When is Summerfest in 2014?

Summerfest 2014 will begin on Friday, June 27th. 

What is Summerfest?

 

Summerfest, also known as The Big Gig, is an annual music festival held at the waterfront Henry Maier Festival Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Inspired by a recent trip to Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany, Summerfest was founded in in the 1960s as a 10-day musical event by Wilwaukee's then-mayor Henry W. Maier. Other possible names for the event included "Milwaukee World Festival" and "Juli Spass" (German for "July Fun"). With the help of local business and civic leaders, Maier successfully launched the first Summerfest in July of 1968. The original event included concerts, film festival, air show, and a beauty pageant. 

With an annual attendance between 800,000-1,000,000, Summerfest prides itself as "The World's Largest Music Festival," which has been confirmed by the Guiness World Records every year since 1999. Summerfest is currently organized by the non-profit organization Milwaukee World Festival and lasts up to 11-days with performances by musicians from around the world on 11 different stages. Summerfest is held from late June into early July and typically includes the American 4th of July holiday. Other current Summerfest attractions into comedic performances, food & drink vendors, shopping vendors, fireworks, children's theme park rides, and much more. 

Some of the headlining acts to perform at Summerfest include Bob Hope, The Doors, The Beach Boys, Willie Nelson, Grateful Dead, Santana, Eric Clapton, Paul Simon, Sting, Cher, Whitney Houston, Metallica, Bon Jovi, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, Bob Dylan, Kenny Chesney & Keith Urban, Prince, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Stevie Wonder, Tim McGraw, and Lady Antebellum.