Summerfest 2024 Review
- Jul 13, 2024
- 10 min read
Summerfest 2024 kicked off on June 20 at American Family Insurance Amphitheater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and some of the biggest stars showed up on stage and off.
Weekend one’s headliners included Kane Brown with Kameron Marlowe and Nightly; Motley Crüe with Seether and Buckcherry; and SZA with Aminé. Goo Goo Dolls, Black Pumas, Chelsea Cutler, Better Than Ezra, Toosii, Taking Back Sunday, Gin Blossoms, David Kushner, Winona Fighter, EMF, Doom Flamingo, Brittany Howard and Kevin Kaarl were also among the first weekend’s performers.
Summerfest continued June 27 through 29 with headliners Illenium with special guests; Tyler Childers with S.G. Goodman and Adeem the Artist; and Keith Urban with Needtobreathe and Alana Springsteen. The festival concluded on Fourth of July weekend with headliners AJR with Carly Rae Jepsen and Mxmtoon; Maroon 5 with special guests; and Lil Uzi Vert with Lil Yachty, JID, Rico Nasty and Lihtz.
Weekend 1 - June 20-22, 2024
Taking Back Sunday
Summerfest kicked off with a wide array of headlining acts, but few remain as consistent as perennial emo powerhouses Taking Back Sunday, who headlined the opening night at the Generac Power Stage. While 25 years of near non-stop performing can take its toll on any act, frontman Adam Lazzara and company refused to show any signs of slowing down with an hour-plus set that mixed classics with contemporary.
Lazzara led the charge for the band, maintaining an ever-present stagger as he navigated a set of light up stairs on just about every song. His voice, however, would also feel just a bit unstable at times, thanks to a combination of a stage presence that doubles as a day's worth of cardio and a microphone that would tap out just a couple of songs into the set. Likely the victim of Lazzara’s trademark mic swings, there was an awkward moment when the backup mic with excessive amounts of cable wasn’t turning on as well. Once things were back up and running, however, so was the band and at full speed on “What's It Feel Like To Be A Ghost?”
Mötley Crüe
Two days in, Summerfest 2024 is in the full swing of things, with one of the early standout performances coming from rock legends Mötley Crüe on Friday night. The American Family Insurance Amphitheater was packed with fans, eagerly awaiting a high-energy show from the legendary band – and Mötley Crüe did not disappoint, delivering a set of their beloved boisterous rock anthems that was both nostalgic and invigorating.
Mötley Crüe's presence brought a blast of classic rock flair to the festival's first weekend headliner slate, with Friday's show featuring all the hits and loud charisma that have made the members household names. Vince Neil's powerful vocals, Nikki Sixx's thundering bass lines, Tommy Lee's dynamic drumming and John 5's intricate guitar work all combined for a Summerfest show to remember.
SZA
Considering that Summerfest has a vast history dating back more than half of a century, it’s hard to say when certain nights at the festival become truly infamous. That being said, it is also very safe to say that SZA’s Saturday night show to close out the opening weekend of this year’s festival will certainly go down as one of the most memorable nights of recent Summerfest history, if not of all time. It was a night full of weather delays, celebrity sightings and also a crowning moment for one of the new queens of contemporary R&B.
The house lights would finally drop around 10:30 p.m., as SZA would emerge atop of a set that featured LED screens positioned to look like a ship, in full “SOS” theme to go with her latest album. SZA, alongside a crew of backup dancers and flanked by a live band on either side of the ship, would stay elevated for “Seek & Destroy,” and she wouldn’t touch the actual stage floor until about halfway through the show. Any and every word she sang reverberated throughout the Amphitheater, thanks to more than 20,000 fans singing along at full voice. As it would turn out, she would reveal that she needed every last one of them.
Saturday night was already one of the brightest spotlights in the 2024 Summerfest lineup, but everything surrounding the actual concert made the night even more memorable. Fortunately for everyone involved, SZA was more than worth the wait, delivering as a top-tier headliner for what is sure to be one of the most legendary nights of recent Summerfest history.
The Goo Goo Dolls
After the threat of severe thunderstorms nearly put a kabosh on the third night of Summerfest, The Goo Goo Dolls took the stage at the sold-out BMO Pavilion on June 22 at 10:07 p.m., just slightly more than 30 minutes off schedule.
They kicked off the night with songs from their 1998 hit album “Dizzy Up The Girl”. The hard-rocking “Dizzy” started things off on a lively note followed by “Slide,” the single for the album which made a comeback when it was used on the 2012 season of “The Bachelorette”.
