
Transcript
Overture Center’s Co-CEO Tim Sauers on upcoming live events in Madison, Wisconsin (Hour 2)
Nite Lite with Pete Schwaba and Greg Bach · Mon Mar 9, 2026
I didn't realize you'd give yourself a nickname.
He is coming to us all the way from Marinette, Wisconsin.
Dom Lee is on the boards in Madison.
We are here with you tonight for one more hour on Nightlight.
Thank you so much to Kathy O'Neill for stopping by and having a great discussion with us again, author of Weapons of Math Destruction.
Her information will be in the show notes.
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Still ahead, we are gonna be talking to Tim Sowers, who is the co-CEO and Chief Artistic Experiences Officer of the Overture Center, talking about
all the great stuff they have coming on in the next few weeks in there and their schedule as well as, you know, maybe his hot takes on TV shows.
Cause as Pete said, he's a TV watcher and then we got a handy tip at the end of the evening.
So don't go anywhere.
Lots of programming still ahead, but I think Pete, the only thing we need to do right now to keep the show moving at a, at a, at a brisk pace, restate,
Oh, I thought you never asked Greg.
What is the best live show you've ever seen?
Yeah, and it's a bit vague and this is kind of sort of honor in an honor of Tim Sowers being here tonight So it could be something you saw at the Overture Center or something you saw in Milwaukee or on Broadway a music show a concert Comedian and concert whatever live show States there you got it bring it.
We'll accept it.
There are no right or wrong answers There are only your answers and it's always more fun when you guys participate.
So let us know your favorite live show
Absolutely.
Good stuff.
Why don't you go Greg first?
You're a big music guy.
I am actually not a huge concert guy.
I've been to a lot of live shows, but yeah, why don't you start us off?
I have a feeling yours is going to be music related.
I have not.
So
I don't go to a lot of them anymore.
I'm very choosy, especially with concert ticket prices.
So if I'm going to see a band, I really want to be able to say, all right, I'll invest the Ballortium hundred dollars.
I don't know how much it is to go to a concert, but yeah.
So, um, I would say the best show I ever went to was the flaming lips in, I think it was 2000.
Oh my God.
I don't remember what year it was.
It was in the late.
Oh, it was, it was, it was definitely like between 2008, 2012.
I know that for sure.
But so the flaming lips are an amazing band from Oklahoma.
I've seen them eight times in concert.
It
I don't care if you like them or not, if you love music you should see this group because it just has so much energy and life and what made this so great is that at the beginning of the show they find people to stand on stage and dance the entire concert and me and my friends got these passes and so we got brought backstage and we dressed up like characters from Yo Gabba Gabba and danced on the side of the stage for like two hours.
It was
phenomenal to watch it happen.
I mean, I could not believe I was standing there, but it was great.
And I got to be there with some of my bestest friends in the world.
So that was the greatest concert experience I ever saw in my life.
I'd say probably one of the top concerts I ever saw just as a viewer was Radiohead at Alpine Valley.
It was so good that I actually thought they were faking.
I thought they were doing like backtracks and lip-syncing because it was so perfect, but it was so, so good.
But yeah, the Flaming Lips best concert.
That I ever saw back at Riverside was so cool.
So so cool
Mm-hmm.
Nice.
Yep.
Absolutely loved it I have this is kind of lame I know but I have like a three-way tie, but they're sort of different genres I'm gonna say for like a Broadway musical type even though it wasn't on Broadway It was in Chicago at either the Lyric Opera House of the Auditorium I saw lame is in probably 1995 and was blown away
Absolutely phenomenal, loved it, fell in love with the show, saw it a couple more times after that.
When it comes to concerts, in 1987, I was at DePaul University and I got dragged, literally almost, to a U2 concert at the Rosemount Horizon.
I know, I was a fan, I just didn't feel like going out and my buddy Tim McGuire said I got an extra ticket, 20 bucks.
So I went and- Was that the Rattlin' Hum Tour?
