Summerfest

This article is about the music festival in Milwaukee. For the art and music festival in Atlanta, see Virginia–Highland Summerfest.
Not to be confused with SummerSlam.
Summerfest
GenreAlternative, Americana, bluegrass, blues, contemporary, country, electronic, folk, funk, gospel, hard rock, metal, hip hop, indie, jam band, jazz, pop, R&B, reggae, rock, zydeco
Dates11 days (Starts last Wednesday in June annually)
Location(s)Henry Maier Festival Park
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Years active1968–2019, 2021–
AttendanceIncrease 445,611 (2022)
Decrease 409,386 (2021)
Decrease 718,144 (2019)
Decrease 766,192 (2018)
831,769 (2017)
Websitesummerfest.com

Summerfest is an annual music festival held in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. First held in 1968, Summerfest is located at Henry Maier Festival Park, adjacent to Lake Michigan and Milwaukee's central business district. Summerfest attracts approximately 800,000 people each year, promoting itself as "The World's Largest Music Festival", a title certified by Guinness World Records in 1999,[1][2] but has been surpassed in attendance by Donauinselfest with over three million in 2015. While Summerfest has one of the highest aggregate attendances in the world, the daily attendance of Summerfest is lower than other major American music festivals. In 2022, the daily attendance of Summerfest was 49,500.[3]

During Summerfest, the 75 acre (30 ha) park would usually host performances over 11 days, from late June until early July (including the Fourth of July).[4] It was announced recently that the festival would move to a three weekend schedule to allow for more Friday and Saturday event days. The performers include local and nationally known music talent from various genres, performing throughout the grounds from noon to midnight, including the 23,000-capacity American Family Insurance Amphitheater.[5] Since 2004, nearly $150 million has been invested into Henry Maier Festival Park, including permanent stages, bars, production space, VIP amenities and other infrastructure.

Summerfest also showcases a wide variety of food from many Milwaukee-area restaurants. Other Summerfest attractions include shopping vendors, fireworks (including "The Big Bang" on opening night), family activities, and more.[6] Summerfest is operated by Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. a non-profit organization, which is governed by a volunteer board of directors.

In its 50+ year history, Summerfest has hosted a variety of well-known artists, including Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, Metallica, Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder, Kenny Chesney, Aerosmith, Bruno Mars, Arctic Monkeys, Lady Gaga, Usher, Dave Matthews Band, and Lil Uzi Vert.

Don Smiley served as president and chief executive officer of Summerfest from 2004 until his retirement in December 2023. He was succeeded in both roles by Sarah Smith Pancheri.[7]

  1. ^ "OnMilwaukee". Onmilwaukee.com. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  2. ^ "金沙电子游戏app下载(中国)有限公司". Mymidwestmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2007. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  3. ^ Foran, Chris (Jul 14, 2022). "Summerfest posts an 8.8% increase in attendance for 2022, but still trailing pre-pandemic levels with 'trial' three-weekend format". Jsonline.com. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  4. ^ "Home | Summerfest, The World's Largest Music Festival". Summerfest.com. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  5. ^ [1] Archived May 8, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Home | Summerfest, Special Attractions". Summerfest.com. Archived from the original on December 29, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  7. ^ "Two decades of the Big Gig: Don Smiley reflects on Summerfest career". Milwaukee Business Journal. 2024-01-11. Retrieved 31 July 2024.