Winter Madness 2026 is happening now, and we are scrambling to catch up. Sadly, Our Wicked Lady shuttered its doors last year (as reported here, by Rob Lanterman), but its long running battle of the bands tradition soldiers on this year at Main Drag Music.
For those unfamiliar, Winter Madness is a battle of the bands where 16 bands compete to be crowned champion. The honor of being crowned the victor is not just bragging points, but also comes with a $5000 purse for the winner and other prizes for all bands making it to the final 4.
The tournament unfolds over 4 weekends, 8 nights in total. While this is a competition, the bands generally look at it as good fun, and an excuse to add some drama to their set. But the tournament style does add some competitive heat when heat is badly needed in the dead of the winter.
Past winners include local favorites Dead Tooth and A Very Special Episode (seen below tuning their instruments).
You can find a listing of all of the shows in the tournament here, as well as updates to the bracket as it progresses.
