Milwaukee’s annual music festival, Summerfest, released its lineup on Feb. 12th, and each of the three weekends are jam-packed with performances you won’t want to miss.
The festival will take place on June 19-21, June 26-28 and July 3-5 at Henry Maier Festival Park, on the banks of Lake Michigan and the Third Ward business district.
First-year in the College of Communications, and Milwaukee native, Anna Heffernan said she has been to Summerfest at least five times in the past and hopes to go this year as well.
“Usually, at least for me and my friends, we typically go all of the days just because the lineups are pretty good almost every summer,” Heffernan said. “There’s nothing better to do — it’s the week of Summerfest, so everybody goes.”
The first weekend, June 19-21, will include headliners like Def Leppard with Tesla, Hozier with Gigi Perez and James Taylor with Jason Mraz and Tiny Habits. Other artists scheduled to perform are Gary Clark Jr., Japanese Breakfast, Natasha Bedingfield and The Head and The Heart.
“I’d say it’s a solid lineup,” Heffernan said. “I think who I’m most excited for is definitely some of the smaller bands like CAKE, Japanese Breakfast and more of the rock bands too. I’m interested in seeing some of the headliners like The Lumineers, Hozier and The Killers for sure.”
Annie Whitmore, a first-year in the College of Education, plans to attend Summerfest for the first time this summer.
“I’ve heard people at school say they’ve been in the past, and when I saw the lineup, and it had some of my favorite artists, I was really interested in going,” Whitmore said.
The Killers, Megan Thee Stallion and Lainey Wilson with Lukas Nelson and Shane Smith & the Saints will headline the second weekend — June 26-28. That weekend will also feature names like Offset, Young the Giant, Nessa Barrett, The Fray and The Avett Brothers.
“I think Megan Thee Stallion could be super fun, but then, for some of the smaller performers, I love The Head and The Heart, The Avett Brothers and Young the Giant,” Whitmore said. “I think it just puts some smaller artists on the map.”
The final weekend of Summerfest, July 3-5, will welcome headliners Benson Boone and The Lumineers with Hippo Campus. Others slated to perform include MJ Lenderman, Fountains of Wayne, Nettspend and Porter Robinson.
“I know Hippo Campus came last year and I saw them, but it’d be really cool to see some of the same artists again because they were brought back,” Heffernan said.
Originally from Oak Park, Illinois, Whitmore said she was leaning towards attending the first weekend, and plans to get an AirBnB with friends to enjoy the festival.
“It’s gonna be such nice weather, I kind of wish I was able to stay in the dorms while we were here,” Whitmore said. “It’s a great opportunity to come up with friends and stay in house during the summer. Not only is the music obviously really good, and the food, but just a sense of the Milwaukee community – you can really feel it in the air.”
Tickets for Summerfest are on sale now. To purchase tickets, get more information on the event and see the full lineup, check the Summerfest website here.
This story was written by Annie Goode. She can be reached at annie.goode@marquette.edu.