No, that was Joshua Tree.
Yeah, 87.
Yeah, Joshua Tree.
So I get there and there's this band on stage opening for them, which made it even better.
The Bo Deans had never heard them.
And they said, you know, during one of their songs were from Waukesha, Wisconsin.
Place went crazy.
They were great.
Then you too comes out and it was it was just mind blowing.
It
And then most recently, two summers ago, I finally got to take my kids, my wife too, but my kids
to uh, Bruce Springsteen at Wrigley Field, a baseball field.
I ended up going to a lot as a kid.
So I got to relive that and being at Wrigley and seeing my all-time favorite performer and it was absolutely three hours of magic.
So that's awesome.
Um,
I do.
And it was actually recently, I, you know, I just moved to Madison and I wanted to go see a concert.
Um, so I'm, I'm a big fan of KG Elephant and I, yeah, I went to the Sylvia in Madison and it was
Oh, it was beautiful.
It was every all the pyrotechnics were going crazy And it was just a really fun time.
I went with I went with a few few of my buddies and it was it was great I loved it.
I loved it.
I am going to difference too.
Oh Yeah,
So years ago, I had a friend of mine who is a vet and there's a program where people will buy experiences and donate them to this program for vets.
And one of it was to go see Lord, who is a singer from New Zealand.
And my friend asked me if I wanted to go and I said, yes, because my, my, like my favorite rap group run the jewels was opening.
I'm like, I want to see run the jewels.
I only know Lord from that one song.
And so
We go there, we see Run the Jewels.
It is absolutely fantastic.
Loved them very much.
And then the lights go out for Lord.
And what I hear is 14,015 year old girls screaming.
I didn't realize who Lord's audience was.
And I turned to my friend said, I said, I said, I feel like we're at a slumber party we weren't invited to right now.
We should.
Go.
And we stayed for like 20 minutes and then we were like, yeah, that's fine.
We can go.
The tickets were free and we didn't want to see Lord anyways.
Plus we felt really out of place.
So it was a cool concert.
Like her, her concert was very artistic and beautiful and whatnot, but I was there to see around the jewels and it was fantastic.
There was like four of us and it was, it was ended up being a really fun night.
I'm really glad I did.
Monica in Mount Horrib in the 608 says at the overture Jersey boys was absolutely phenomenal I know some dissed kiss as overrated but for rock music They put one of the best shows on I've ever seen hands down.
I believe that they're very theatrical, right Jersey boys is a great show It's if you like Frankie Valley, I do I got a speeding ticket coming out of that movie because I was like I think I was going about 80 and a 50
Um, but that's a great one.
Uh, John in Columbia County in the six oh eight says Jay Giles band, Peter Wolf, John Giles, magic dick, health, gustman, and Stephen Bland.
I don't know if I know a couple of those names are real for sure.
I know Peter
They're just a good rock and roll band.
So I can imagine they put on a, a solid show.
In Madison listening in the 608 says, Hi, Pete and Greg.
The best live show I saw was beautiful.
The Carol King musical at the Overture Center in June, 2017.
I love her music.
Yeah.
Oh my goodness.
Yes.
That'd be amazing.
we were hanging out one day at Portage Park Elementary School just on the steps, you know, and there's some graffiti on the school and somebody spelled Floyd wrong.
I think they had like two L's or whatever.
But it was egregious in the eyes of certain teenage boys and one of them said, whoever wrote that doesn't deserve to own a pen.
Now forget that it was paint and there was no pen involved, but I just thought that was a really funny line and how serious he took his love for Pink Floyd.
That was great.
That's probably a fantastic show.
Nick from Marshall says, I really enjoyed the magic group called The Illusionists at Overture and Natty Nation at the Willy Street Fair and Atwood Fest.
Wow.
Those are a couple of great ones.
Very Madison.
It's a very Madison text right there.
Greg is what that
Yeah.
Very Madison.
Uh, really quick.
