The Milwaukee Post

recognized as "The World's Largest Music Festival" and Milwaukee's cor nerstone sum- mer celebration, bringing the music industry's hottest stars, emerging talent and local favorites along with about 900,000 people from Milwaukee and around the world together. During the festival, the spot- light shines on more than 800 acts, more than 1,000 perform- ances, 11 stages, food and bever- ages, and interactive activities. With a festival this large and opening day just a few days away, would it surprise you that Babisch and others are already working on signing acts for 2015? "Different perfor mers and bands will sign at different times," he said. "A lot of the country acts will sign early, because they're working around all of the country festivals held each summer. For some of the bigger rock bands, it's working with them as they plan a tour for the next year. A lot of the younger performers sign later because they're working on sign- ing on with a big-name band first to give them exposure." First headliner It was in December 2013 that Summerfest announced its first major headliner for the 2014 fes- tival – Lady Gaga, who will per- for m Thursday night. Bruno Mars has opening night honors at the amphitheater. Booking headliner acts for the 23,000-seat Marcus Amphitheater is hard enough, but when you add in the hundreds of other per- formers that appear on the other 10 stages, it takes time and coordi- nation. " T h e r e are about three or four other people who work on the entertainment, and we meet twice a week to discuss things," Babisch said. "We review their past performances at Summerfest and talk with pro- moters across the country." After each perfor mance, a local stage manager will record information on the event, includ- ing the size of the crowd, how easy or difficult the band was to work with, whether the crew was friendly and helpful, and more. Summerfest promoters also look at recent record sales, radio airplay, whether the band's music is climbing in the charts, cost, if and when they last played at Summerfest, if and when they last played in the area, and the band's touring schedule. More bang for your buck "There are two things that make Summerfest really unique," Babisch said. "First, it's the cheapest date you're going to get. You can practically get in free every day with the right pro- motion, and the $18 regular price ticket is very reasonable. Second, we strive to offer every genre of music every day. Other festivals focus on one or two kinds of music – country or classic rock for example. But we have a mix of every kind of music, and that's really special." The staff uses a computerized "bulletin board" kind of like a jigsaw puzzle to fit the musical pieces together. If one day gets too heavy with a certain style of music, they'll try to spread out the performers to other days or at least to other times on the same day. And if all of that isn't tricky enough, there are two more sce- narios. One, what if a performer cancels out? "It happens," Babisch said. "When you book that far in advance, you can't predict if someone is going to get sick. The last major act that happened to was Brooks and Dunn. We only had four days' notice, but we managed to pull someone else in. I don't know if we could do that today." Summerfest has had to fly in the replacement acts for Marcus Amphitheater shows. "There are only about eight or nine agencies that deal with acts for venues that size," Babisch said. "We just start working the phones." And of course there is the weather. "For the Marcus Amphitheater, those tickets are already bought, so we're OK financially if we have rain," Babisch said. "But, for the other stages, rain can be a problem. We always hope for good weather." 6 • Milwaukee County Post • June 20, 2014 Summerfest: Babisch says music mix makes for unique event continued from Page 1 By KEVIN PASSON Special to The Post MILWAUKEE – Summerfest, "The World's Largest Music Festival," will be held from noon to midnight Wednesday through June 29 and from July 1 through July 6, at the 75-acre Henry Maier Festival Park on Milwaukee's lakefront. The grounds will be closed June 30. General admission tickets are $18 per day, and a three-day pass is $42. Enter the park prior to 4 p.m. any Tuesday through Friday for only $11. Senior citizens 60 and older get in for $6, as do children 10 and younger. Infants 2 and younger get in free. Marcus Amphitheater tickets include admission to Summerfest. Headline acts for the Marcus Amphitheater are Bruno Mars on Wednesday, Lady Gaga on Thursday, Brad Paisley on June 27, Luke Bryan on June 28, Outkast on June 29, One Republic on July 1, Dave Matthews Band on July 2, Zac Brown Band on July 3, Motley Crue on July 4, Fall Out Boy & Paramore on July 5, and Usher on July 6. Of course, there are admission promo- tions every day, and fans can get in for free during the first couple of hours by making donations of nonperishable food items, showing a receipt from select stores or show- ing the label from a specific product from select companies. Preferred parking spaces are $20, and pre- mier parking is $35. For those who don't want to drive all the way to the festival grounds, park free at select park-and-ride lots in Milwaukee County and hop on a Freeway Flyer to the Summerfest Mid Gate. Rates for adults are $6.50 for a round trip, and most buses run every 30 minutes during the day and 15 min- utes at night during the weekdays. On week- ends, buses run every 15 minutes all day and night. For those outside the county, other buses and shuttles are offered. Rates vary depend- ing on the distance from the Summerfest grounds. For complete details on admission promo- tions, Marcus Amphitheater tickets, park- ing, shuttle buses and a complete rundown of every aspect of Summerfest, log on to www.summerfest.com. There also is a vari- ety of social media platforms available for up-to-the minute posts about activities. Music and more highlight Summerfest run Avoid the traffic with shuttle buses, Freeway Flyers Submitted photos More than 900,000 people are expected to enter the gates of Summerfest again this year. Happy crowds of attendees can be found everywhere on the 75-acre site. Warm weather is a key ingredient to a successful Summerfest. A wading pool and fountain are offered on the grounds as a way to stay cool and to keep the chil- dren entertained. At a glance What: Summerfest When: Wednesday through July 1 and July 2 through July 7 Where: Henry W. Maier Festival Park, 200 N. Harbor Drive, Milwaukee Cost:$18 per day; $42 for three-day pass, $11 if entering the park prior to 4 p.m. any Tuesday through Friday, $6 for seniors 60 and older and chil- dren 10 and younger. Infants 2 and younger are free. Parking: $20 for preferred spaces and $35 for premier parking Website: www.summerfest.com

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