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Photo credit: Eliot Lee Hazel
Imagine Dragons
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Photo credit: Spike Jordan
Lil Uzi Vert
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Photo credit: Daniel Regan
Diplo
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Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real
Diplo does a free pre-Summerfest show and Adult Swim takes over Veteran’s Park, while the city celebrates Greek Fest, Garlic Fest and Hart Fest.
Thursday, June 21
Bay View Potluck Picnic Make and Music Day Summer Solstice Concerts @ Beulah Brinton House, 4 p.m.
The Bay View Historical Society invites the public to celebrate the longest day of the year at the new gazebo of the historic Beulah Brinton House, 2590 S. Superior St., where there will be a potluck and free concerts from a variety of folk musicians including singer-songwriter David HB Drake, the Americana ensemble Wilderland, the Four Winds Clarinet Quartet and the group Dangerous Folk, who specialize in the music of the ’50s and ’60s. Guests are welcome to bring their own long chair and a dish to share.
Friday, June 22
Photo credit: Daniel Regan
Diplo
Diplo @ U.S. Cellular Connection Stage, Summerfest, 7 p.m.
Summerfest may not begin until June 27, but music fans won’t have to wait quite the long to see a big show at one of the festival’s main stages. This season the festival upgraded its aging U.S. Cellular Connection Stage with a 25-foot digital screen, a VIP backstage loft and mobile charging stations, and to show off its new amenities, the stage will host this free concert from taste-making Los Angeles DJ-producer Diplo, who’s helped helm hits for artists as wide ranging as Usher, Beyoncé, No Doubt and Madonna. Concertgoers can enter the grounds through the festival’s mid-gate; no tickets are required but entry will be permitted on a first-come, first-serve basis and gates will close if capacity is reached.
Hart Fest @ Hart Park, Wauwatosa
Every city has its own cherished summer tradition. For Wauwatosa, it’s Hart Fest, a two-day family event that draws nearly 10,000 attendees each year. This year’s celebration features music from festival staples like Rebel Grace, The Love Monkeys and Pat McCurdy, as well as kids activities, skateboard and martial arts demos, a half marathon and a Toned Body Fitness body boot camp session Saturday morning, for anybody who wants to burn off some of the calories they’re likely to take in at the festival’s many food vendors. (Also Saturday, June 23.)
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Greek Fest @ Wisconsin State Fair Park, 11 a.m.
As is the case with most of the city’s big summer ethnic festivals, food is one of the biggest draws at Greek Fest, though there’s plenty to do while you’re enjoying gyro, souvlaki or saganaki. Each day is filled with a traditional music and dance performances, in addition to a Greek market and carnival rides on the midway (wristbands for unlimited rides from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. are $20). Admission is free for this 53-year-old family tradition hosted by Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church. (Through Sunday, June 24.)
Brews & Bites @ West Allis Farmer’s Market, 5 p.m.
Local First Milwaukee and the City of West Allis have brought together nearly 50 area brewers and food and beverage vendors for its Brews & Bites event, which will celebrate the joys of eating local. The $30 ticket includes tasting opportunities from participants including Cedar Teeth Pizza, Beans & Barley, Tabal Chocolate, Drift, Urbal Tea, Lakefront Brewery, Westallion Brewing Company, Central Standard Craft Distillery and Corinva Wine Company. For those who want to start snacking early a $50 VIP ticket includes early admission starting at 4 p.m.
Griffin House
Griffin House @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
As his music career took off singer-songwriter Griffin House relocated from his native Ohio to Nashville, a natural destination for a musician with his folky, Americana-leaning sound, but the Midwest still looms large over his songs about romantics and idealists. His most recent album, 2016’s So On and So Forth, closes with a song dedicated to “Omaha.” He recorded the album at Lakehouse Recording Studio in New Jersey’s Asbury Park, an area near and dear to his heart after he shared a tour with E Street Band member Patti Scialfa in 2004.