Sydney says, also can my girlfriend, Rachel get a shout out?
She heard her ankle today and risk is recovering watching the show right now in the couch.
Of course.
Hey, Rachel, take care of yourself.
Make sure Sydney gets to your water and food, what you need, whatever you need, use, relax.
After you're done with us, watch whatever movie you want to watch.
It's your night.
There's a band no one talks about but me and Joe and then Block Party.
Oh my gosh.
You've seen a lot of good Hercules and Love Affair is an amazing band too.
If you love like hard, like hard dance music, like really, Hercules and Love Affair.
Come on now.
Well, it's national get over it day, so why not?
Perfect.
All right.
When we come back, we are going to be talking to Tim Sowers from the Overture Center.
So don't go anywhere.
You are listening to Nightlight with Pete Schwabbe and Greg Bach on the Civic Media Network here.
Be here now.
Don't go anywhere.
See you soon.
Bye.
My name is Greg Bach.
I'm here in Radial Park in Racine and across the state in lovely Christmastown, Marinette.
I always call it Marinette.
Maronette, Wisconsin is Mr Pete Schwabba.
Dom Lee is in Madison, of course, on the ones and twos and you can always be part of the conversation.
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What's the greatest live show you've ever seen?
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Very excited to welcome our second guest for the evening.
He is the co-CEO and Chief Artistic Experiences Officer at the Overture Center.
Please welcome to the show Mr. Tim Sowers.
Good evening, Tim.
How are you?
I'm
good.
Thanks for having me back.
Wonderful, wonderful.
I love coming on your show.
Always.
Always.
I'm ready for my concerts when we get there.
that?
Start there?
Lady Gaga.
No.
OK.
Oh my god.
I was like, how?
No.
jazz show in Vegas.
Yeah.
With her 26 piece orchestra and created her own sound with that and she just loves that music so much.
I went back and saw it a second time and you know what makes her so great is she's an amazing performer but like her banter like I felt like I saw two different shows even that was all the same music.
Right.
I just love her.
She's by far the best.
Yeah,
For me, she's always a musician first, specifically a piano player.
Like in my head, I've earned the same, you know, to me, she's like Elton John and Billy Joe, just a singer-songwriter at a piano.
She can make a song that is highly produced sound just as good on a piano by herself.
And that to me is the mark of a true artist.
And that's what I think of when I think of her as an artist musician first.
Yeah.
She's she's just the best.
she'd be like 80 before she'd get to over at your center.
you probably come down.
Yeah.
either get her on the way up or the way.
Always be popular.
She will always
Well, you know, and she might you never know, like, you know, she's probably she's one of these artists who she loves the big blowout concert.
She loves a small intimate.
She may say, OK, I want to do performing art centers, right?
You know, you just don't know with her.
Yeah, it's our live stream for the 26-27 season.
There's over 30 some shows we're going to announce.
We're going to have eight Broadway shows coming in.
Two of them are Wisconsin premieres next season.
It just seems, you know, you
you're in the middle of a season announcing another season and I'm booking the 27th like what year are we in 27 28 I'm doing work in and you know I've lived in the future but yeah I mean you know we're having one of our um a really good uh Broadway season this year we have a lot of subscribers people love their Broadway shows as you heard in the concert part where people love beautiful and your Les Mis I saw that same Les Mis production in Chicago in the 90s
Yeah, breathtaking.
Um, so yeah, so some, you know, all kinds of shows, family, comedy, music, Broadway.
Let me know when you come to town.
I mean, one of the things that I love about Overture Center is, you know, we have all those faces.
In addition to our programming, we have resident companies, we have rentals, we work with, you know, bringing big comedians to the stages and, you know, it's just great.
The whole mix of it is just great.
Yeah, I mean that's our silent film series yeah that we do with our Grand Barton organ one of the only few in the country and You know the music is all live.
We put some acts as a pre-show and do a kind of vaudeville going back to the you know history of the Theater which is in 28 will be a hundred years old.
