SummerFest in Milwaukee Festival

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,but has been surpassed in attendance by Donauinselfest with over 3 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.

During Summerfest, the 75-acre (30-hectare) park would usually host performances over 11 days, from late June until early July (including the Fourth of July). 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. 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. 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, Lady Gaga, Usher and Dave Matthews Band.