Move over Coachella and Lollapalooza; you have much to catch up on when compared to the World’s Largest Music Festival–the Milwaukee Summerfest. The Guinness Book of World Records has actually certified this title since 1999. How big is this festival? For starters, it runs from late June to early July for 11 days across 11 different stages. Summerfest typically features over 800 acts and 1000 performances of artists and groups from a variety of music genres. The head count is even bigger. The festival is said to attract anywhere from 800,000 to 900,000 people from all over the world each year.
The idea for Summerfest started around the 60s. Founder and then mayor Henry W. Maier (which is also the name of the park where it is held annually) visited Germany during Oktoberfest and was inspired to create something similar for Milwaukee. By 1962, a solid plan had been written up by the city’s civil leaders for a large-scale summer festival. By 1966, the proposal for a 10-day festival is ready for development, and it’s also adopted the name “Summerfest” after a few changes. At this point, Maier and other city leaders were ready to give the world the biggest stage in music. The very first Summerfest festival was held in 1968 featuring acts such as The Robbs and Up With People, but the events were held in 35 different places throughout the city. Also, there were other Summerfest events apart from music–air shows, film fests, and even pageants. Regardless, that first Summerfest was regarded as a success, but the next year’s festival wasn’t quite as successful.
By 1970, the permanent location was finally decided. The festival remains to be held in the same location to this day, which is at the 75-acre Henry Maier Festival Park along the lakefront. This was also the year when Richard D. Grant designed the smiley face logo that the festival still uses to this day.
2007 marked the 40th anniversary of the festival, and fast-forward to today, Summerfest still draws the biggest names in music and the biggest festival crowds. In 2014, the festival drew over 850,000 patrons and has maintained that number reasonably over the next coming years. Some of the artists that have performed in recent years have included Ed Sheeran, Keith Urban, Florida Georgia Line, Kings of Leon, Kendrick Lamar, Stevie Wonder, Carrie Underwood, Selena Gomez, Weezer, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Philip Phillips, and The Chainsmokers among many, many others.
This year’s festival is featuring even bigger names. As this year’s Summerfest gets closer, more artists will be revealed. So far on the American Family Insurance Amphitheater, these are the artist names that have been released to perform: Dave Matthew’s Band, Halsey, James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, The Weeknd, Blake Shelton, Journey, Shawn Mendes, and Imagine Dragons. By just looking at these names, you can probably already picture how the entire Summerfest will be like. The organization is expecting roughly the same amount of patrons to come this year, and that only means hundreds of thousands worth of fun and entertainment. We’ll all find out how it turns out by the end of June.
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