Summerfest in Milwaukee approached the last weekend of the year with heavy hitters in its lineup from Muse, Alex Warren and Jelly Roll. The weekend also overlapped with the Fourth of July.
The final day was marked by issues, as multiple fights had occurred on the grounds. This contributed in large part to many issues during the weekend celebrations of America’s 250th birthday. The Milwaukee Police Association stated the city was approximately understaffed by about 200 officers.
Previously, UWM Post covered week one and week two of Summerfest.
Day One – Thursday 7/2
The day featured local Wisconsin artists on the grounds. One of these included Mexican-Milwaukee rapper El Sebas performing on the Miller Lite Stage. His songs are a fusion of Latin and hip hop, a growing music trend in the United States with notable artists like Bad Bunny, J Balvin and Karol G.
Across the grounds, at the T-Mobile Stage, Indie rock artist KennyHoopla headlined the stage. Born in Cleveland, he and his family moved to Oshkosh in his early childhood.
KennyHoopla’s biggest success came in 2020 when he reached No. 8 with two singles on the U.S Alternative Airplay charts. The singles were “How Will I Rest in Peace if I’m Buried by a Highway?” and “Estella.” He had previously been an opener for Yungblud, Machine Gun Kelly and Blink-182.
At the end of the night, as part of the Sound Waves DJ Series, Milwaukee DJ GIRLNEXTDOOR took over the Aurora Pavilion.
Day Two – Friday 7/3
The crowd packed into the T-Mobile stage to witness a collaboration performance by Djay Mando and Flo Rida. The Milwaukee DJ had the crowd jumping with hits local to Milwaukee like “There It Is” by 414BigFrank and SunnyLou.
Mando had total control of the crowd, with the attendees doing the mannequin challenge from 2016, which featured the song “Black Beatles” by Rae Sremmurd.
Shortly after the set, Flo Rida took the stage. He gave a wild performance that featured throwing roses towards the crowd and champagne showers onto the fan pit.
Flo Rida performed nostalgic tracks from the 2000’s like “Low.”
This performance came the day after the controversy at the Great American State Fair. Flo Rida endorsed Democratic candidate Bernard Taylor in Florida’s 21st congressional district while on the stage. He was met with Republican backlash as the organizers of the fair, “Freedom 250,” was founded by President Trump.
Day Three – Saturday 7/4
At the start of the day, the Milwaukee Acoustic duo, John Nicholson and Susan Nicholson of Frogwater, took the Johnsonville Summerville Stage. They bring a blend of Celtic, bluegrass and pop to their music.
In the evening, an electro-pop band from Rochester called Joywave performed on the T-Mobile stage. The group found some mainstream success.
In 2022, they created a theme song for NHL on ESPN broadcasts for the playoffs. They also contributed soundtracks for the video game “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.” This would win them a Grammy in 2024 for “Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media.”
At the end of the night, Sam Barber performed on the BMO Pavilion stage. The country star has started to gain traction in recent years, such as his 2024 album, “Restless Mind,” hitting No. 9 on the Top Country Albums chart.
Barber’s latest project, from April 2026, “Broken View,” peaked at No. 12. He recently won the 2026 American Music Awards category for “Breakthrough Country Artist.”