Tag: Summerfest

Summerfest attendance was down from 2025, up if you count Garth Brooks shows

July 9, 2026

It's time to answer that perennial Milwaukee summertime question: WHAT WAS THE SUMMERFEST ATTENDANCE THIS YEAR? Well, according to a Milwaukee World Festival press release on Thursday, "Summerfest 2026 welco...

Jerry Harrison brings ’50 Years of Talking Heads’ to Summerfest

Matt Wild

July 5, 2026

It's eminently safe to say that the Talking Heads will never, ever, ever reunite. Any shred of hope for a proper reunion—and that's all it was, a shred—was tossed to the wind in 2023 and 2024 when the band memb...

Oh, what can you say about a band like Spoon?

Matt Wild

July 4, 2026

Oh, what can you say about a band like Spoon? You can say that the Austin, Texas group has been a brilliant mainstay of indie-rock—nah, let's just say rock—for 30 years. You can say that the group has never rel...

The Beths were at their best at Summerfest

Tyler Maas

July 3, 2026

Calling itself "The World's Largest Music Festival," it's only fitting that Summerfest brings talent from all across the globe to Milwaukee during its three-weekend, nine-day stay. While there have been acts fr...

Take me back to Summerfest 2012: Bob Mould at U.S. Cellular Connection Stage

Matt Wild

July 2, 2026

Bob Mould is no stranger to Milwaukee. The legendary Hüsker Dü frontman, Sugar frontman, and solo artist seems to play the city every six months or so, whether it's at WMSE's Backyard BBQ or the East Side's Sha...

Summerfest temporarily modifies carry-in policy due to heat

Press Release

July 1, 2026

Summerfest Temporarily Modifies Carry-In Policy Due to Heat WHAT: To help our patrons manage the forecasted heat and humidity levels, Summerfest presented by American Family Insurance will temporarily modify ...

Record Recommended: Summerfest Weekend 3

Tyler Maas

June 30, 2026

Summerfest! Like the last five installments, the Big Gig is staking out three Thursday-Friday-Saturday blocks instead of the old 11-day run. In an effort to help you make some potentially difficult decisions, M...

Hank Azaria And The EZ Street Band channel Springsteen during enjoyable Summerfest set

Tyler Maas

June 28, 2026

Cover bands play Summerfest all the time. Wander around the grounds long enough and you're bound to hear an abundance of musicians performing secondhand renditions of songs written and made famous by someone el...

Sudan Archives blends digital excitement with strings, vocals at Summerfest

Lily Mihelich

June 27, 2026

One of the most striking things about live music is when a single person can captivate an entire audience with their presence. Their songs, their voice, their instruments, and their body, all moving in tandem. ...

EDM lovers light up Summerfest for Subtronics

Lily Mihelich

June 26, 2026

Summerfest's scope and crowds never fail to amaze: 12 stages; hundreds of artists; and Milwaukee, ever-so-eager to kick off each new festival weekend. On Thursday night, Subtronics paid a visit to Summerfest. T...

Kim Gordon plays ‘Play Me’ to appreciative Summerfest crowd

CJ Johnson

June 26, 2026

Kim Gordon is 73, and her 45-year reign as the queen of the alternative noise-rock kingdom remains unchallenged, as displayed Thursday night at Summerfest's Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard. While she did not...

13 Summerfest performers with accomplished film careers

Tyler Maas

June 24, 2026

broadstreet.zone(185613); It's a tale as old as film itself. In the same way countless actors aspire to be musicians, many musicians also long to make the jump from the stage to the screen. Though not everyone...

Record Recommended: Summerfest Weekend 2

Matt Wild

June 23, 2026

Summerfest! It continues this weekend (June 25-27) and next weekend (July 2-4). Here are our Record Recommended picks for the second round of the 2026 Big Gig, along with ways to get in cheap or free. THURSDAY...

Let’s remember some former Summerfest stages

Tyler Maas

June 23, 2026

Now a third of the way into its 58th edition, it's safe to say Summerfest has changed considerably since its start way back in 1968. Not only does the size of the massive event—which calls itself "The World's L...

Sunday Sauce: Searching for Italian food at Summerfest

Mitch DeSantis

June 21, 2026

Sunday Sauce is a monthly Milwaukee Record series about the area's Italian food and the places, people, and traditions that make a meal feel like home. I'm chasing how these restaurants, grocery stores, events,...

David Lee Roth wants to know how Summerfest is doing

Matt Wild

June 21, 2026

David Lee Roth wants to know how we're doing so far. David Lee Roth wants us to sing that shit. David Lee Roth wants us to know there's no I in team, but there is a U in pussy. David Lee Roth wants to ...

Braid and The Juliana Theory take Summerfest back to “another time and place”

Tyler Maas

June 21, 2026

While Summerfest does its best to book many of music's most relevant names and stock its stages with up-and-comers destined for big things in the near future, the festival's tall task of fielding a wide range o...

Amyl And The Sniffers give Summerfest much-needed kick in teeth

Mitch DeSantis

June 20, 2026

Amyl And The Sniffers do not ease into a space. They hit it with road rage energy, the kind that feels like a baseball bat to a windshield or a cement brick through a storefront window. It's a full-body reminde...

Father John Misty blesses Summerfest with sultry, strutting set

CJ Johnson

June 20, 2026

Like many, I was initially indisposed to be a fan of Father John Misty, whose Christian name is Joshua Michael Tillman. After leaving his four-year stint as Fleet Foxes' drummer in 2012, he began a solo career ...

We tried 10 new food/drink items at Summerfest (2026 edition)

Milwaukee Record Staff

June 19, 2026

It's here, folks: Summerfest 2026! Nine (not 11) days of music, people-watching, SkyGlidering, and enjoying both music and people-watching while riding the SkyGlider. Oh, and food! Don't forget about the food! ...

Tagged Summerfest