In ponchos, under umbrellas, clutching Miller Lites and still smiling, the opening-day crowd to Summerfest was a little sparser and a little damper than usual, but no less happy to be at Henry Maier Festival Park.
The 50th edition of Summerfest kicked off Wednesday at noon and, despite off-and-on rain and general dreariness, people showed up, strolled the grounds, listened to early bands, munched corn on the cob, drank beer and enjoyed themselves, regardless of the weather. The gate traffic was light and the festival thoroughfares were uncongested, but there were still plenty of signs of life.
High-energy cover band Platinum (above) rocked the Miller Lite Oasis with Nelly’s "Hot in Herre," Whitney Houston’s "How Will I Know" and more popular songs; high schoolers and college kids turned out en masse, with many saving seats eight hours early for the 10 p.m. Flume show; vendors and promoters offered henna tattoos, giant wheel spins and free this-and-that; the various food items looked delectable – A.J. Bombers' bacon cheeseburger was confirmed excellent – and the people-watching, even early in the day, was superb as always.
Last year, with good weather, Summerfest drew a little more than 800,000 visitors, which was about a 4 percent increase over 2015, when traffic, a bus strike and unfavorable conditions hurt attendance. While rain on Day 1 is never ideal, temperatures remained in the mid-to-high 60s, the sun poked through the clouds intermittently, offering bright glimpses of hope and, anyway, you're allowed to bring your umbrella.
Mostly, though, people showed up because it was the first day of Summerfest, which, like Brewers Opening Day, is an unofficial local holiday. One Milwaukee visitor, Justin Robinson, said he went Wednesday because that was when he was off work and, as he said, "It can rain all day, as long as I’m not working, I’m happy."
A family from Phoenix, visiting Wisconsin for a wedding over the weekend, said they had intentionally pushed back their return flight so that they could experience Summerfest. Although they were dubious about the "World’s Largest Music Festival" claim – a title certified by the Guinness World Records since 1999 and a result of totaling the 11 days – they didn’t mind the rain, gladly buying snow cones and Coors Lights and eager to see The Cheap Shots, though they hadn’t heard of them before coming to the festival.
A 2013 study reported that Summerfest has a $187 million economic impact on the area, drawing tourists from around Wisconsin and other states, especially with the big-name shows. More than 1,000 artists perform every year at the 10 music stages, including many local acts, spanning every genre and appealing to a broad variety of melodic tastes and types of people.
There’s rain in the extended forecast on eight of the next 11 days, but that shouldn’t hamper Summerfest enthusiasm too much. The 50th anniversary, after all, only comes around once.
The festival runs noon-midnight from Wednesday, June 28 to Sunday, July 2 and Tuesday, July 4 to Sunday, July 9.
Be sure to check out all of OnMilwaukee's great Summerfest content here.
Born in Milwaukee but a product of Shorewood High School (go ‘Hounds!) and Northwestern University (go ‘Cats!), Jimmy never knew the schoolboy bliss of cheering for a winning football, basketball or baseball team. So he ditched being a fan in order to cover sports professionally - occasionally objectively, always passionately. He's lived in Chicago, New York and Dallas, but now resides again in his beloved Brew City and is an ardent attacker of the notorious Milwaukee Inferiority Complex.
After interning at print publications like Birds and Blooms (official motto: "America's #1 backyard birding and gardening magazine!"), Sports Illustrated (unofficial motto: "Subscribe and save up to 90% off the cover price!") and The Dallas Morning News (a newspaper!), Jimmy worked for web outlets like CBSSports.com, where he was a Packers beat reporter, and FOX Sports Wisconsin, where he managed digital content. He's a proponent and frequent user of em dashes, parenthetical asides, descriptive appositives and, really, anything that makes his sentences longer and more needlessly complex.
Jimmy appreciates references to late '90s Brewers and Bucks players and is the curator of the unofficial John Jaha Hall of Fame. He also enjoys running, biking and soccer, but isn't too annoying about them. He writes about sports - both mainstream and unconventional - and non-sports, including history, music, food, art and even golf (just kidding!), and welcomes reader suggestions for off-the-beaten-path story ideas.
