It's gotten much better over the last few years as the attendance has slimmed a bit and the grounds have opened up a tad. For the money, how can you go wrong? So much entertainment it's pretty crazy to think Milwaukee gets this festival! And FOOD FOOD FOOD! And beer. Only minus really is that some of the Main Stage acts are lame. read more

Great music is what this festival is all about. Tasty food on all different levels can be found here. Overpriced beer, ice cold wine coolers and Sangrias can all be found here. Overall this music fest is a good deal with so much to offer for everyone. Be prepared to be overwhelmed with crowds on popular evenings. Respect the residents neighborhood as you leave. read more

Summerfest - Music beer and Sammy Llanos band. Don't get any better than that - Festivals Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

I used to LOVE Summerfest, but I'm not much of ground person, so I don't go as much anymore. I only go if I have tickets at the Marcus. The Side Stages are too crowded, that if you want a spot to see the artist you need to be there right when the gates open and sit all day to save your spot to see the artist that will play after 10pm. Just not my crowd anymore. read more

Crowded but fun!! Went for Blake Shelton concert which was great! Crazy if parking but Uber/cab service is better. Food options are good but pricey. read more

Some of the reasons people dont like summerfest here are silly. Like mullets don't exist at our own Taste of Chicago? Anyway I think Milwaukeeans should be proud to have something like Summerfest right in their own front yard. Here in Chicago, we have Lollapalooza which is more cutting edge obviously, but also very hit and miss with the entertainment and not a very good value. I've seen so many top tier artists at Summerfest FOR FREE its unbelievable. I've seen Elvis Costello there twice for free. I've also seen free...They Might Be Giants, Joe Strummer, Buddy Guy, Richard Thompson, John Entwhistle, Stevie Nicks, Megadeth, Judas Priest, REO Speedwagon, Pearl Jam, Led Zeppelin, Moby, Ted Nugent, and too many other to list. Most of the food at Summerfest is fried and greasy, but there are a few hidden gems. Nothing beats summer on the lake. read more

Had a blast! The Shackeltons were awesome on the KNE stage! Appreciated the special rates at the Hilton's. Also, thank you Milwaukee Art Museum and the Kandinsky exhibit. Still: SHACKELTONS, SHACKELTONS, SHACKELTONS! read more

Need to balance out the people that somehow expect no crowds, no traffic, and no drunkenness. This is a music festival after all, jeez. There are plenty of great family activities during the day, but you should probably consider getting the kids out after about 3 or so -- same as Oktoberfest in Munich or any other large music festival. At least there is some family time, versus fests like Lollapalooza. Anyway, it's a great time, lots to do and see besides the music, which has been consistently awesome for the very inexpensive entry fee. Go! Have fun! read more

We paid $70 each to see Peter gabriel (at the Marcus Amphitheater) who was FABULOUS. However, The concert was RUINED buy the Rock stage next door Pounding its pathetic beat directly at the Marcus Stage for 3 hours. Literally ruined the entire experience. Terrible stage design by Summerfest. Move the Rock stage out INTO lake Michigan. read more

This fest is amazing. I take a road trip here each year with my sister and I'm always satisfied with the prices as well as the lineup. The food is cheap but tasty. If you're one of the first people to download the mobile Summerfest app, you qualify for a free one-day ticket! Hotels/motels nearby can be costly depending on when you book them and for how long. There are a lot of people that go, so it's a really fun experience. I like going on the lift and seeing the city of Milwaukee as well as all of the people below. I've met some friends here while waiting for bands to perform. Very excited to see Brand New this year! Summerfest always guarantees a great time. read more

We are from Wisconsin and have been going to Summerfest for over 25 years. The bands are incredible and it's overall a fun time to spend with friends and family. The only downfall is the restaurants and food vendors. They are such poor quality that I would give them less than a 1 *. The food this year 2017 was not only horrible tasting but unidentifiable! We paid $18 for a Philly sandwich with a small fry and drink. The sandwich did not look, smell or taste like your typical Philly. The bun was shredded the fries half cooked and the soda was flat. This has happened to us every year but this year seem to be the worst. We did say something to one of the managers and he basically told us there was nothing he could do about it, so basically he's not the owner and did not care. Hot tip for next time - Eat a huge breakfast before you hit Summerfest including a lot of protein and take a couple of snacks with you in a small backpack or purse such as a protein shake or protein bars for lunch. Get your hand stamped and leave the grounds there are plenty of great restaurants in walking distance and then go back later in the evening and listen to the music. If Milwaukee is claiming that Summerfest is the largest music festival in the world, by the way it's not there's several other ones we have been to in Europe that are equal if not bigger ...but if they are claiming to have such a great Festival they NEED to back it up with decent food which is edible not garbage!!! The food we were presented with this year was not edible for any human and I certainly would never have given it to my dog! We give the music festival a five-star, the beer vendors 5 star and we give the food vendors a -1 *. It's unfortunate that the owners of these restaurants don't care about the people of Milwaukee or the people of Wisconsin or all the people coming in from out of state for this phenomenal Festival. It's really an embarrassment! We run our own business and would never treat people like this. We hope that next year is better in the food department! read more

