by Shaysa Sidebottom.