Since the early 1970s,Milwaukee Summerfest is held annually in Wisconsin along Lake Michigan's shoreline. This annual 10 day music festival features the live music of hundreds of bands, on 11 stages runing from noon to midnight.
The largest stage on the Summerfest grounds is the Marcus Amphitheater which seats up to 23,000 people. Some of the performers that have headlined there in the recent years are No Doubt, Keith Urban, Stevie Wonder and Tom Petty, Jonas Brothers, Bob Dylan, Rush, ELP, Trent Reznor, Black Eyed Peas, and many more. Attracting nearly 1,000,000 each year, Summerfest promotes itself as "The World's Largest Music Festival".
Some popular stages that are sponsored by local businesses are the U.S. Cellular Stage, the Briggs and Stratton stage, and the M&I stage. Along with local businesses supporting the festival, Summerfest also features food from many local eateries including Saz's, Edwardo's Pizza, Major Goolsby's and Mader's.
Summerfest management has made great strides to keep the festival affordable. The event remains a bargain at less than $20 for daily admission. There are also special times when patrons can bring food donations which allow entry onto the grounds. Many office workers take advantage of the early bird discounts, and spend their lunch hour at the festival. They return that same evening to rock out with their friends. Summerfest Parking is just to the west of the festival grounds.
There are many options on how to get to the festival. Some folks take the park-and-ride shuttle service from the Milwaukee suburbs. Others drop their car off at the Wisconsin State Fair grounds and board special busses that run directly to the lakefront. For the motorcycle riders, they will find a large parking area just outside the main gates of Summerfest.