So, I am not really sure how to rate Summerfest because I feel as if the experience, and it is an experience, has changed for me overtime. I think if I were to rate it in my early 20's I would have given it 5 stars. We would gather a bunch of friends and party late into the night while listening to great bands and gettin' drunk. That is what being in your 20's is mainly about right? Also, I am a transplant so I didn't grow up with this festival in my backyard so for the first 4-5 years I LOVED Summerfest. Yes, it's hot and there are drunk people, but what is not to love? It is quintessential Milwaukee. Simply put: The. Best. People. Watching. Ever. So, now that I am in my 30's, I still go once a year and it is a totally different experience. I usually go during the day and find a low key band and grub on all my favorite fried food--let's face it, there is not much in the way of healthy food at SF and you don't go there to get healthy. The bands during the day are usually not as good--and you have probably never heard of them- think cover band so in order to take advantage of the great music you have to stay well into the night and fight off the drunks. That being said, the day we went this year was really HOTTT but I still enjoy going through all the booths and seeing "who's there this year" and visiting all my old favorites. Sure, they would use a "face lift" in terms of updating the restrooms/vendors/stages but then again it would have that Summerfest feel....which is kinda dirty! It's the largest music festival in the WORLD and I am glad it has made Milwaukee home (The city could use the revenue). read more

So many good performances, huge venue, lots of normal concert / festival food. Mix that with a nice Milwaukee summer night - what's not to love? read more

Summerfest was a blast this year! I went to see wiz kalifa at the free stage. OMG! OMG! I had the best time, cheap beer, great food. I saw the coolest sunglasses I ever see in my life! these sunglasses at rhinestone and mirrors on them that you can see out of. does anyone know where I can get some in milwaukee? On the bussiness card it had a link for facebook.com/omgfashion shades and www.etsy.com/omgfashion2011 but I could not find them on facebook. if you anyone knows how to get in contact with OMG! Fashion please let me know read more

So fun! I missed Summerfest the last two years and I am so happy I went back again. The one disappointment is that it would be nice if they had more variety in music...adding in Latin music, opera, jazz, and others would be nice. There is a lot of pop, rock, country, and alternative. I liked many of the groups that performed. If you are traveling from Chicago, Megabus is a great way to go. read more

We attended Chris Stapleton n Tom Petty July 5, who were great!! Summerfest as a venue stinks! This venue is obnoxious. We used to love attending. Now it's full of wasted selfie taking teens. The worst part of the experience was asking for directions. The people summerfest has hired are either uninformed, poorly trained or just don't care. Getting to the Marcus Ampitheater or AmFam theater, whichever it is named these days, bc it had multiple references on the tickets n venue posts, is poorly marked. My husband had surgery recently so walking takes a little longer. Any time we asked for direction from a person in a yellow or red polo shirt, told us the wrong way to go. The people in the red polos moved around in pairs and spent more time talking to each other vs helping patrons. The red shirts were roving, but no one around at decision point locations. Then when we arrived at the section the young teens in yellow shirts were there to monitor, certainly not there to provide direction to your seat. Then leaving we were directed to taxis 5 blocks away or the uber at mid gate. That was another cluster. When we arrived at uber midgate, we were told the uber drivers couldn't make it in to their area so it'd be better to walk a few more blocks away to grab a an uber. Complete disorganized mess! We travel the world n can't believe what a mess this place is today. #nevercomingback read more

I am not a big fan of large crowds so I tend to stay away from any sort of festival. However, I decided to give Summerfest a try because my boyfriend and I wanted to see Steve Aoki and Tiesto live. Summerfest was also on our list of things to check out so that was a perfect reason to make the trip down to Milwaukee. Honestly, the ticket prices were a steal compared to the prices in Chicago and this was for admission into the Marcus Ampitheater. We hopped on the bus which was shuttling people to and from Summerfest. I want to note that I found it odd that we were not provided with any sort of ticket as we "purchased" round trip tickets. The bus driver simply told us that we would be fine when they pick up from Summerfest. We never did take the return bus back to the hotel so I will never know if this sort of "honor system" worked. Overall, the location of this fesitval is amazing. It did not feel at all congested which is a BIG PLUS in my book. There are so many food vendors and the prices were not sky rocket high either. I found it awesome that this thing goes until 12pm too at least the night we attended (July 3rd)! The beer is pretty cheap as I'm use to paying more than $5 for a beer at most festivals and special outings in Chicago. I have to say I agree that it is10x better than the Taste (overhyped). I think I will go back next year if someone else I'm interested is on the lineup. read more

