Tans are fading, and school is back in session. After what some would deem a more “normal” summer, free from COVID-19 mandates and lockdowns, Marquette students are leaving their summer jobs and vacations behind and looking forward a new fall semester. But what if summer didn’t have to end just yet?
For Jiral Modi, a junior in the College of Business Administration, the summer sun is far from faded, as she plans to attend Summerfest in the coming weeks. The popular music festival was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was rescheduled to take place the first three weekends in September 2021, making it the perfect destination for Marquette students who are looking to soak up every drop of the fading summer sun.
“The Summerfest grounds are one of the most famous things in Milwaukee, so I’m finally going to get to experience what all the hype is about,” Modi said.
Summerfest, Milwaukee’s hugely popular music festival, is finally back this fall. While the event has returned a season later than normal, Marquette University students and fans of the featured artists couldn’t be more excited for the festival which, unlike to previous years, will take place Sept. 2-4, 9-11 and 16-18. In the past, the fest has taken place over two longer spans of time, usually at the end of June and beginning of July.
“I’ve bought tickets to see Luke Bryan,” Noah Smith, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said. “Which is interesting because I’m not a huge country artist person, but my friends are going so I said, ‘why not?’”
While Luke Bryan is the first of many artists to headline the American Family Insurance Amphitheater stage Sept. 2, performers like Quinn XCII, Brett Eldredge, Bleachers, Flo Rida and many others will take charge of the 11 other stages that the Summerfest grounds have to offer. Modi and Smith both said that they purchased day passes to the festival to see various artists across the lineup, mentioning Ke$ha and G-Eazy as shows they would want to attend.
“This is my first-ever concert,” Modi said. “I’m super ecstatic about that.”
But with summer fun comes the looming concern of the spread of the coronavirus within large crowds of festival-goers. Chicago’s popular music festival, Lallapalooza, which took place July 29-Aug 1, reported more than 385,000 attendees over the event’s four days. After the festival there were 203 reported positive cases of COVID-19.
To protect attendees, Summerfest announced new entry protocols that will be in place for the duration at the festival. Among additional safety measures include the requirement for pass-holders to present their vaccination card or a negative COVID-19 test result received within 72 hours of when they attend the festival.
“We are pleased with their proactive decision to implement these additional safety measures and ensure festival goers can feel comfortable attending this beloved music fest responsibly,” Milwaukee Health Commissioner Kirsten Johnson said in a recent Summerfest press release.
Despite rising COVID-19 cases across Milwaukee County, Smith isn’t worried about COVID-19 preventing him from having a good time at the festival. “I imagine that a huge portion of the people that are going will be Marquette students or UWM students, so people that are already vaccinated,” he said.
As of Aug. 27, Marquette University reported that 92 percent of its enrolled students have uploaded proof of receiving their COVID-19 vaccination. While precautions are being taken on campus with the university reinstating a mask requirement inside all campus buildings for the fall semester, there is still a risk of students transmitting the virus on campus.
“I have this understanding of there is only so much that I can do myself,” Modi said, “I know that for myself and my group of friends, we are all very precautious.”
While coronavirus concerns are apparent on campus, students are still looking forward to attending Summerfest, proving that while classes may be back in session for the fall, summer is far from over.
For more information regarding Summerfest COVID-19 entry protocols and to view the full lineup of performers, visit Summerfest.com. And be sure to check out marquettewire.org next week for more coverage of Summerfest performances.
This story was written by Kim Cook. She can be reached at [email protected].
