Twelve years ago Madison County was a new star on the rise in country music. A decade and three albums later, they’re still shining bright.

Madison County’s road to success began when Mike Zibell decided to start a band with family member and uncle, Augie Zibell. With several changes over the years the show has grown to a seven members. The band now features lead guitarist and vocalist Mike Zibell, hailing from Texas, singer Augie Zibell, also of Texas, Angel Salinas, lead guitarist from Monterey, Mexico, professional musicians Scott Mitchell on bass, Kevin Hendrickson on drums, self-taught Dan Mahieu playing keyboard and the most recent addition, Jess Lex playing the fiddle.

The band has seen a steady rise in popularity. They are the recipients of several awards including the Wisconsin Area Music Industry People’s Choice Award for all genres from 2004-2009 the MCMA Madison Country Music Awards Favorite Country Group 2000-2008 and MADISON’s Favorite Awards, Local Country Band in 2008 and 2009. Mike and Augie are both winners of the Madison Country Music Association Male Vocalist of the Year Award.

Both Mahieu and Mike Zibell agreed that the most important thing was finding other people to play with that have a common interest.

“We’ve been fortunate, this thing has gotten a lot bigger than we ever thought it would,” said Mike Zibell.

Over the years, Madison County has played several big ticket venues alongside some of the biggest names in country including Trace Adkins, Dierks Bentley, and Dwight Yoakum at Milwaukee Summerfest. The band has also played with Rascall Flatts, Justin Moore, and Chris Cagle at the Taste of Madison.

On Jan. 29, Madison County played in front of a full house at Scatz Sports Bar and Night Club in Middleton. The electricity and excitement were in the air. The band went on stage with the smoke machine going. They were greeted by the crowd of loyal cheering fans. The culture of country music sprang to life when the band started to play. The rich harmonic vocals, the guitars, keyboard, fiddle and drums and began to bring the crowd to life, as the crowd started to dance and sing along.

Madison County has several upcoming shows in the area. The band welcomes all to the show and would love to see their fans at all of the shows.