Want evidence that the music festival business is back to full throttle in Wisconsin?
One major fest just came back for the first time in 16 years. Milwaukee Metal Fest brought more than 75 bands — including Lamb of God, the original lineup of Biohazard and Suicidal Tendencies — to the Rave Memorial Day weekend.
It doubled as the kick-off for a stalwart music festival season across Wisconsin this summer, which also includes the first Harley-Davidson festival in a decade, plus the 55th anniversary of Summerfest, the 10th anniversary of Appleton’s Mile of Music and more.
Here are the six top Wisconsin music festivals worth checking out through Labor Day.
More:When and where the Milwaukee area’s summer festivals and fairs are happening in 2023
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Wisconsin rock fest fans already have had some great crowd-surfing options this year with the return of Milwaukee Metal Fest at the Rave Memorial Day weekend, after a 16-year absence. And Rock Fest in Cadott has a stacked lineup July 13-15 with Pantera, Slipknot, Godsmack — even hip-hop legend Ice Cube. But we’ve got to proclaim the two-day music bash that’s the centerpiece of Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival the best rock festival in Wisconsin this summer.
With eight acts, there aren’t as many bands as Metal Fest or Rock Fest, but Harley — hosting its first music event in 10 years in its hometown, to celebrate its 120th anniversary — scored two of the biggest rock bands in the world with headliners Foo Fighters and Green Day, and rounded out the lineup with a legend (Joan Jett), a veteran punk act (Social Distortion), a buzzy rocker from Wisconsin (KennyHoopla) and more.
Lineup: Foo Fighters, Green Day, Cody Jinks, Social Distortion, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, White Reaper, Phantogram, KennyHoopla
When and where: July 14-15, Veterans Park, 1010 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive, Milwaukee
How much?: $110 for July 14 general admission, $120 for July 15 general admission. $205 for two-day general admission pass. $230 for July 14 VIP pass (includes access to elevated viewing deck, private lounge and more). VIP passes for July 15 are sold out. Tickets available at harley-davidson.com.
More:What you need to know about the Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival in Milwaukee
Best Wisconsin country festival: Country Thunder
Wisconsin might have more country music festivals per capita than any other state, and scores of A-listers and promising up-and-comers are locked in this year for Country Fest in Cadott, Country Jam in Eau Claire, Country Boom in West Salem, Hodag Country Festival in Rhinelander and Country in the Burg in Cedarburg. But the most stacked country festival lineup in the state this year belongs to Country Thunder in Twin Lakes. The headliners — Keith Urban, Jason Aldean, Jon Pardi, Cody Johnson — are all ponderous hitters, but what’s really electric about the Country Thunder bill is the undercard, including future superstar Bailey Zimmerman and five of country’s most stimulating emerging female artists: Lainey Wilson, Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce, Hailey Whitters and Priscilla Block.
Lineup: In addition to the aforementioned artists, Country Thunder’s 21-act lineup includes Parker McCollum, Chase Matthews, Parmalee, Lonestar, Frank Ray and more.
When and where: July 20-23, 2305 Richmond Road, Twin Lakes.
How much?: $300 for weekend general admission; $400 for weekend reserved seating; $650 to $700 for weekend VIP passes (includes viewing area, private lounge access and more). Camping and parking passes, and port-a-potty rentals, also are available. Purchases and more information available at countrythunder.com.
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It’s the whim that keeps on giving. In 2008, T-Pain twisted the pronunciation of “Wisconsin” to make it rhyme with mansion on what would become one of his bigger hits, “Can’t Believe It.” A decade later, that prompted the rapper and singer to release his “Wiscansin University” merch line (and oversee the creation of a fictitious Wiscansin University, including a comical website). But in 2022, T-Pain pushed “Wiscansin” even harder, curating his own festival in Wisconsin at the Rave. He’s doing it again this for a second year, scoring a occasional Chance The Rapper performance, plus 13 other acts, aside from T-Pain himself.
Lineup: Joining T-Pain and Chance The Rapper are Chlöe, Taylor Bennett, Afroman, Ambre, Chayo Nash, Larussell, Lil Scrappy, Tobi Lou, Nandostl, Seddy Hendrinx, Young Cash, DJ Paul of Three Six Mafia and Milwaukee’s own Djay Mando.
