Summerfest, the largest music festival, as recognized by Guinness World Records, has returned for its 58th annual event in Milwaukee. The festival has yet to return to its pre-COVID attendance numbers, as 2019 recorded an attendance of 718,144 patrons.
The post-attendance decline may be attributed to overlap with weather storms, pandemic recovery, and the format of the event going through different iterations as 2025 switched to over nine days across three weekends.
This year’s main lineup deviates towards the Country genre to capitalize on its recent growth in popularity, with artists such as Jelly Roll and Post Malone as some of their headliners.
Before 2024, the lineup featured a significant number of artists from the Rap/Hip-Hop scene. This year marks the third consecutive year in which the headliners only consist of one artist from these two genres: Don Toliver for 2026, Megan Thee Stallion from 2025 and Lil Uzi Vert from 2024.
Day 1 – Opening Day
Summerfest began with its first set at the Aurora Healthcare Pavilion with the MKE Live Groove. The concert series was set this time at Summerfest. It features a wide range of local Wisconsin artists. One of the artists that took the stage early on was Hip-Hop artist Johnny Franchino, a 2-time Wisconsin Icon Award Winner.
The day was also marked as Show Your College Pride Day, with numerous colleges setting up tents near the entrance. These include Carroll University, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Marquette University, UW-Milwaukee and UW-Whitewater.
The T-Mobile Stage hosted local Milwaukee artist, Micha Emrich. The Pop/Soul artist added a flair to his performance with stage dancers beside him. Something that as of Week 1, no other artists have done. He performed a wide variety of covers and songs of his own, such as “Secrets” from his 2024 album, “PROMISES.”
Shortly after Emrich’s set came Milwaukee Indie artist Maximiano. They bridge the gap between Folk, Americana and Indie rock in their projects. Near the end of their set, they condemned ICE and the Palestinian genocide in Gaza. They ended their speech with an advocacy for free healthcare. The crowd responded with loud applause and cheers.
Near the end of the night, the Summerfest crowd had been filled with pink country attire as Megan Moroney fans had come to see the first headliner performance of Summerfest at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater, which had its opening performances, Solon Holt followed by JP Saxe, before Moroney took the stage.
Fireworks were launched into the night sky by the lake to celebrate the start of the next three weeks of Summerfest.
Day 2 – All Wisconsin and Father John Misty
The latter half of the day featured some Wisconsin artists. The BMO Pavilion hosted The LoveMonkeys, a band that has performed for the last 30 years with their combination of rock, pop and reggae. Their most recent project, “Just Hanging Around In An Old Building,” was released back in 2023.
Shortly after the conclusion of the LoveMonkeys came Emmitt James at the T-Mobile Stage. After his departure to Los Angeles for 8 years, he has come back to his birthplace in Milwaukee. James is a fusion of Hip-Hop and Jazz, reminiscent of artists such as A Tribe Called Quest and Anderson .Paak. He had previously been the opening act for artists such as The Pharcyde and Yassin Bey (formerly Mos Def).
James stated on the stage that he has been in therapy for two years after his 2024 album, “It’s Giving Healed Black Man.” He would further preach for the importance of mental health, as many of his songs are set around these issues.
After the crowd of black leather shorts and “Octane” tour shirts had entered the amphitheater for the Don Toliver Concert, Father John Misty, a major inside rock artist, took the stage at the Generac Stage. Possibly the largest ground stage crowd yet, the set was visually very red and with smoke to give a dreamy vibe to pair with the songs he performed.
Day 3 – Rock Wisconsin and History Made
The last day of the first week was primarily filled with rock and country performances throughout the day.
The first set at the T-Mobile was held by Lauren Gottshal, an artist outside of Chicago who had moved to Nashville. Ever since she has settled in Nashville, she has achieved success, such as opening for Jason Aldean and performing in her first stadium show. She performed many of her songs at Summerfest, notably with her 2025 single, “Chicago, Me & You.” It is a love letter to her hometown and her upbringing.
In contrast to these large stages comes the smallest set, the Johnsonville Summerville Stage. It is small to the point that it does not feature a traditional fan pit but rather a personal experience with picnic tables. It hosted Divas & Jazz, which is comprised of female vocalists in the Milwaukee area. They took their audience on a jazz journey with covers of some of the most famous jazz artists like Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald. Their set at Summerfest featured covers of “L-O-V-E” and “Orange Covered Sky” by Nat King Cole
The Miller Lite Stage featured a Milwaukee/Racine punk rock band called American Progress. They performed their works like “Ace of Spades” and “You Aint Goin Nowhere.” They brought in a thrilling performance on set. Their main guitarist walked down to the photo pit to be next to the audience.
After their set at the same stage came Collin Bracewell, a Minneapolis-based indie pop artist. Bracewell blends the inspirations of John Mayer and Justin Vernon into his music. He performed his recent hits, such as his 2025 single “Choo Choo.”
The day ended with a headliner performance from Carin Leon, and many of the fans were wearing vaqueros. Leon is coming off recent success in the United States and a FIFA World Cup song with Jelly Roll. He became the first regional Mexican artist to be a main headliner, as stated by the organizers.