Summerfest is the biggest gathering of people who like music in the Midwest. There are so many stages, each could have any type of music going on at any one time. I went to Summerfest a lot in my twenties. As I got older, I would really just want to go to see a certain act instead of hanging all day. This was the first time in a long time I went for the weekend and hung out. The acts this year were really great. I saw Paul McCartney, Neil Finn, Peter Gabriel & Sting. I got to see a bit of Elle King and Common. I also saw the last show of School of Rock's competitors. The crowd seemed pretty well behaved for a bunch of day-drinking revelers. I had seen some bad situations in the 90's so I was happy that I could get through a crowd without beer spilt on me. Food and Beverages are expensive but not as expensive as festivals closer to Chicago. At least you have lots of choices and you can find reasonably healthy choices amongst the junk food. Next year will be the 50th year of Summerfest. It should be pretty huge. Things to plan for: 1. Leave carry ins at home. No food or beverages allowed it. 2. Leave your weapons at home. Metal detectors used at all gates. 3. If you don't have a bag/purse, there are express lanes for you. Use them. 4. There will be lots of promotions and free admissions, so watch the website or the facebook page. Which leads to the next one. 5. Do not buy tickets on the streets. These could be counterfeit or stolen tickets. Check the website for re-sales of Marcus Amphitheater tickets. 6. Do bring sunscreen, sunglasses, and a long sleeve shirt for cooler evening performances or sun blocking. Buy a water and refill the bottle at the drinking fountains ( bubblers ) around the restroom areas. 7. Pace yourself. Whether it is with drinking, dancing, sun...be aware how long you are going to be there and be safe while having fun. read more

Like everyone else....high high ratings....Summerfest is the best music venue in the world.....you cannot beat the location on the lake, the wonderful Summerfest grounds they have made so many improvements and additions over the past 30 years and then pay $15 for an all day ticket to walk around and listen to great music on 10 main stages and some other side stages......great atmosphere on the lake and never too hot.....I think this is only my 4th Summerfest but it never disappoints but love spending my time all summer down at the festival grounds......only downside is $6 beers....so get a good buzz started before you arrive lol. My favorite stage is the M&I Classic Rock stage, perfectly nestled in the South end all on its own...great music, easy clean bathroom access, drink access and food access and not a bad view of the stage anywhere....... read more

Summerfest is a great venue for seeing local and national acts. There is a wide variety of music to please almost everyone. It would rate 4 plus stars except for one thing..... Parking! There are plenty of spaces available but the logistics of leaving this place at closing time is HORRENDOUS. We waited an hour plus just to get out of the lot. It wouldn't be too difficult to station one of the 50 or so lot attendants to direct traffic. It would help to open exits earlier too. Mind you, this was a Wednesday night. I expect it to be crowded but C'mon summerfest....you've been doing this for 50 years! When you pay premium prices, you should expect a modicum of service. read more

I am writing this review after a really bad experience. And if it weren't for a great show by Def Leppard, this would be 1 star. The night started out ok, finding a parking spot a parking garage my the betty brim museum. Once in the festival, like every year, I'm a bit disappointed in the food venders, unlike State Fair, there isn't as much to choose from. While walking around, I kept thinking to myself, other then the music there really isn't much to do there. Not to mention that this festival is like amature night on New Years Eve. I of couse had a few $6.50 beers and headed toward the Marcus. Again, Great show! This is where my night went really down hill. It took me 1.4 hours to just walk back to the car among the fist fights, puking, and pot smoke. Where was security or cops????? Once there, it took me 2+ hours to actually leave the structure. UNBELIEVABLE. More fights broke out in the structure along with the beeping of horns and partying. I had enough at this point, and my wife and I agreed it would be the last time we set foot in Summerfest. read more

I used to really like Summerfest, but in recent years less so. Lately there has been only 1 or 2 bands that I had to see there and after going I regretted doing that. More than anything it's the kind of people there, they're rude and inconsiderate. I understand you like to dance to the music, but when you're whipping your arms around doing your hippie dance and elbow my wife in the head we have a problem since A. We're packed in like sardines B. I'm fairly certain CAKE isn't a jam band. I like that Summerfest has a good amount of local bands, but perhaps should look at regional bands as well; I can only see the Toys or Sweetarts so many times. read more

Summerfest is a lovely display of American Gluttony. It includes more Beer, Cheese, Red Meat, Ice Cream and fun that you can shake a cheese stick at. There are a few Negatives. If you don't like crowds, stay away. There are of course the drunk college kids to deal with, but if you are agile, it's pretty easy to side step the vomit. This festival is an eclectic mix of people that you will not find anywhere else. Bikers, hipsters and Country folks can all be found at this lakefront extravaganza. You will not find more fashion blunders than anywhere in America. I have not seen men in Blue Jean cutoff's with black socks and work boots since my Uncle Lee Roy died (I think they buried him in that outfit). But let's be honest. Summerfest does it better than any outdoor fair in the country. It blows the Taste of Chicago (I should say Waste of Chicago) away. If you have never headed up North for this summer wonder, I highly recommend it. read more

Loved the fireworks and the entertainment. Prices are a little high however it's worth the money.

