Summerfest, the world’s largest music festival, is filled with nine days worth of performances from local musicians to some world’s most well-known music artists. This year’s lineup features over 600 artists across six permanent stages in addition to a 20k-capacity seated venue; The American Family Insurance Amphitheater. That stage is made to host A-lister’s such as Megan Moroney, Ed Sheeran and Don Toliver.
Unlike many major festivals which take place across the globe, such as Coachella or Lollapalooza, Summerfest is the heart of Milwaukee, bringing together the city for three weekends — truly making the most of the limited summer the city experiences.
Crave Music Magazine covered the best of Summerfest; the first weekend was completely stacked with performances from Holly Humberstone, Amyl & The Sniffers and flipturn. But, who made the trip to the festival’s opening weekend worth it?
Here are Crave’s picks from Summerfest weekend one:
Holly Humberstone
Quickly rising to fame, Holly Humberstone has grown to be a fan-favorite across her 2026 festival run: Coachella, Bonnaroo and Summerfest. Now, she continues on the rest of her tour moving through the remaining midwest dates. Her sweet and flirty demeanor had the crowd in awe of her pure talent. Along with all of this, her voice can simply stop one in their tracks — she’s flawless. If you haven’t had the chance to catch a Holly Humberstone show, now is the time before she reaches the next level of inevitable stardom.
flipturn
The big headliner on day three was flipturn, the iconic Florida-made rockstars. Drawing yet another packed crowd, they were sure to not disappoint. As soon as they hit the stage, their faces carried smiles from ear to ear. Their second song had the crowd practically levitating for “Chicago”; it felt just close enough to home for us Milwaukee-folk. Not to mention, the flipturn light design is always top notch. I love watching how they play with the perfect amount of light and color in their stages; it really transports the audience to their world.
Amyl & The Sniffers
The last performance of day two was the legendary Amyl & The Sniffers; headlining the Miller Lite Oasis Stage was the perfect fit for them. Fans at the barricade had waited all day to get that up close experience while fans crowded the stage from front to back. Another notable act of the entire weekend that certainly turned Summerfest into a “can’t miss” event. The band was extremely high energy and electric on stage.
DAY ONE: FRIDAY
Saint Blonde
High energy right off the bat, obviously well rehearsed and consistent sound, the boys in Saint Blonde performed a variety of new songs and old tracks, including their newest release “Chainwhip.” Their comradery and stage presence was electric to watch. Instrumentally, their set was on point, I was busy fixating between the drummers’ intensity, the bassists’ over-the-top animation and the singers’ cool-guy ambiance. They are making their wave as a band to watch grow throughout the tail end of 2026.
Bowling Shoes
Another rising act that stunned the Summerfest Miller Lite Oasis stage was Bowling Shoes. Their cheeky and bright sound meshed perfectly with the summer attitudes of the fans and their spirit and stage presence made them a fun and unforgettable performance.
Post Sex Nachos
One of the biggest highlights of the whole weekend was the momentous return to Summerfest with Post Sex Nachos, drawing a large crowd at the U-Line stage for their mid-afternoon performance. My favorite moment was the performance of their 2025 single “SOS” which had the entire crowd singing along with them. From playing to almost no fans four years ago to a nearly full-crowd at Summerfest, Post Sex Nachos are honing their craft and are certainly on the rise.
Taylor Acorn
The well-adored rock mother, Taylor Acorn, showed up for the U-Line stage as the only female artist on the stage’s bill. She held up her end of the bargain to not only hype up the crowd for the headlining act, Third Eye Blind, but she made her own presence known. Her performance was actually one of the most memorable of the weekend.
Dora Jar
Hauntingly beautiful and bursting at the seams with creative expression was the mystical Dora Jar. Dressed in a white gown, her haunting beauty and siren-like vocals entranced the audience from the start. It was also a rare sight to see her unique guitar contraption, hung a standing pole with two yellow hangers, added a unique visual interest that a lot of other acts at Summerfest lacked.
HUNNY
Hailing from California was the indie-rock group HUNNY. Their set could have easily been a headliner; I was surprised it wasn’t. With a strong crowd of dedicated die-hard fans, the stage was definitely bigger than many others at the sunset time slot. The setlist featured some deep cuts, like “palm reader,” but also made sure to include his upbeat and fun tracks to keep everyone dancing.
DAY TWO: FRIDAY
Tiny Voices
Starting off strong on the punk-rock stage with strength and power was the rising midwest-emo act, Tiny Voices. They were a perfect band to be opening up the stage Hot Mulligan was headlining. Despite their early afternoon set, there was certainly a devoted crowd singing and headbanging along to their songs. Their energy was top-notch and I can’t wait to catch another set by them soon.
VIAL
Another pleasing act was VIAL, filled with true-punk rage and feminine power quickly drew a large crowd. They also hold a semi-local tie, hailing from Minneapolis. Their roots have grown far beyond their hometown and now extend into a nationwide community. VIAL harnesses Riot Grrl femininity and earns the respect of acts like No Bro, who performed after them on the same stage. Opening for Amyl & The Sniffers, this stage was perfect for these acts; at the center of the festival, it picked up lots of foot traffic and made people stop in their tracks to come get a listen.
State Champs
The iconic pop-punkers in State Champs are no stranger to festivals; and it shows. Recently, they announced an anniversary tour of their breakout album Around the World and Back set to kick off this fall. State Champs started off their day with an acoustic session at the Am Fam House stage, playing a few striped back songs to a VIP audience, and a short meet and greet after. For their set at the U-Line stage, they came out swinging. Their lighting design, stage presence and chaotic energy perfectly summed up why this band is a cult classic in the world if pop-punk.
Hot Mulligan
Headlining one of the largest free stages at the entire festival, Hot Mulligan drew a massive crowd, it was almost impossible to move within the surrounding area because of how packed it was. Notably, all Summerfest stages have bleachers and a VIP-barricaded area, but frontman Nathan “Tades” Sanville was not having it. He really wanted to abolish the bleachers and barricades that separated the GA from VIP. Just watching these fans go absolutely wild made my vocal chords burn. As they nearly knocked down barricades with their over-the-top jumping and headbanging.
DAY THREE: SATURDAY
IDKCONUNDRUM
Hailing from New York, IDKCONUNDRUM has begun making his jaunts around America as a touring musician. Reminding me of acts like Glaive or 2hollis, his vibes were energetic and emotionally-packed. His raw and gritty vocals were a stark contrast to other acts seen at Summerfest; it was refreshing and new.
Lauren Gotshall
This Chicago-based country girlie certainly won the hearts of the Milwaukee crowd with her southern twang and hip band. Her voice was absolutely killer in combination with her raw talent and beauty! I loved her covers as well as a mix of some new music that is unreleased. Her vibe was so happy and bright, she was a delight to watch on stage.
Colin Bracewell
As a local, I couldn’t miss Colin Bracewell. The Minneapolis artist slowed down the mid-afternoon at the festival with his laid back indie-folk music. His aura was bright and loving, constantly appreciating the crowd for showing up. You can always tell when an artist is enjoying themselves on stage and truly loves what they do.
Dexter and the Moonrocks
When I approached the Aurora Pavillion, I was shocked to see how incredibly packed this stage was. This crowd was a mix of fans about to run over to the next stage and some true die hard of Dexter and the Moonrocks. Their overall vibe brought this crowd to life, opening up the mosh pit, people losing their keys and shoes; it was a wild evening. Though their rise to popularity was quick, the fans were singing every word to their original music and covers.