When and where: 2 p.m. June 10, the Rave, 2401 W. Wisconsin Ave. $68 for general admission, $93 for balcony access, $350 for VIP ticket (includes reserved balcony seat, access to lounge, picture with T-Pain, dinner buffet and other perks). Tickets available at therave.com.
More:9 takeaways from T-Pain’s Wiscansin Fest in Milwaukee with Lil Jon, Juvenile, Hannibal Buress and more
T-Pain isn’t the only artist curating his own music festival in Wisconsin. Bluegrass band Pert Near Sandstone has been doing it since 2015, using the band’s premier contacts in the folk, Americana, bluegrass and alternative country worlds to assemble superb lineups for the Blue Ox Music Festival in Eau Claire. In addition to Pert Near Sandstone, this year’s festival secured top-tier acts including the Avett Brothers and Sam Bush Band; buzzy emerging artists including Sierra Hull, Yasmin Williams, Charley Crockett and Joshua Ray Walker; and a hearty number of Wisconsin acts including Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, Them Coulee Boys, Long Mama, Adam Greuel and the Space Burritos, the MilBillies and Chicken Wire Empire, who will perform with Chris Castino from Minnesota jam band the Big Wu.
The lineup: The 45-act lineup includes (beyond the aforementioned artists) Mike Gordon, the Infamous Stringdusters, Charlie Parr, Kitchen Dwellers, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, the Lowest Pair and more.
When and where: June 22-24, 5024 Crescent Ave., Eau Claire.
How much?: The festival is sold out, but you can still get tickets from fans no longer able to attend at cashortrade.org.
Most valuable Wisconsin festival: Mile of Music
We’d say you get a lot of bang for your buck at the Mile of Music festival in Appleton — except you don’t have to pay anything. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Mile of Music will feature more than 200 artists at more than 40 venues along a mile-long stretch of downtown Appleton.
The lineup: Fifty artists have been announced so far, including the Heavy Heavy from England, Nigel Wearne from Australia, Ken Yates and Whitehorse from Canada, and multiple Milwaukee area acts, including Sleepy Gaucho, Ben Mulwana and Betsy Ade and the Well-Known Strangers.
When and where: Aug. 3-6, Appleton.
How much?: Free. Subscribers of Mile of Music’s “Music-Makers” program includes priority access to select and exclusive shows and other perks, for $150. Details can be found at mileofmusic.com.
Best Wisconsin festival for everything else: Summerfest
Celebrating its 55th anniversary in 2023, Summerfest, Wisconsin’s largest music festival, is one of the few with an all-encompassing lineup. Some artists playing aforementioned festivals in this list — like the Avett Brothers and Hailey Whitters — will be at Summerfest. So will stars, emerging artists and veterans in hip-hop (A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Three 6 Mafia, Coi Leray); rock (Imagine Dragons, Dave Matthews Band, Elvis Costello); country (Zach Bryan, Zac Brown Band, Eric Church); folk (Noah Kahan, Fleet Foxes, James Taylor); pop (Ava Max, Lauren Daigle, AJR; EDM (Odesza, Sofi Tukker, Gryffin) and more.
The lineup: Other highlights, among several hundred acts, include Smokey Robinson; Earth, Wind & Fire; Santa Fe Klan, Japanese Breakfast, The War on Drugs, Lord Huron, Tyler Hubbard, Yung Gravy, Cypress Hill and more.
When and where: June 22-24, June 29-July 1, July 6-8, Maier Festival Park, 200 N. Harbor Drive, Milwaukee.
How much?: $26 for general admission one-day tickets at the box office and summerfest.com. Daily general admission free for children under two, $6 for children ages three to 10, $20 for seniors ages 62 and up, at the box office only. Three-day general admission passes for $62, nine-day general admission passes for $130.
General-admission tickets do not include access to American Family Insurance Amphitheater concerts, or reserved seats at the BMO Pavilion for headliner concerts. Ticket prices vary for amphitheater and pavilion shows, available at summerfest.com, and include Summerfest general admission on the date of a concert. There also are “Level Up” VIP tickets available for headliners at Miller Lite Oasis, as well as front-row passes for headliners at the Generac Power Stage (with proceeds for the latter benefiting American Red Cross of Wisconsin); see summerfest.com for details.
More:How to get free Summerfest tickets in 2023, plus more promo deals for the huge Milwaukee music festival
More:Here’s the Summerfest 2023 lineup by date, time and stage for the Milwaukee music festival
Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.
