Tim McGraw, Lady Antebellum Summerfest 2010 Show

Tim McGraw will headline the opening night of Milwaukee’s Summerfest 2010. On Thursday, June 24th at 7:30, McGraw will take the stage of the Marcus Amphitheater. Lady Antebellum and Love and Theft are scheduled open for McGraw. This is the first announced show of the Summerfest 2010 lineup. Stay tuned for more announcements.

Summerfest 2010 Milwaukee Predictions

It looks like Summerfest 2010 will start on June 24th or 25th. That would make the 11 day music festival come to a close on July 4th. As the "World's Largest Music Festival" always starts on a Thursday, it has to end on a Sunday. The earliest we hear about Marcus Amphitheater bookings is in March or April. I wonder if they will book three country shows yet again?

Summerfest Parking at Milwaukee's Henry Maier Festival Grounds

Every year, thousands of Milwaukeeans and music fans from all around come down to the annual Summerfest event down by the lakefront on the Henry Maier Festival Grounds. With so many people in attendance, it can definitely be a feat to find cheap parking, let alone parking at all. Here are some tips for Summerfest parking in Milwaukee.

• If you can, take a freeway flyer out of the suburbs or the city bus! Skip the trouble of finding a place to park all together for a small fee and you’re able to head down with a larger group than might fight in one car.
  


• If you are going to the festival with someone who might have difficulty walking long distances or you’re willing to pay a little more for the convenience of a close spot, the H lot near the Marcus Amphitheater. The cost is usually a bit more (around $20) but you are less than a block away from the grounds with easy in and out
  


• If you’re willing to walk, you can definitely find lots of places to park in the downtown area to park very cheaply or free. To find the best parking, you’ll probably have to walk at least 5 or 8 blocks but it is an option for those looking to walk off the calories of the funnel cakes you know you’ll be eating at Summerfest.

Don't forget the cabs for all you fans of the Milwaukee Summerfest beer suppliers.

Milwaukee Summerfest Admission, Stages, and Reviews

The leaves are changing and the weather is getting cooler, it is officially fall. Celebrating the season, I am drinking a pumpkin spice latte and starting to bundle up but before I get too far into unpacking my scarves, I will take a moment to look back on the warmer times. Summer is spent with days on the beach and if you’re lucky enough to live in Milwaukee, great nights at Summerfest seeing your favorite bands.

My favorite Summerfest show that I have been reminiscing about lately would definitely have to be seeing Jacks Mannequin the summer of 2007. The show was at the U.S. Cellular Connection Stage that is sponsored by Leinenkugel’s and FM 102.1 and took place on the 4^th of July. This show was such a great show because it took place on the best day of the year, my birthday! The band played at 10:00 PM and the weather was perfect, a cool breeze coming in off Lake Michigan and I went with all of my friends. The band put on an awesome show and front man and pianist Andrew McMahon shared a great moment with the fans as it was the last day he took pills for his chemotherapy to treat leukemia. The band played some awesome songs from their debut CD , Everything In Transit and some new tracks from The Glass Passenger, their most recent CD. For many reasons, this is my favorite show from my vault of Summerfest memories.

Indian Summer at Summerfest Grounds

If anyone had the chance to see the Apache skateboarders at Indian Summer, they were treated to some amazing performances. Indian Summer had fantastic weather, and great crowds. Soon enough, there will be snow on the Summerfest grounds. It's been a great season for Milwaukee Summerfest fans. Soon enough, we will be handing our Summerfest tickets over to the ticket checkers at the gate, in 2010.

Post Summerfest Shows and Events

By the time Blink 182 took the stage last Tuesday, the crowd was put through the ringer. They opened the show with Dumpweed, blasted through 21 more songs including I Miss You, Not Now, and Josie. They came out for their encore and played Carousel, and Dammit. Travis Barker did his usual drum solo to open the encore set. The opening acts were Fall Out Boy, and Panic At The Disco.

This weekend, the Summerfest grounds will be hosting all the best from the Middle East. Arab World Fest starts tomorrow. This is probably the only festival that has to state that it is a "non-religious, and non-political festival." Does Festa Italiana have to say that it's a "non-crime family" event. That is a sad thing to have to put in your promotional material. I would just go down there for the food.

Summerfest Grounds to Consider All Season Venue

Summerfest attendance was up just a bit from 2008. This comes about during a tough economic time for all festivals. Summerfest will not release actual revenue figures, but they say that revenue increased by just under three percent.

Don Smiley had big shoes to fill when Bo Black departed. His biggest challenge was to keep the turnstiles churning, and he did just that. Smiley credits this uptick to the talented performers that he brought to Milwaukee this year.

There is now talk of a year-round venue that should be built on the festival grounds. What will they do with the Marcus Amphitheater? Perhaps they could enclose that venue, or renovate it.
I will say that the Summerfest grounds are vast. If they were to make a year-round venue there, it should be on the north end of the grounds. People of Milwaukee need that visual enticement. Will this enclosed venue have to compete with venues like the Bradley Center?