Summerfest's setup and crowd was quite different than other music festivals I've been to. First off they have to get rid of the stage benches for GA attendance because conflict arises when people try to reserve too many bench spots. I was excited to sit in the front row to see my one of my fav artists Rodrigo Y Gabriela, but my spot was "saved" for four other people who werent there cause they were busy getting drunk. So this old and entitled group kicked me and 2 other excited fans out and and they told me they were waiting for 2 hours when I was waiting the same amount of time for my show to start. I don't see any reserved signs on these benches! Second, people stand on the benches during the show which blocks other festival goers views. Lastly on these stupid benches, standing on the benches can increase injury risk. Another problem I noticed is spacing of the stages. During the show I kept hearing music from the other stage interfering. That was really annoying and ruined special moments for the show I was seeing. Hope this festival can fix these issues otherwise your better off seeing a show somewhere else. read more

I've been coming up to Milwaukee for a few days of Summerfest almost every year for the past several years, and what you read about it in these Yelp reviews - both positive and negative - is totally true in it's own way. $12 admission is really a decent value for all the music available each day, especially if you come early - the afternoon bands may be on the obscure side, but even if the music is not so hot, you can distract yourself with plenty of food & drink. Crowds do get more obnoxious as night falls & staying up late to catch the bigger-name acts may test the patience of anyone over the age of 19. Still, even with the occasional headaches, I have found Summerfest to be more pleasant & sane than the atmosphere at Taste of Chicago. My strategy each year is to try & attend during weekdays whenever possible, when the crowds are thinner and I can usually find a way - via a special promotion, Big Gig Card, or whatever - to get in for free on most, if not all, days that I visit. read more

We have attended Austin City Limits, Bamboozle, Firefly Music Festival, Artscape, and now Summerfest. The folks in Milwaukee are definitely a nice group of people but we were not fond of Summerfest as a "festival" experience. The grounds are not the type where you can throw a festival blanket down on a patch of grass and chill for the day. This one is a street festival. The good... lots of food and drink choices. Lots of art vendors. Real bathrooms with flushing toilets and sinks with hand soap! Lots of ample seating on picnic tables and bleachers for stages. The ski lift was cool. No noticable drug use. Friendly people and people of all ages; kids in strollers to Grandma and Grandpa. The bad... I felt like I was in a corporate environment with Miller light sponsoring everything; it didn't have the chill, festival vibe. Bands were few and far between and mostly at night. One day we were allowed to bring a small backpack inside, the next day we were not, and had to check it for $2.00. We were told it depended on the security person checking the bag. How is that possible? Its either acceptable or its not. 3 day passes cheap compared to most festivals but you have to purchase tickets separately for the headliners you want to see, which ultimately costs more than those $225 - 3 day passes you find at other festivals where headliners are included. No water stations. Most festivals offer free water refill stations which should be a priority when you have people drinking in the hot sun all day. Lines for the ladies room in the Marcus Ampitheather were ridiculous. We all know ladies form MUCH longer lines so why not spend a few extra bucks on some additional porta potties for ladies only. The Eagles were a fantastic way to close out Summerfest. All in all, it was ok. We will cross this one off our list and probably will not return only because we prefer more green grass and a more chill, relaxed environment. read more

I've enjoyed many drunken nights at summerfest since the age of 15...The amount of flowing booze and the smell of yeast steaming off stranger's bodies, deserves at least 3 stars. The diversity of musical taste, acts, performances and the eclectic crowd that surrounds the unbelievable musical geniuses and psychedelic sounds is a feast for the ears that is comparable to a Las Vegas CHEAP buffet. For this I give it an extra star. Bad analogies aside and all, Summerfest is one of the most underrated and unknown musical festivals that should be experienced at least once in a lifetime. The 5th star is for the fine men and women of the Milwaukee Police Department. Thank you for turning a blind eye to my fake I.D, which was provided by the local Russian mob, and letting me get on the wrong shuttle bus back home. If it wasn't for the fact that I was gone beyond belief, I would have never thought that the railroad was indeed the yellow brick road that led me back home A.K.A the hospital. read more