Yeah, 1928, 2028.
Yeah, that's right.
100 years old, and we're going to do some special.
We're talking already about what to do special with that.
And, you know, that's, you know, amazing, right?
Tim, I would say out of the 30 or so texts we've gotten tonight for this question tonight, which you just answered and said, Lady Gaga, there were several, at least three or four, maybe five that said they saw their favorite show, their best show ever at the Overture Center.
in the mid teens.
And so I thought that was kind of, you just guys are a great staple of the community there.
Yeah, you know, it's great to be able to, you know, bring this national work, right?
To Madison, Wisconsin, right?
It's like, you know, we draw from nine, 10 counties mostly and, you know, they have same shows going to Chicago, same shows going to Minneapolis, this, you know, you know, so it's great people can stay home.
No, I'm not doing that.
When we come back, we'll be talking more with the co CEO and Chief Artistic Experiences Officer from the Overture Center, Tim Sowers here on Night Light with Pete Schwabba and Greg Bach.
Don't go anywhere.
Be part of the conversation.
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75 Civic, you are listening to the Civic Media Network.
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close.
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Love to hear from you.
We're going to be reading some more comments throughout the rest of the show.
Heard from great people on Facebook and the text line, but we are going to continue our conversation right now with.
Tim Sowers, who is the co-CEO and Chief Artistic Experiences Officer at the Overture Center in Madison, talking about all the great shows that they have, the big announcement in April, as well as, you know, some of Tim's favorite shows, including one Lord, Lord Lady.
I know she's a lady.
I was going
to
Oh my gosh, it's too vague for me to answer.
What was I've been blown away?
Well, I don't clean toilets, first of all.
What have I been blown away?
We had a comedian that I did not know who she was.
And I looked her up when we were booking her and stuff.
But Leanne Morgan, you know her?
She's funny.
Very funny.
So I went in for like I said, oh, I'm going to watch this for five, 10 minutes and then I'm going home and I watched the whole thing.
So, you know, that came to help.
That's that was one recently.
Is
Yes, yes.
No, I don't say that tentatively.
No, I say yes because if you love the movie, the Broadway musical is very true to
it.
like very true to it um that clock tower sequence is pretty amazing to watch the technology is cool the video and the lighting and the car flies you know let's hope it does every night you know um that's that's tough right like yeah you're moving a car in you have to take it apart you have to ship it to the next town then you have to put it back together and put it making sure that it works and
you know that's a cool thing uh it's uh what i love about this show more you know the traditional broadway ticket buyer is female right between 40s and 60s but back to the future has a really high male ticket buyer because a lot of fathers are bringing their sons
cool and i'd love that
I love that, right?
Like, I love that sharing of it, right?
And the
Yeah, that's right.
So that's a show that's doing that.
It's selling very well.
There's still tickets for it.
So, you know, you love that movie.
You'll love that show.
now.
Craig Ferguson's coming in town.
Oh my goodness gracious.
Yeah, he comes every couple of years.
He's still fun and...
You know, he does pretty well too with ticket buyers for that to show I'm gonna not miss.
There are some tickets available.
Great Lakes
Well, this is one of our local arts who is in our building for season theater, and that's, you know, a new work that they're looking at.
I don't know it because it's new.
I thought I can say really about it.
Yeah.
You know, it's great that we have a symphony and I'm able to do those live film scores are incredible.
We just finished earlier this year, all eight of the Harry Potter's.
Right and they so well up until the end everybody was very interested in doing that and nice Indiana Jones You know same thing right those big classic music movies with the good scores brings them in There's a lot on the road right you can do a lot of movies with symphonies right now It's a hot commodity.
Well, you know, he's too big, but in for the comedy, but Nate Bargotty, I would love to have him in our building.
That would be very fun.
I love him so much, but he just did the, um, a lion out here that 5000 cedar earlier in the year and sold that out.
twice.
I have a
agree.
100 percent.