The Best time of my LIfe!

If there's a time to go to Milwaukee...it would be during the 10 days of debachery so cleverly named, Summerfest! Even before I could enjoy to fruits of the brewers labor, I enjoyed nights of fried cheese, frozen custard, and...the Bangles? Now of course I find much more pleasure in the variety of micro-brews (...and Miller Lite by the end of the night, let's be honest, that stuff is heinous), the amazing diversity (and by this I mean mullets of all varieties), the fried cheese (never grow out of fried cheese), and the MUSIC! It's ridiculous who you can see for a measly $12 ticket! Let's see...Ben Folds, Bob Schneider, Guster, Howie Day, Violent Femmes, Black Eyed Peas, Moby...and the list goes on FOOOOREVER. I highly suggest it if you're in the area, and even if you're not...there's nothing quite like it! read more

Summerfest is like a huge state fair but with more music and less farm animals. If you like crowds so large you can barely move, drunk people spilling beer on you and over priced food then head on down to Summerfest. read more

I don't understand the fuss. It's crowded, it's loud, it's dirty, it's EXPENSIVE! The crowd consists of drunk adolescents and crazy old people. No thank you. read more

Do not depend on their no smoking policy. My kids got inundated with cigarette, clove,and pot! We had to leave. Just be honest with us and we will choose something else. I hope BBB helps us now. Please let me know of other organizations that would be helpful to teach these greedy bastards a lesson!!! read more

Oh Summerfest, you have given me so much. Let's not sugarcoat what the Fest is: it's a week and half of lots of drunk people and some great shows. If you are really looking to get good seats at one of the free shows, then get there early in the day and stake out your spots, because if you get there even two hours before the starting time, you'll be in the back. Yes, there are drunken brawls, there are people who are too drunk to function and hey, my friends and I might be those people sometime, but it's truly what you make of it! read more

Where I'm from we have nothing like this, but now that I live in Chicago I can come up to Milwaukee for fantastic events like this! It's cheap with an amazing lineup and really tasty food that probably clogs my arteries. Definitely a healthy environment for the ages and will definitely be coming back. read more

Summer Fest who can give such a bad review. They have great artist who come out to play. I've been going to summer fest for the past 15years. $10.00 to see great music artist some of the top names in music history. Great food and freebies. I'm in Chicago and drive every year to come down. I can't wait to see BB King this year and some other great artist. As long as their having Summer Fest I'll be sure to take my drive down to Milwaukee. read more

When I checked in to this place it was my first time in Milwaukee and I really liked the Amphitheater. Initially I was expecting it to be some small park with a small stage set of for performances, but when I got there I was caught off guard. The stages are actual stages, and by that I mean ones that you can't just take down and move around when you please. I went for the Summerfest and I was completely satisfied with the people that were working there, the food, the artists, and the location. If you go walking through the place leisurely, like I did, you will find that it is a big place. But if you take in everything that is around you, you will enjoy the place. I only came to see my friend perform, but I will definitely say that I will be back again next year if there is a good line up. This city and venue is definitely welcoming. read more

Summerfest used to be a lot of fun with many more talented musicians/bands. Summerfest is now bland, boring, and just a place to hang with a bunch of drunken people. I am all for good music, good food, good drinks, and a good time, but Summerfest no longer does it for me. I would like to see more variety in the music. Less cover bands, more local, indie artists. Enough of the same headliners year after year after year. Mix it up a little bit. Change is good. I am glad to see other people are still into the fest more than I am. They do have some great deals going on, but it is not enough to lure me in this year. I mean I even have free tix and don't plan on going. If there was good music, I'd be there even with no discounts and higher prices. read more

My husband and I come here every year (as well as State Fair). I love the different music you can hear as you walk around. It's a nice way to find artists you may not be aware of otherwise. read more

Go during the day before everyone is drunk lol. I love the music selections and the different foods available. It does seem like more chains are there every year but there at some good independent resuarants still. read more

After attending summerfest everyday except the last I'm very glad it's over. And this may be the first year in which I started to feel to old to be there. With all that said, summerfest is still a guaranteed good time, for you, your friends, your kid, everyone except your wallet. If you haven't been to Summerfest you absolutely need to check it out. This was a strange year where the Main Stage was loaded but there wasn't great acts onthe free stages (imo). Everyone who says they don't go to summerfest says their reason is due to the crowds, the crowds walking around this year were never an issue. . even at shows wasn't an issue. summerfest could use more and cleaner bathrooms though. should've had the big bang the first night. darn fog. read more