Summerfest is a festival fully dedicated to music and drinking. I've never gone a whole lot, despite usually getting tons of free tickets. Occasionally there will be a band so awesome that not seeing them perform would be a shame. Weird Al usually makes an appearance, and that can be great fun. Last year, we saw Cold War Kids, and it was a good free stage show. Too often, I don't like all a band has to offer in their music portfolio, so I can easily get bored and want to wander. This is usually a great venue for that, but only if you're lucky to have "your bands" playing there. Beer is overpriced, but captive audience. Food was reasonably priced. This year's attended night we ate Volcano Chicken at the King and I. If you're lucky to score some more private seating such as the SFLive area or the Miller Oasis (among others), you've scored big. It is great to get away from the people, if you can't stand drunken idiots. If seeing live music was more important to me, this venue surely is a win-win. Cheap for the most part. Park a couple blocks farther away and get it for $15 or less. Otherwise I think it is standard to be $20. read more

This is a great event and I wish I would have checked it out a lot sooner. What a great summer festival. It's rather inexpensive for the main part of the festival. The food is very reasonably priced and the "free" concerts are actually bands you would want to see! read more

Please Summerfest Board don't allow smoking at the Park or have an area for smoking. I would also like to see more vendors selling their wares. What you will see and hear at Summerfest. $20 parking, $4.50 a bottle water which they won't allow you to keep the top. Expensive food and beer. Butt to nut people, LOUD music overlapping each other while walking. Beautiful lake front, lot's of free music and if you like to people watch this is the place. Don't expect any help from Summerfest if you loose your car. People from work forgot where they parked and asked for help, none was provided. So remember where you parked. Please people keep your kids at home. You allow them to run around with no shoes, they run into people and you ignore them when they are crying. The smoke is horrible and there is a bunch of drunks. The music is too loud for their ears and I just don't want to be bothered with all those strollers. read more

I'm going to re-review this place, it's not that bad, but I'll still give it a 3 stars, since it's not that great either, since I turned over a new leaf. I was going down there to get in for $5 for happy hour, but some nice guy saved me the money and gave me a free ticket, I can't thank him enough. The music is still the same, there was a bad I didn't care for(note:the free admission days, I know they're free now, not many well known acts), but another band that was doing song covers that was great in the Johnson Controls tent. The prices are still outrageous, but for most part, the vendors are a lot friendlier than I remember, there was one woman I went to buy roasted nuts from who greeted me with a smile and I've never bought roasted nuts anywhere so I was didn't know what to get and she said something like, "Oh Honey, All of Them are Delicious", what a sweetiepie, makes me so warm inside! As for the restaurants, nothing special, something you can get anywhere outside here, so State Fair is still better in terms of food variety. This has nothing to do with Summerfest, but I left and I wanted to buy a water, so I walked down the street and a nice lady was selling bottled water for 90 cents, I felt like being generous since she was so nice to me and gave her $1, I figured I don't need more change. To wrap it up, it was fine, I wouldn't pay $20 to get in that's for sure, but it's a good place to people watch and can't complain much when I get in free. I still feel like I'm sot of too old for this. Hmm, so many people here are complaining about the parking, glad I don't drive or even have a car, that's why so many people bike or take the bus.. Note everybody:there is a bublr bike station just outside Discovery World. read more

Great for music, traffic is beyond horrible. You should just park outside and walk to the event.

My husband and I go to Summerfest every year. This year we decided to go to the Montley Crue concert. It was at the Marcus Amphitheater. Their sound was HORRIBLE! We couldn't hear the lead singer at all. We had been to Luke Brian just days before at the same theater and the sound was fine. Other than that, it's a good time. The choice for bands was better this year. Although I must say those teenage girls running around are half naked.... Oh well not my kid... It's a good time with a whole bunch of characters to say the least! But never a dull moment. But won't be buying anymore tixs for concerts though.... read more

I'll be fair, but frank about this. The food isn't great, better food at State Fajr. The only reason I go once a year and no more than once a year, is if I get free tickets. Half the bands this year, I've never even heard of. I'll take State Fair any day over this overrated festival. read more

Say Yes to Milwaukee's Summerfest. We have been to this wonderful summer outing may times. The talent that they have is wonderful. Looking for some thing to do on a summer weekend, this is a short ride from Illinois. We wanted to take the boat ride but the water on Lake Michigan was too choppy, no disappointment here, we just sat, ate and partied all day. This fest reminds me of the old Chicago Fest of many years ago, we always had a wonderful time. Yes, there are those that drink too much, loud mouths and many kids. Later in the evening when the top shows go on, you will find more adults then children. Just do your best to avoid confrontation and you will have a wonderful time when visiting the fest. We so enjoyed the lakefront, what a beauty of a setting. read more