Summerfest

History

Summerfest was conceived in the 1960s by then-mayor Henry W. Maier. Inspired by his visit to Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany, Maier envisioned a similar ethnic-themed festival in Milwaukee, and in 1962 formed a panel of business and civic leaders to study the feasibility of a large-scale summer festival. By the middle of the decade, the panel drew up a proposal for a 10-day multi-event festival with the proposed name of "Milwaukee World Festival," which was changed briefly in 1966 to "Juli Spaß" (German for "July Fun") and then to "Summerfest".

The inaugural Summerfest was held in July 1968 at 35 different locations throughout the city (including Milwaukee County Stadium and Milwaukee Arena), and its events ranged from concerts to a film festival, an air show, and even a pageant. The first Summerfest, produced by Dee Robb and Con Merten was regarded as a success; the second event in 1969, was less successful, as it was plagued by additional venues, inclement weather, and severe financial debt.

In 1970, a permanent central location was decided upon, and Summerfest moved to a former Nike missile site on the lakefront, where it continues to be held to this day. Also that year, Summerfest introduced its red "smiley face" logo, an insignia that has become synonymous with the event. The logo was designed by local graphic artists Noel Spangler and Richard D. Grant.

It was also in 1970 that Henry Jordan, former Green Bay Packers defensive tackle, became executive director of Summerfest, a title he held during the event's early years until his death in 1977. After a few other businessmen were hired by the board for the executive director's job, Elizabeth "Bo" Black, who was formerly Henry Jordan's secretary, became executive director in 1984 after a ten-year lobbying effort.

Summerfest celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2007. The event's history was the subject of "Summerfest Stories", a documentary that aired in June 2007 on Milwaukee Public Television.

In 2015, Milwaukee World Festival, Inc and ReverbNation announced a three-year agreement to use the online service as an audition to give musicians a chance to perform. Summerfest wanted to provide an opportunity for performers to get a chance to be one of the 800+ acts and allow new talent to be seen by over 900,000 people that attend.

Attendance

2014

In 2014, Summerfest managed to draw and host 851,879 patrons, an increase of 1.4% over 2013’s 840,356 attendance, overcoming unseasonable weather challenges, including fog, intermittent rain and cool temperatures, along with significant highway and road construction projects in the immediate area. Food and beverage sales at the event increased by 6% over last year’s totals in the same categories. Summerfest employed nearly 2,200 seasonal employees. Festival fans sampled over 45 diverse food and beverage vendors, which resulted in the consumption of 66,011 burgers, 20,799 brats, 17,842 eggplant strips, 96,344 mozzarella sticks, 38,202 ears of corn, 181,758 mini donuts and 33,728 ice cream cones.

2015

Summerfest 2015 attracted 772,652 people, a 9.3% decline in attendance attributed to the combined Zoo Interchange and north-south portion of I-94's construction projects, along with cooler weather and a three-day strike against the Milwaukee County Transit System by the union representing bus drivers. An additional 23,000 fans attended the Rolling Stones' Summerfest kickoff June 23, the day before the festival began.

2016

Summerfest 2016 attendance numbers were up by 4.1% compared to the previous year. In 2016, 804,116 people attended Summerfest. High attendance was partly attributed to a performance by Paul McCartney and good weather.

American Family Insurance Amphitheater

The American Family Insurance Amphitheater is an amphitheater on the south end of the Summerfest grounds. Previously known as the "Marcus Amphitheater", it was built after an extremely overcrowded concert in 1984 to carry crowds of 25,000 fans during concerts. It was completed in 1987, with the principal contribution from the Marcus Corporation.

A new American Family Insurance Amphitheater is scheduled for construction in 2019. It will include enhanced production space, additional restaurant options, new restroom facilities, and new hospitality areas.

Uline Warehouse

Located on the north end of the grounds, the Uline Warehouse can accommodate approximately 5,000 - 6,000 and hosts a mix of acts from various genres including classic rock, country, hard rock, blues, and jam.

U.S. Cellular Connection

The U.S. Cellular Connection Stage features primarily country and pop music. iHeartMedia, including FM 106.1, is the media partner of the stage.

