Despite overcast skies and periods of rain that cut into attendance, organizers are calling Sunday's inaugural Rock the Green concert at Veterans Park a success and say they are planning a repeat festival next year. Event spokesperson Megan White would not release specific numbers, but said the attendance was "in the thousands," and said that all of the net profits from the concert will be split evenly between the Urban Ecology Center and the Park People of Milwaukee. [UPDATE: The festival on Wednesday, Sept. 21 announced attendance was 7,274.]
There were other hard numbers the festival was more eager to share: 1200 pounds of food waste were ground up and will be returned to the park grounds as fertilizer, and the festival estimates that it saved 5,750 plastic bottles by providing free reusable water bottles to guests.
Ben Folds' solo set at the festival was nearly cut short when rain made it impossible for him to play the piano, but Folds made good on his promised hour-long performance time by singing a cappella and telling dirty jokes (or, in the case of his novelty cover of Dr. Dre's "Bitches Ain't Shit," essentially doing both at once). Videos are below.