It was also the song that sparked frontman Rzeznik’s first interaction with the crowd. “I wanna wake up where you are…” he said, “Come'on Milwaukee!” urging the crowd to engage with the song. “Thank you for waiting’ around!” he continued after the song wrapped up. “I love Milwaukee. And I really love Milwaukee in the summer.”
Dawes
With moving songs like "A Little Bit of Everything" and "All Your Favorite Bands," Americana rock band Dawes knows their way around telling a good story – and they and their fans at the Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard on Saturday certainly have a new one to tell thanks to their night at Summerfest, thanks to dramatic storms and forecasts threatening to shut things down early before the band even got to take the stage.
In the simply wise words of the band, though, things happen – it's all they ever do. And indeed, after the foreboding forecasts and ominous alert messages passed, it was the Los Angeles band's turn to storm the Summerfest stage, rewarding the Big Gig fans who stuck it out through the weather with a set of their signature folk storytelling and stirring old-school Americana rock anthems.
Weekend 2 - June 27-29, 2024
Illenium
Kicking off Summerfest's second weekend, Illenium brought down the house at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater on Thursday night. As one of the festival's biggest headliners, Illenium brought his signature blend of melodic bass and electronic beats to the Big Gig’s biggest stage, captivating the dancing crowd with a powerful set.
For those unfamiliar, the Illinois-born DJ has rapidly become a prominent figure in the electronic dance music scene. With a career spanning over a decade, Illenium has amassed over eight billion global streams and is known for his emotionally charged take on EDM, combining heartfelt ballads with energetic drops. His latest self-titled album – released April last year – showcases his evolution as an artist, featuring collaborations with notable artists like Travis Barker and Avril Lavigne.
The Amp crowd showed up ready to rage – and Illenium did not disappoint, delivering a dream set for any EDM fan. So of course we had to be there to capture some standout moments from Summerfest’s biggest electronic act of the year.
Tyler Childers
Tyler Childers showed why he deserved to have one of the largest crowds at this year's Summerfest at a sold-out American Family Insurance Amphitheater Friday. His stage presence was so charismatic, it was like he'd become a completely different person since his last show in town in 2019. His band has significantly sharpened its chops, too, evident with a series of jaw-dropping solos throughout the two-hour set.
MUNA
Pop band MUNA is deep in album mode for its fourth full-length LP, but at its one-off Summerfest set Thursday, it was as if the band members were fresh off polishing their set on Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour, as they danced and sprinted and spanked their way through one euphoric queer-joy banger after another.
Playing the big stadiums has certainly worked to the advantage of the band, who made sure to never lose the interest of the BMO Pavilion crowd for over an hour on Thursday. Lead singer Katie Gavin was the main attraction for the crowd, turning up the Pavilion decibel levels whenever she dropped a dance move or made any sort of motion that was even vaguely suggestive. The rest of the band followed suit, with guitarist Josette Maskin and Geo Botelho sprinting from side to side, covering as much ground as possible throughout the night. Gavin would get up close and personal with both Maskin and guitarist/synth player Naomi McPherson, and any time two or more of the trio interacted with each other, you could see the chemistry that they carry as a unit and how it resonated with the fans.
Alison Wonderland
If you felt the ground shake last night, don't worry; it wasn't an earthquake. It was Alison Wonderland warming up Summerfest for her electrifying DJ set.
The booming bass, complemented by mesmerizing graphics, formed a celestial gateway that immersed the audience in Alison Wonderland's signature blend of bass, chillwave, trap and electronic-soaked airy darkness for her entire hour-long Summerfest set.
Throughout the show, Alison Wonderland's passion for connecting with the crowd was apparent. She amped the crowd by incorporating a song requested by a Milwaukee fan via social media, showcasing her dedication to making each performance special and personal.
Ethel Cain
Ethel Cain was on stage in Wisconsin for the first time on Saturday, June 29, headlining a packed Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard. She wasted little time trying to make a memorable impression, jumping into the pit early in her set and engaging with fans for passionate face-to-face singalongs.
Except, exhilarated as the crowd was, Cain’s cries of loneliness and an unsettling backing band made it clear this wasn’t your typical feel-great rock-star moment. The Florida native, 26, sounded downright eerie, her haunting words extending into subsequent song “Family Tree” as she crooned heart-stopping lines like “Hell don’t scare me/I’ve been times before” and “Let Christ forgive these bones I’ve been hiding/And the ones I’m about to leave.”
Fletcher
Pop artist Fletcher had a great reason to be happy at Summerfest Saturday — explaining to a large crowd at the BMO Pavilion that this was the first time she was headlining a stage at a festival.
It won’t be the last.