We had a blast at Summerfest!!! We went both during the day with our daughter and at night without her for a concert. Both times we had good food and met some great people. I wish I could go every year now!!! read more

I 've never been until last night I saw the Roots for 15 bucks . It was super crowded, wouldn't recommend bringing kids at night I saw a couple of kids walking around,especially with all the drinking and smoking. I went for the music so I really didn't care about anything else. I wish I had gone earlier in the week to see Alicia Keys -maybe next time. The food is outrageously expensive the cheapest thing on the grounds was Wendy's. I still had fun. read more

Best value music festival in the United States. Where else can you pay a flat fee of $20 and see so many bands across many music genres. Seating is mostly first come, first served but they do sell reserved seating if you definitely want a seat. Wide variety of food at the concessions which is great. Food at the Marcus Ampitheater sucks and is very limited so eat outside before entering. As for getting to Summerfest, either walk or take a free shuttle from one of the bars like the Harp or Who's on Third. read more

I took my 17 year old niece to Summerfest this year because we both had a Sunday to kill. I agree with others who said that the music is a little homogenous...that being said, it was still pretty good music & a lot of bands that we had never heard of (bonus in my opinion). We pretty much did laps around the grounds for 6 hours and sat in on various bands from the whiny neo-emo/hipster/folksy singers to the Mid-America Starlifter's classic rock covers. We feasted on roasted corn, fresh lemonade and candied nuts. I beg to differ with a previous poster who said there was a lack of farm animals...you could call them local drunks (and tourist drunks, I guess, to be fair) & we had fun watching them dance on the bleacher benches with their asses hanging out of their shortie shorts. All in all, it was a good time. read more

This was my first ever summerfest, to be honest did not know what to expect. A lot of my local friends told me to stay away, but me being the party animal decided to go for the 11 day pass. After dealing with all the little kiddies and riff raff around the festival, I would say my impression was generally positive and would have been much higher if they just banned anyone under 18 without a guardian. For example: I was double fisting some lovely shandies, and some random girl walked up to me and offered $11 for my beer. Really?! In the middle of the walk-path. Or all the high school kids clearly on some kind of drug dancing away @ Miller stage splattering and hitting everyone. However, summerfest has some very nice little stages tucked around here and there. Me and a friend had a pleasure of listening to Dan Rodriguez, who had a voice that was just amazing. In addition, the ecuadorian band is real fun to be around and dance around . Generally speaking, to avoid the kiddies keep walking north towards BMO. If you can't stand under 21 pers hit up jojo's... but be warned their martinis are 10 DOLLARS (insane). I'd highly recommend you stock up on your shandies outside and come inside. And if you don't like crowds dont come at night, its awfully packed. Always a logjam from stupid groups who stand in the middle of the walkpath, completely oblivious, usually hammered. All in all though, I did enjoy summerfest. It was fun, got drunk, had free beers for the last weekend thanks to a friend's VIP pass, and met some fun people. For the most part though, its good way to pregame for the night ahead. The free drunk bus is very nice to have! read more

Book a room for the night and come up to Milwaukee for Summerfest. It's basically a festival celebrating BEER and the many beer companies in the city. But they play it off as a music festival. Catch amazing shows on the small stages all day and head to the amplitheater to see the evening headliners like Tom Petty or Paul Simon. Also make sure you do your share of eating (corn on the cob, gyros, funnel cakes) and drinking (beer, sno cone, beer) while you are here. A blast with a big group of friends. read more

Summerfest is something you really must experience at least once. I've been to this festival about a jillion times. Get there early. Bring credit cards and MONEY. Wear comfortable shoes, extra sunscreen, sunglasses, and a hat. Try to do one of the get-in-free deals (there are lots of them listed on their website in advance). KIDS: Do NOT bring kids to this for more than Two hours! It's too much for them! Crowded and dangerous, with DRUNKS everywhere! Especially BABIES! Anyone who brings their child to this crowded, hot festival full of drunk people for more than two hours is really a selfish bad and creepy "parent." I've actually seen parents walking around with KIDS & BABIES here, and they're just hot, sunburned, and crying to go home. Dumb parents. Makes me sick. Anyway. They have so many great bands playing, try to go on the day that you can see as many of your favorites as possible. This is a Drinking festival for a lot of people. If that's you, all I can say is, pace yourself. Drink water. This is a very expensive festival in terms of drinking. A wiser strategy financially, would be to go to some of the bars in the Third Ward nearby, which have specials going on, drink there, and then catch a shuttle to Summerfest. Then drink water at Summerfest. It's a lot cheaper. Seriously. That is what my friends and I have done many times. WITHOUT Children. There is a lot of good food, but also a lot of lines, so be aware- you might want to organize having one person stand in line for this type of food, then the other person do it, etc. Use your i-phones & do some kick-ass Texting. Summerfest is fun, but stay out of the sun, be sure to save time for the bands you WANT to see, and BRING MONEY. Ooh, and go to the Shopping Villages! That's all I got. read more

