Mellencamp fills in hole at Marcus Amphitheater

The final date to the Summerfest 2008 lineup at the Marcus Amphitheater has been announced. John Cougar Mellencamp will bring his classic rock to Milwaukee on Saturday, June 28. Having a nice long list of hits like, Jack and Diane, Small Town, Little Houses, ROCK in the USA, Paper in Fire and Hurts so Good to choose from will have concertgoers singing along like it's karoke night at Summerfest. For many of the dates, rocker Lucinda Williams is the opener, but no one has been confirmed as the Summerfest opener. I checked the Mellencamp official site, no one was posted there either.

Mellencamp tickets go on sale through Ticketmaster Saturday, May 31 at 10am central time. Ticket prices start at $45 before service charges. It does look like Summerfest will offer a limited number of free lawn seats the day of the show, usually via a nasty handstamp line early in the day.

US Cellular / 102.1 Stage Announcements

Even though I am approaching the age whereby I should enjoy the Marcus Amphitheater lineup at Summerfest, I tend to get just as anxious to see who the 102.1 radio/US Cellular people line up for their main stage on the Summerfest grounds. Generally, "alternative" type rock and usually doesn't disappoint. This year the first and last day of the fest have peaked my interest with They Might Be Giants playing at 10p on the first night and The Bravery closing the 10 day music festival in Milwaukee. For my $15 Summerfest admission, these two bands can have my loot. The trouble is now, I have the open, the close and the 4th to see The Roots play. Being the grumpy middle-aged gal that I am, I just don't know if I have the stamina to go three days. Depressing I realize. I am more of a Captain's Deck kind of girl. Free beer, place to sit and chill with my friends all sounds good to me. But what doesn't kill me will make me stronger. So watch out you little drunk 18-year-olds trying to see The Bravery, this mama is making her way to the front of the stage.

Summerfest Stages Filling Up

Each day there seem to be more announcements on the official Summerfest.com site. The Harley Davidson Stage, the Potawatomi stage, the Briggs & Stratton stage and the M&I Rock stage all have announced their headliners. There seem to be some nice additions. Earth, Wind and Fire singing "September" would be worth a trip to Summerfest on the last night. The song always end every wedding reception I am at, why not close out the 2008 fest?

In case you didn't know, Summerfest is open each day, June 26 - July 6, from noon until midnight. They usually have a "kids" day at the grounds, with some taking this way too long in to the night.

If you are looking to kill some time online, check out the Summerfest Blogs at http://summerfest.com/cs/. In my one quick look, I learned the Foo Fighters are playing the Harley Davidson Anniversary party. I like me some Dave G.

No Increase in Summerfest Admission in 2008

In a recent interview with the newspaper from his alma mater, Summerfest president and CEO Don Smiley, mentioned that for the 2008 Summerfest run, music fans would not see an increase in Summerfest admissions. I suppose this offers a little relief given the fact that gas has reached $4 a gallon. I sound like my Mom.

In this same interview, Smiley mentioned he was in to seeing Rascal Flatts and Gnarls Barkley. Wait? Is this some sort of announcement? Gnarls Barkley isn't on any official Summerfest press releases? The only open date for the Marcus Amphitheater is June 28, and according to Pollstar.com, they are already playing in Denver. Huh? Maybe Smiley is talking about seeing them at another music festival, rather than the one he runs. Makes sense given the one he runs has the same acts year after year, or offers up The Steve Miller Band.

Another Summerfest-related blog listed the following with regard to Smiley's vision for Summerfest, "For Smiley, it's not about a bigger gig. He envisions Summerfest with smaller crowds, older adults, generous spenders." I am old, but I am not old enough to think a statement like this is cool. I could get on board if along with this vision, cool, new music was part of the package. Not Rush for the 17th time. Not the BoDeans either.

Concert Set Post-Summerfest

I didn't remeber if I posted this concert announcement or not, and I am too lazy to go back and look. (sorry). The Counting Crows, Marron 5 and Sara Barielles will be playing the Marcus Amphitheater on the Summerfest grounds later this summer. The show is Saturday, August 23. I just don't know about the show. All of the artists have new songs out, but are they collectively strong enough to sell enough tickets to fill the amphitheater?

When was "Mr. Jones and me" a hit? I appreciate the idea, but I hope that Sara can help drive some of the sales with her "Love Song". A song that, for me, still hasn't gotten old.

Last I looked on Ticketmaster.com, you can still purchase pretty good Counting Crows tickets in the red section of the Marcus Amphitheater. Seats just off the aisle in Section 3. There is a long time between now and August. I think sales for this show and a few others will pick up now that the weather is nice and people have stepped out of their hibernation.

Happy concert-going!

Summerfest Miller Lite Stage Announcements

Next to the Marcus Amphitheater headliner announcements for Summerfest, the Miller Lite Main Stage headliners are next in line as far as hope goes for music fans. Most of the nights have been announced. This year it looks like there is some of the standbys are back along with the likes of Matisyahu, Rusted Root, Trace Adkins, The Roots, Keller Williams, 311 and Jack's Mannequin. If you are trying to negotiate your visit to Summerfest, you always have to hope that you aren't dying to see both the Amphitheater act and the Miller act the same night, because generally speaking, you will be out of luck. It just gets too crowded to make your way down the grounds.