The 30-year-old quickly proved she was ready for this moment, dropping to her knees as she belted to the rafters for “Serial Heartbreaker”; jogging in place with her bass player as she jammed on guitar for “Attached to You”; or sending the crowd into a tizzy caressing herself and flirting with her guitarist for “Ego Talking.”
Weekend 3 - July 4-6, 2024
Mariah the Scientist
If you’re ever feeling insecure about your level of patriotism, do like Mariah the Scientist: Stuff an American flag in the pocket of your skirt, just in case.
The Atlanta-based R&B songstress kept a packed Briggs & Stratton Backyard captivated Thursday night with no band, no fancy dance moves and no attempt at a fashion statement.
She didn’t need much beyond her growing repertoire of infectious songs and the casual yet arresting power of her voice. She commanded the stage alone for more than an hour of mostly originals, including a generous helping from her underrated 2023 album "To Be Eaten Alive," a core of diehards screaming along at the center of the bleachers.
Mt. Joy
Independence Day, cliché central for furniture marketing departments as well as rock 'n' roll. Mt. Joy kicked off its headlining set at the BMO Pavilion Thursday night with crowd-pleaser “Sheep,” which contains the patriotic refrain “You cut it up, you cut it up/But it's still the red white and the blue.”
Later on, an atmospheric lull in “Let Loose” led into a minute or so of “Born in the U.S.A.” Lead vocalist Matt Quinn didn’t necessarily have a handle on the lyrics; if it was a case of ironic detachment, it didn’t come off that way.
Between the mild psychedelic visual backdrop and the occasional forays into guitar or piano solos, Mt. Joy could be mistaken for an earnest jam band, if only they had the musical chops to pull it off.
Del Water Gap
Mother Nature supplied some extra water for Del Water Gap’s Thursday afternoon set at Uline Warehouse. Frontman Samuel Holden Jaffe expressed regret that he was under the protection of the stage’s roof while the crowd was steadily getting more and more drenched. The light rain at the beginning of the set became heavier by the third song.
With no lightning in the area, Del Water Gap kept going — and the large crowd stayed put, with Gap’s biggest Summerfest fans dancing and singing through the showers to Jaffe’s pining alternative-pop gems like “Better Than I Know Myself” and “Doll House.” (Maggie Rogers was a brief bandmate, and her influence is apparent in Gap songs — and vice versa.)
Carly Rae Jepsen
“The crowd is perfect,” an effusive Carly Rae Jepsen proclaimed during her hourlong opening set Thursday. Unfortunately, her sound was far from it.
Jepsen apologized a couple of times for technical difficulties that led to elongated pauses during the set, and the blaring low-end all but drowned out early set songs like “Now That I Found You” and midpoint tunes like “Kollage” with hideous, rattling bass.
But Jepsen’s literally bouncy energy was unflappable, aided by some fireworks, a flashy band (including a sax player who dropped to their knees for “Run Away With Me”), and a lot of irresistible hooks, including the vibrating ‘80s keys for “Shy Boy” and the disco-kissed shimmer for “The Loneliest Time.”
The Wallflowers
The rain stopped right before The Wallflowers placidly walked onto the Uline Warehouse stage. But the crowd was massive.
After a few sound glitches, the crew got Jakob Dylan’s voice just right — unintelligible, as it should be. The vibe was mellow with a bevy of head nods and a yelp every now and again. There was not much interaction with the audience, but the latter were satisfied as long as the band kept cranking the hits out, especially from their classic 1996 album “Bringing Down the Horse.”
Lil Uzi Vert
When you have the better part of 20,000 fans to sing every one of your words back at the stage, you don’t have to do much work. Frankly, Lil Uzi Vert didn’t on Saturday, July 6, opting to keep the mic to the side for roughly half of their verses, and playing the role of head curator of vibes instead of trying to out-rap the rest of the bill. At one point, they rolled the microphone to the side, for production to replace it with a new one, but that didn't seem to really be the issue. What they lacked in vocal performance, they made up for in energy, by running from side to side on stage for the better part of 45 minutes, stoking the fire of a crowd that didn’t need much coaxing.
Cold War Kids
There was something transcendent about Cold War Kids performance last night at Summerfest.
The lead singer, Nathan Willett, seemed possessed by the music, allowing the sounds to flow over, around and through him until it became one with him. The concert was more than just a performance; it was an experience where the music and the performers melded into something greater than the songs they played.
That feeling of being part of something extraordinary was palpable as I stood amidst the crowd during a jam session that eclipsed the songs themselves. Despite the no-frills setup – just five guys with their instruments and none of the background screens often seen at Miller Lite stage performances – their musical acuity shone through.
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