Tomorrow marks the start of another Summerfest. Entering its 49th year, “The Big Gig” has long been home to deep fried delicacies, prime people watching, and hundreds upon hundreds of musical acts. While Summerfest’s distinction of being “The World’s Largest Music Festival” is in no threat of landing elsewhere, this year’s festivities are somewhat smaller than recent iterations. This time around, Summerfest will roll on without the smallest and most locally-focused of its 11 stages. As a direct result of losing what was most recently known as the KNE New Music Stage, the festival’s lineup will shrink by more than 50 acts, traditionally in-state talent.
Despite saying goodbye to a stage that hosted dozens of Milwaukee- and Wisconsin-based bands last year, the 11-day event isn’t without its local flare. As a means of giving homegrown performers an opportunity to play in front of new, larger audiences before renowned headliners take the stage (and, yeah, maybe saving themselves a few bucks in the process), this year’s Summerfest still has a local identity. Hell, some Milwaukee bands are headlining their prospective stages. Between June 29 and July 10, more than 50 Milwaukee acts will perform on the Henry Maier Festival Park grounds, and that’s not even counting local cover bands and people playing at those tiny side stages by the lake. Those seeking some locally-made music between noted national and international performs should consult Milwaukee Record‘s handy guide to Milwaukee acts playing Summerfest.
Wednesday, June 29
1:00 — Parallel (Uline Warehouse)
6:30 — No No Yeah Okay (Johnson Controls World Stage)
7:30 — Antics (Miller Lite Oasis)
8:00 — The Fatty Acids (Uline Warehouse)
8:30 — Kiings (Miller Lite Oasis)
Thursday, June 30
12:00 — Listening Party (U.S. Cellular Connection Stage)
2:00 — Boney Fingers (Harley-Davidson Roadhouse)
4:00 — Category X (BMO Harris Pavilion)
6:00 — Evan Christian Band (U.S. Cellular Connection Stage)
6:00 — Greatest Lakes (Miller Lite Oasis)
7:15 — GGOOLLDD (Miller Lite Oasis)
Friday, July 1
6:00 — Charles Walker Band (BMO Harris Pavilion)
6:00 — Sammy Llanas (Harley-Davidson Roadhouse)
7:30 — Tigernite (Miller Lite Oasis)
8:00 — Trapper Schoepp (Harley-Davidson Roadhouse)
8:00 — Willy Porter (U.S. Cellular Connection Stage)
Saturday, July 2
8:00 — The Living Statues (Uline Warehouse)
Sunday, July 3
2:00 — The Incorruptibles (Harley-Davidson Roadhouse)
8:00 — New Age Narcissism (Miller Lite Oasis)
8:00 — Streetlife with Warren Wiegratz (Uline Warehouse)
9:45 — BoDeans (BMO Harris Pavilion)
Tuesday, July 5
2:00 — Doghouse Flowers (U.S. Cellular Connection Stage)
2:30 — The Tritonics (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
5:00 — Max & The Invaders (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
6:00 — IshDARR (Miller Lite Oasis)
6:30 — The Cavewives (Uline Warehouse)
6:45 — Space Raft (Johnson Controls World Stage)
7:00 — Direct Hit! (Marcus Amphitheater)
8:00 — Shonn Hinton & Shotgun (Miller Lite Oasis)
Wednesday, July 6
1:45 — Ray Nitti (Johnson Controls World Stage)
2:30 — Mt. Olive (Miller Lite Oasis)
4:00 — Nora Collins (U.S. Cellular Connection Stage)
4:30 — Altered Five Blues Band (BMO Harris Pavilion)
6:00 — Ethan Keller Group (U.S. Cellular Connection Stage)
8:00 — Jaill (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
8:00 — Yo MKE Raps with DJ E Rich and DJ Why B (Johnson Controls World Stage)
Thursday, July 7
1:45 — Kyle Feerick (Johnson Controls World Stage)
5:30 — Tweed Funk (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
7:15 — Brett Newski (Harley-Davidson Roadhouse)
8:00 — Greg Koch & The Tone Controls (Uline Warehouse)
8:30 — Midwest Death Rattle (Harley-Davidson Roadhouse)
9:45 — Violent Femmes (Harley-Davidson Roadhouse)
Friday, July 8
2:00 — Pat McCurdy (Harley-Davidson Roadhouse)
6:00 — Hugh Masterson (Harley-Davidson Roadhouse)
Saturday, July 9
4:00 — Sigmund Snopek (BMO Harris Pavilion)
6:00 — Mike Benign Compulsion (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
7:00 — Reyna (Miller Lite Oasis)
8:00 — De La Buena (Johnson Controls World Stage)
8:00 — Woolridge Brothers (Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard)
10:00 — Gabriel Sanchez And The Prince Experience (Johnson Controls World Stage)
July 10
4:00 — Pet Engine (Miller Lite Oasis)
8:00 — Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound (Johnson Controls World Stage)
8:00 — The WhiskeyBelles (U.S. Cellular Connection Stage)