📝 Baby falcon alert!

🎵 A New Space for Musicians

• Two local musicians are opening up a space for performers in the SASY neighborhood. Muso at 2040 Winnebago St. will be a space for musicians to perform, practice, and just jam. The business model relies on annual memberships but the owners also hope to provide scholarships for those who can’t afford the fees.
• “There’s nothing around here like this and that's part of the attraction for me. It’s completely different," one of the owners told the Wisconsin State Journal. "Yeah, it’s a passion project but I’m hoping it will make people happy and it will be a place where people can make music and hang out and enjoy themselves.”
• The east side — and specifically the SASY neighborhood — has a growing music scene. Just down the street from Muso, the co-owner of the Bur Oak is opening a new venue in the former Madison Gospel Tabernacle. [Madison Minutes, Wisconsin State Journal]

⚽ Good News for The Flock

• Madison’s professional soccer team Forward Madison FC will make its first-ever national broadcast appearance this summer. The team’s June 15 match against South Georgia Tormenta FC will air on ESPN2. Meanwhile, if you’re in the area, you can check out the game for yourself at Breese Stevens Field. [Forward Madison FC]

🥕 Heading to the Farmers Market?

• There are more than a dozen new vendors making their Dane County Farmers’ Market debut this season. Some of the new vendors are local favorite Far Breton Bakery, and Hidden Springs Creamery, whose cheeses won awards at the 2024 World Championship Cheese Contest.
• Dig deeper: Here’s how to become a farmers market pro. [Madison Magazine, Madison Minutes]

🎓 UW Warns Against Commencement Disruptions

• UW-Madison administrators have warned students that those who “engage in disruption” at this weekend’s graduation ceremonies will risk suspension or arrest. Protests on campus have stretched on for two weeks and while student representatives have met with members of UW’s administration, the two sides have failed to come to a resolution.
• Students have circulated a petition with their demands, calling for transparency on UW’s investments, accountability and oversight, and more.
• On Thursday, protesters held a die-in at Bascom Hall, where they laid down in front of the building — many dressed in their graduation robes — and read the names of dead Palestinian children. [Isthmus, WKOW]

Sybil (AKA Sybbie, black cat) and Elio (orange cat) are an impish pair that get into mischief, watch the squirrels and birdies from their balcony and lounge around the house, according to their owner Emma W. Sybbie is a sweet-talking cuddler that loves to dig in the dirt and Elio spends his time looking for the one brain cell he shares with the rest of the orange cat community. (Relatable.)

UW Protest Talks Stall, Lawmakers Approve a State DEI Audit, and City Revises West Area Plan Draft

UW-Madison leaders say ending the pro-Palestinian protest encampments is a top priority for them. But their talks with organizers are dragging into a second, full week sans resolution. Host Bianca Martin and newsletter editor Hayley Sperling break it down. Plus, GOP state lawmakers vote to audit state government DEI initiatives and the city announces proposed changes to the highly-disputed West Area draft plan.