There's something about seeing them personally.
You know, and we've had many.
We have Charlie Barron's coming up.
We all know Charlie Barron's, right?
Yeah, of course.
We have four in our.
big haul for.
Shows of Charlie Barron.
right?
than
I
Yeah, because you're end up, if you're not up close and paid thousands of dollars, you're sitting in the back and watching it on a screen, you might as well be at home and watch it on TV, right?
You know, it's like, there's something about, yeah.
And you know, some of the comedians, I mean, he could have, Charlie Barron's could have gone to a lion to the 5,000 seat and done it.
You know, we had Tom Segura a couple of years ago.
He also did two shows in our venue.
And it was, you know, I don't know how you,
I don't know how you feel the audience when they're so big and so far away because, you know, comedy is all about
timing,
But the Pfizer forums, I mean, especially if they can't dunk, which most comedians can't, let's be honest.
Our guest is Tim Sowers.
He is the co CEO of the beautiful Overture Center in Madison and their chief artistic experiences officer.
He joins us time to time from talk to talk about.
Upcoming shows and color television and all kinds of good stuff them.
I love I don't know Do people still go to see River Dance you guys have River Dance 30 coming up?
Yeah, it's
thought it would have
no hasn't died out.
It's still going Pretty strong not as strong as it used to right of course, but still pretty soft strong and you know in our state we have
all these Trinity Irish dance schools all over the place.
And, you know, it's still very popular.
Like we'll do a Trinity and our free kids in the Rotunda.
And that's like three performances at 450.
We have to move it into Overture Hall to do it and do like three performances at like 700.
So like it's still really big.
And, you know, so yeah, River
A few years ago, and I think it was Meryl Streep who said this, she said, I wish concerts were, there were more matinee concerts.
I would go see a band at one or two in the afternoon.
And I went to go see at, uh, see the, the pass for Riverside.
I can't remember which one it was.
Brett Goldstein from Ted
Lasso.
Oh yeah.
Or are you
No, only if it's on the weekend.
But I will say one of the things, you know, you know, Bluey, right?
The cartoon.
Oh yeah.
know.
That's a huge, that's still a huge tour.
We had it.
The first time we had it, we had four shows over a weekend and did like 7,200 tickets.
Yeah.
The last time we had it was on a Wednesday, Thursday and did like 3,800 tickets.
those Wednesday, Thursday times were at six o'clock.
Yeah.
It's gotta go to bed.
It'll come back again very soon.
And I was like, Oh.
six o'clock.
Can we do all our shows at six o'clock?
I think you get a lot more people coming out, you know, at the venue that I helped run.
Late shows were tough, man.
10 o'clock shows are tough to get people to come out to because especially post COVID, I would say all the time, we have to give them a reason to put their pants on.
They've got Netflix, and Hulu, and all these things.
And when a show is at 10 o'clock, people can say, oh,
I'm not sure.
Well, for Broadway, we have a Saturday afternoon, Saturday evening, a Sunday afternoon, and Sunday evening.
And the Saturday and Sunday matinees are very popular.
Because people drive from all over to come see a show.
Well, Tim,
us?
Well, I just finished because I had to see what all the hype was about because I think it's the show that had the most press I've seen in years.
it?
Yeah, eat it drive over.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Right.
My wife is obsessed.
Crazy.
You know, and it was good.
I mean, it was it's what people want to watch right now.
Right.
Like it's I don't know.
I just I just was like, wow, they really are getting away with a lot here.
I hope HBO can keep its.
the buyout.
I hope they can keep their brand because I have to say they're the they they spend.
They they invest their money wisely in artists to develop work for them.
Yes.
And I just I hope that continues.
I watched last night.
I just watched because I'm you know, Oscars are coming.
Last night, I just watched Hamnet.
of them.
No Really that's it.
I don't know a lot of the Oscar movies this year kind of dreary They're so serious
for Overture
Yeah, please come on back.
We'll do that.
