Summerfest has quite a long history. The festival was conceived in the 1960s by Henry Maier, who served as the mayor of Milwaukee from 1960 to 1988. Inspired by his visit to the famous Oktoberfest in Munich, Maier originally envisioned a similar open-air event. He formed a panel of civic and business leaders who worked for several years to plan a ten-day multi-event festival.
The inaugural Summerfest took place in July 1968. Held at 35 locations and venues across Milwaukee, it included a wide range of events such as concerts, film screenings, a beauty pageant, and even an air show. Acts that performed at the festival included Ronnie Dove, the New Colony Six, The Robbs and Up With People. The first festival was deemed a success, but the second one was less successful for a combination of reasons, including bad weather, too many venues, and severe financial debt.
In 1970, it was decided to move the event to a permanent central location adjacent to Lake Michigan. Originally an abandoned Project Nike missile site, it was eventually converted into a 75-acre park named after Henry Maier. Also that year, retired NFL player Henry Jordan became executive director of Summerfest, and local artists Richard D. Grant and Noel Spangler created the iconic “smiley face” logo of the festival.
By the late 1980s, Summerfest had become what it is today: a massive music festival with several stages that attracts over 400,000 people every year (during its peak years, the attendance of Summerfest reached over 800,000). For a decade and a half, Summerfest was billed as the world’s largest music festival before being surpassed in attendance by Donauinselfest in Vienna, Austria. It should be noted that, despite its high overall attendance, Summerfest has a lower daily attendance compared to other major American music festivals.
In its decades-long history, Summerfest has hosted hundreds of performers in various genres, including local, national and internationally renowned acts. Past opening headliners have included Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Santana, Eric Clapton, Bryan Adams, Sting, Rod Stewart, Cher, Whitney Houston, Metallica, Bon Jovi, Alanis Morisette, Shania Twain, Bob Dylan, Britney Spears, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, The Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Imagine Dragons, Jennifer Lopez, and many others.
Originally running for eleven consecutive days, Summerfest is now held over three weekends in late June and early July, including the 4th of July weekend. It features several hundred artists, with performances taking place across several permanent stages and pavilions in Henry Maier Festival Park. Headlining acts perform at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater that has a capacity of 23,000. In addition to concerts, attractions at Summerfest include family-friendly activities, fireworks, and vendors selling merchandise and food from local restaurants.
Photo: summerfest.com