Johnson Controls World Sound Stage

The Johnson Controls World Sound Stage lineup hosts a mix of acts spanning genres including R&B, blues, world beat, and soul.

Miller Lite Oasis

The Miller Lite Oasis stage, completed in 2006, is the largest stage inside the Summerfest grounds that is accessible without having to pay extra for the American Family Insurance Amphitheatre headliner. A renovation of the Miller Lite Oasis stage will be complete for Summerfest 2017.

Harley-Davidson Roadhouse

Harley-Davidson teamed up with Summerfest to completely renovate their stage and area footprint for the 2008 festival season. The renovation improved sight lines, sound and lighting, while also increasing the area's capacity and providing for improved traffic flow in and around the stage area. Upgrades included large video screens for image magnification of performances and a comfortable seating area at the lakefront.

Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard

In 2011, a renovated Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard stage opened. Its capacity ranges from 6,000 to 8,000.

BMO Harris Pavilion

In 2012, the BMO Harris Pavilion finished construction. The new pavilion and stage, designed by Eppstein Uhen Architects, features a swooshing wave-like roof and replaces the temporary Classic Rock Stage on the south end of the grounds. It is the main project of phase two of Summerfest's two-year, US$35,000,000 redevelopment project.

The pavilion features a 10,000-person capacity, including 5,000 seats. A 17-by-10-foot video screen has been added to enhance viewing for standing-room-only patrons. Additional amenities include a lakeside sit-down restaurant and a "club bar" – with room for 200 patrons and a commanding view of the stage – open to the public during unsold time periods. Plans are also in the works to book concerts at the pavilion outside of Summerfest. There have been complaints that this is now the first ticketed venue in what was a completely general admission festival since the beginning of Summerfest in 1968, besides American Family Insurance Amphitheater.

KNE New Music Stage

The KNE New Music Stage, sponsored by K-Nation Entertainment, is located on the north end of the park near the U.S. Cellular Connection Stage. Featuring local and regional acts, this is the smallest of the stages, save for Tiki Hut and Refugee (listed below). The stage was previously co-sponsored by Cascio Interstate Music through 2013, and has since fallen under scrutiny for straying from purely local talent.

Tiki Hut

The Tiki Hut is a small lakefront stage that often features local but talented acts, with genres ranging from acoustic to electronic funk. The area often serves as an oasis for concertgoers looking to get away from the crowds and heat from the larger stages. Unlike most other stages, a single band may perform more than one act per day for a block of three to four days, which aids in developing a local following. The performers on this, and many of the smaller stages usually work for tips, as they are not paid to be there. Two current mainstays and crowd favorites of the Tiki Hut are Roster McCabe, a high-energy Minneapolis-based rock/rap/reggae/funk/electronic fusion group and acoustic guitarist Dan Rodriguez.

Refugee

Like the Tiki Hut, the Refugee stage features local acts of a variety of genres. The Refugee stage is just 15 feet from Lake Michigan and is a popular place to feel the lake breeze on hotter summer days and meet the musicians.

Concert history year by year

Summerfest has been most famous for its music, ever since the first festival in 1968, when acts such as Ronnie Dove, The New Colony Six, The Robbs and Up With People performed. Since then, musical acts from Bob Dylan, The Jonas Brothers, Maroon 5, Fun, Britney Spears, Tina Turner, and James Taylor to Christina Aguilera, Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Mary J. Blige, Wiz Khalifa, Imagine Dragons, and Nine Inch Nails have graced the Summerfest stages. Acts with Milwaukee and Wisconsin connections have had a prominent history at Summerfest, most notably the BoDeans, The Gufs, Danny Gokey, and Violent Femmes.