We have been talking to Tim Sowers, who is the co-CEO and Chief Artistic Experience Officer of the Overture Center.
We will put their information in our show notes.
Go see a show, check it out, especially the afternoon ones.
Thank you so much, Tim.
Have a great night.
Thanks, Tim.
Yeah, thanks.
When we come back, more text from you, as well as a handy tip from Pete and Greg.
Don't go anywhere.
You're listening to Civic Media.
Stay tuned.
That'll work.
There you go.
Make my uncle mad.
Holiday Corner.
Happy holidays.
We are coming to you live on the Civic Media Network.
We are with you for a few more minutes, but don't go anywhere.
There's still lots of programming after us, and then we'll be back tomorrow.
Same time 5 p.m.
To 7 p.m.
We will let's see what we got on what we have on the old We're gonna be talking to Cortland all about meditation why meditation is important.
He's a research scientist at EW medicine works with meditation That's gonna be a great discussion.
we'll have our question of the day which you can be a part of and Why don't you follow us on the social media search nightlight with Pete Schwab and Greg buck?
We are on Facebook.
We are on Instagram and We you can find us on the YouTube channel for civic media
And then I don't think we are on the Twitter.
Instagram and Facebook, Instagram.
And here's one thing I'll ask everyone to do.
So simple, simple request.
Tell one person about the show.
That's it.
Text someone.
Talk to a co-worker, family man, whatever.
Just tell one person.
That's all I ask.
Just tell one person about the show.
That's that'd be nice.
And we'd love and we appreciate everyone for getting in contact with us tonight other question was what is the greatest live show you ever seen and it didn't have to be
music.
It could be anything.
And we heard from a lot of individuals on my personal Facebook page.
My friend Tim, let's see here.
Oh my gosh, lots of answers here.
My friend Tim said he saw David Bowie and the sound and vision tour in 1990.
That's amazing.
Jenny Brand says Foo Fighters during a thunderstorm at the Marcus Amphitheater.
My friend Amy said the clash opening for the who in 1982 at the Pontiac Silver
I was able to attend with two or three of the shows they played that weekend.
Outstanding stuff.
She says it's a great memory that I think of often.
Robert Bro, the Purple People at the Roller Dome in Marinette, 1975 maybe?
That's Christmas city, USA to you guys scoring at home.
Bob's parent, Bob's an opera singer now, but his parents own at the roller dome back then.
So he's got some insight info.
He's getting a taste of the door.
Daniel Francis, Thines, his comedy in order.
Yeah.
Okay.
Pete Schwabba, Brian Regan, Brian Regan's coming after me.
Did you hear that, Greg?
Howie Mandel, Jim Gaffigan, Louis Anderson, Paulie Shore, another almost Marinette resident, Rita Rudner.
Almost every comedian at the skyline.
Music, Bob Seeger, Tom Petty, Roy Arbison, ACDC, Night Ranger, Cool Magang.
Tim Wargula, Three Dog Night in the early 70s.
Ian on social media says, mid 80s, the Chattanooga double bill with Blue Oyster Cult and Rush.
Love it.
He says, well, that's a long text.
I don't even think we have time for that.
Those are great, you guys.
Thank you so much for participating.
It was fun.
I will do
owned by
very well said I don't know all I'll say is it's funny because it says you don't Silly costumes are encouraged racers can be male or female carrying anyone over 18 weighing in at least 50 kilograms 110 pounds You don't have to carry your own wife, but you have to it has to be a wife So I don't know what is going on over there sounds a little On the on the down low sounds a little freaky.
It's very anyway.
That's something.
I don't see myself ever doing
Thank you so much to Dominic, to Tucker, to Engineering Traffic.
Thank you to everyone who called, texted, left a comment on the live stream.
Thank you to Tim, to Kathy, our guest this evening.
Come back tomorrow, 5 to 7 PM.
We are going to be here having a wonderful show for you.
Pete, say good night to the people.
night.
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