Saturday, June 23
Summer Soulstice Music Festival @ North Avenue, noon
Now in its 18th year, North Avenue’s Summer Soulstice Music Festival has soundly established itself as one of the East Side’s destination music events. This year’s lineup features an impressive three stages of music including performers like Abby Jeanne, B~Free, Chicken Wire Empire, Amanda Huff, Space Raft, Tigernite, Jaill, Rusty Pelicans, Sat. Nite Duets, Greatest Lakes and Paper Holland. But the event also features a variety of unique attractions of the non-musical variety, including a BMX stunt bike show, yoga practices, Roll Train roller skate dancing, a live painted mural, mini golf, a maker market and cartoon-drawing demonstrations for kids.
Sunday, June 24
Garlic Fest @ Braise, noon-4 p.m.
Milwaukee’s smelliest festival is also one of the ones with the most bona fide culinary credentials. Each year the Walker’s Point restaurant Braise organizes this free outdoor celebration of all things garlic with the support of the city’s finest kitchens, which offer up an array of pungent, garlic-centric dishes. The Iron Grate, Morel, The Diplomat, Transfer Pizzeria, Sabrosa, Snack Boys and Café India are some of the many participating vendors at this year’s festival, which will also feature a yoga practice, a rowing contest, kids games, craft vendors, live music and a garlic eating contest. And as always, Braise will be serving the festival’s iconic green garlic Bloody Marys.
Tuesday, June 26
Adult Swim On The Green @ Veterans Park, 6 p.m.
One of the most cultishly devoted audiences in cable broadcasting belongs to Adult Swim, the after-hours, adult-oriented Mr. Hyde to the Cartoon Network’s mild-mannered Dr. Jekyll. It’s given the world oddities like “Rick and Morty” and “Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law,” but what about some of the shows that were too bizarre even by Adult Swim standards? Some of those unaired episodes and pilots will be screened at this event, a carnival tour featuring games, prizes, vendors, giveaways and a beer and wine garden, as well as a performance from comedian Zack Fox. Guests must be over 18; admission vouchers are $10 in advance and $15 day-of and include one free popcorn and soda.
Wednesday, June 27
Photo credit: Eliot Lee Hazel
Imagine Dragons
Imagine Dragons w/ Grace VanderWaal @ American Family Insurance Amphitheater, 7:30 p.m.
Imagine Dragons’ last show at Summerfest was unforgettable for anybody who attended. It was 2013, and the Las Vegas alternative band’s breakthrough single “Radioactive” had just become one of the year’s most inescapable radio hits, leading to one of the most packed side-stage concerts in the festival’s history. The band’s popularity hasn’t waned any in the half decade since. Last year, Imagine Dragons released their third album, Evolve, which true to its name dabbles in some new sounds, with heavy accents of hip-hop and electronic music reverberating through the band’s signature bombastic rock. The record was nominated for an unlikely Best Pop Vocal Album award at this year’s Grammys. Singer-songwriter Grace VanderWaal, winner of season 11 of America’s Got Talent, is currently touring with Imagine Dragons.
Photo credit: Spike Jordan
Lil Uzi Vert
Lil Uzi Vert @ Harley-Davidson Roadhouse, Summerfest, 10 p.m.
Philly native Lil Uzi Vert is at the forefront of a generation of rappers who draw as much from the spirit of rock ’n’ roll as they do hip-hop, and he’s helped pave the way for a huge new class of rappers who carry themselves like rock stars while sporting fashionable colored dreadlocks. Though he doesn’t shy away from rapping about his emotions, Uzi’s music is lighter and more buoyant than that of many rappers of his generation, marked by the same breezy spirit that made his Migos collaboration, “Bad and Boujee,” his first number one hit in 2017. Last year, he released his debut studio album, Luv Is Rage 2, which featured guest spots from Pharrell Williams and The Weeknd.
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real @ Johnson Controls World Stage, Summerfest, 10 p.m.
Can you guess which famous musician California songwriter Lukas Nelson is related to? Hint: He’s a long-haired country legend with a fondness for a harvestable recreational drug and prominent ties to Farm Aid, a festival that the younger Nelson and his band Promise of the Real have played that festival. At his father’s request, Lukas took up guitar at a young age, and now fronts this group, which over the years has built up a reputation of their own in outlaw country circles (they also backed Neil Young on his 2015 album, The Monsanto Years). Last year Concord Music released the group’s self-titled album, which peaked at number 2 on the country charts. It featured guest vocals from Lady Gaga; Nelson and his band also appear in an upcoming remake of the movie musical A Star Is Born, which will star Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.