The concerts have been mostly civil events, with two notable exceptions. In 1970, a performance by the late-arriving Sly & the Family Stone nearly resulted in a riot. In 1973, a performance by Humble Pie & Jo Jo Gunne resulted in a riot, a bonfire, and about 300 arrests. As a result of the latter concert, organizers shied away from rock bands for several years, and established guidelines for "family-friendly" acts and a ban on alcohol brought in by patrons. This was properly managed when Henry Jordan found the experienced booking staff to manage entertainment in-house, eliminating Cleveland's Jules Belkin Promotions, who were hired by Board Members Bernie Samson and Steve Marcus. Also at that time local manager Lou Volpano was hired to improve production, and book international superstars on what was a mere Local Rock Stage, where then the Ramones, UFO, and Judas Priest headlined

Live comedy acts have also been a part of Summerfest's history, even before a regular "Comedy Showcase" was first established in 1975. Bob Hope was the main headliner at Summerfest 1969, performing two shows at Milwaukee County Stadium. George Carlin (opening for Arlo Guthrie) performed his "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" routine at the 1972 event (and was subsequently arrested for violating obscenity laws). Prior to his arrest, he discarded a bag of cocaine to avoid further imprisonment.

Since 1975, comedy acts ranging from David Brenner and Henny Youngman to Jay Leno and Jon Stewart have performed at the event. Sandra Bernhard did TV and radio promos for its 1986 season when she was a performer there. Lewis Black has become a frequent performer at Summerfest, making near-annual performances since his first appearance in 1991.

2015

For 2015, Linkin Park, Keith Urban, Ed Sheeran, Florida Georgia Line, Zac Brown Band , Kings of Leon, Kendrick Lamar, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Neil Young, Carrie Underwood, and The Avett Brothers performed as headliners.

The Rolling Stones performed its first Milwaukee concert in 10 years, June 23 at the Marcus Amphitheater on the Summerfest grounds, as part of a summer run being dubbed the "Zip Code" tour. The band invited a 26-member vocal ensemble from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, that was featured during the concert. June 23 is technically the day before Summerfest's opening night, but the Big Gig promoted the Stones concert as "The Ultimate Kick-Off to Summerfest."

On April 20, 2015 it was announced Stevie Wonder would fill the June 27 headlining spot at the festival, his first Milwaukee concert since 2009.

The 2015 Summerfest ground stage headliners were announced on March 24 by Billboard. They include Aloe Blacc, The Doobie Brothers, Sammy Haggar, Pat Benatar, Whitesnake, Third Eye Blind, Weird Al, and others.

2016

Selena Gomez opened the festival on June 29. Pitbull took the stage on June 30. Country singer Blake Shelton headlines on July 1, Chris Stapleton on July 2, Tim McGraw on July 3, Blink-182 on July 5, Def Leppard and REO Speedwagon on July 6, Luke Bryan on July 7, Paul McCartney on July 8, Weezer and Panic! at the Disco July 9, and Sting and Peter Gabriel on July 10.

The 2016 ground stages included Willie Nelson, Rise Against, Hollywood Vampires, Hunter Hayes, Jason Derulo, Gavin Degraw, Nelly, The Fray, Barenaked Ladies, Billy Idol, Joan Jett, Weird Al, Violent Femmes, Timeflies, Cheap Trick, Bodeans, Skillet, OAR, Styx, and Blue Öyster Cult.

2017

Red Hot Chili Peppers will be the opening act for the 50th anniversary of Summerfest on June 28 and Pink will perform on July 2. Tom Petty will bring his 40th anniversary tour to Summerfest for two nights, July 5 and 6. Chris Stapleton will open for him on both nights. The Zac Brown Band will headline on Saturday July 1. Country music singer Luke Bryan and the Brothers Osborne will play Summerfest’s 50th on June 29. The Chainsmokers will headline on July, 4th.

On February 15 it was announced that the Steve Miller Band will headline the BMO Harris Pavilion during Summerfest.

Opening headliners

Winterfest

Beginning in the winter of 1989-1990, Summerfest organizers staged a colder (in the literal sense) version of Summerfest, known as Winterfest. Rather than being chiefly set at Henry Maier Festival Park, the event took inspiration from Summerfest's early days and spread its music, comedy, and other events throughout several downtown Milwaukee locations, the central spot being an ice skating rink near Cathedral Square. Due largely to undesirable Milwaukee winters, Winterfest was never as profitable as its older summer counterpart, and ceased operations after the 1997-98 event.