This is the world's LARGEST music festival, which says a lot! It's right on Milwaukee's shore, has TONS of performers, many of which are major artists, like Lady Gaga and OutKast. There are lots of stages and music for every music taste. Lots of food options and rides, etc. What a great annual event to look forward to! I love Milwaukee! read more

The best music festival there is. Great entertainment, endless food options, beautiful grounds. And of course, the best established touring acts, and up and coming acts also. read more

I must admit I hate WI in the winter but LOVE it in the summer. Summerfest is the culmination of all that's good and bad in the area. The bathrooms I visited were actually pristine this year. Over priced, sticky and stinky but the free shows are worth it. Saw a couple stupid fights start between drunkards, as usual. Not really much you can do about that with all the alcohol consumed. read more

Summerfest is the only festival I list that doesn't take place over a weekend or a two to three days span of time. It takes place from June 29 through July 9. In my opinion the quality isn't as strong across the board but there are some really fun shows you can check out. Acts this year include Tom Petty, Everclear, NIN, Joan Jett, Kings of Leon, Ray Davies, Wilco, etc, etc, etc. read more

It's been forever since I went to summerfest but I'm not missing out either, same thing drink beer n eat your heart out ;) of course I was mainly there for a concert with my best friend, I had a blast anyways! read more

I came here for a Dave Matthews Band concert with my boyfriend. Parking was reasonable for a venue like this, food is perfect to balance out the beer, and our seats were amazing, (thank God we weren't on the lawn, it's very small and crowded). Drinks were expensive but our cocktails were strong and there was beer stands everywhere. All in all, I'd love to come back again soon! read more

Love Love Love Summerfest, but move it out of the city in Milwaukee! It was a nightmare getting there. The on line info makes it look so easy. Detours, roads closed, took me an hour of driving in circles to find lot H. The food vendors are amazing, the crowds fun and bands really great. Went there a lot years ago. Much simpler routing. I probably won't go again unless it is moved. One more suggestion, I love the starving solo artists but spread them out. Rapper and 20 yards away a guy on an electric keyboard. Seriously? Milwaukee really could use a city Planner. At least fire the one you have and get a competant one. read more

I love summerfest and have a great time every year, but they made me throw my sunscreen away causing me to have a severe sunburn. The first gate said no sunscreen at all, but the other gate said no aerosol spray so they clearly don't know what their own rules are. They had no signs up saying no sunscreen, aerosol or not. It wasn't listed on the big red signs telling you what not to bring in. I couldn't find any on the inside, but if they had sunscreen inside I'm sure it was way overpriced. Pretty ridiculous summerfest. Not sure if I'm going to be able to come back if it stays this way. read more

This is such an important and traditional part of Summer in Milwaukee. Just be prepared to give in to big crowds, hot weather and lines. The venue is incredible, on the shore of Lake Michigan. Check the website before for lists of money saving ways to get in, I.e. food donations, miller lite bottle caps. Prices are reasonable compared to the same items at other festivals around the country. You have to go at least once to cross it off your bucket list. It's the world's largest music festival, for cryin-out-loud! read more

This was my first time to summerfest and I loved it. Will be back every year I'm able to make it. Crowded at night, but for $11-$18 to get in, it's worth it. Food isn't too unreasonably priced. Expect to pay $6-8 per drink. read more

I absolutely love Milwaukee's Summerfest. I've been here numerous times and have a blast every time. Summerfest makes Taste of Chicago look like a joke (well, it is a joke in my opinion). Great bands, good service, something for everyone, great vendors, good people, it's clean, safe and right on the water. If your a music lover (especially a country music lover) Summerfest is a must see. You can get a room within walking distance for a very reasonable price. Don't wait to book though, hotels fill up fast. Be sure to check out everything else Milwaukee has to offer while you're there. If I remember correctly, Milwaukee is the #1 drunkest city - gotta love that! read more

My husband took out first trip to Milwaukee to visit Summerfest. We were really impressed with what an awesome event this was for a pretty decent price. We bought the 3 day pass and saw several great shows. There is an amazing food selection and I red especially impressed with the number of bathrooms! Very cleans, fun, well organized event. Ride the sky lift! read more

Who doesn't like summerfest?!?! People watching at its finest! I have noticed that the free stages have better and better bands/singers every year. Go enjoy! read more