The Milwaukee Post

July 7, 2017 • Milwaukee County Post • 11 By ASHLEY HAYNES Conley News Service MILWAUKEE — If you missed Throwback Thursday on June 29 at the annual Summerfest music festival, you missed a spe- cial spirit of the festival. In honor of the event's 50th anniversary, bands and musicians who have per- formed within the last few decades returned to Henry Maier Festival Park. Throwback Thursday is a celebration of five decades of music that have brought the community together. Summerfest is well- known for being a national and even local gathering. Artists like pianist David Gogi have traveled hun- dreds of miles for the chance to perform. "The thing is, for sum- mer, I have a long holiday for three or four months, so I just check out some festi- vals," said Gogi. Gogi is a 27-year-old PhD student in physics at the University of Texas – Austin. He plays the piano as a hobby and to make some extra cash. This year was his second performing at Summerfest. He travels to festivals all over the country and says Summerfest is one of his favorites. "Well, it was probably the best festival that I've been to," said Gogi. "The attendance is crazy, I heard it's more than a million people, and last year I saw one of my favorite artists here." Gogi names Paul McCartney, Def Leppard and Blink-182 as some of the favorite bands he has seen at Summerfest. This year, he was able to attend the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert. "Everything is organ- ized great and I'm having a great time myself," said Gogi. "For me, it's a bunch of memories that I'll be thinking of for the rest of the year." He continues perform- ing in the hope that he might someday catch a break and someone will rec- ognize his musical talents. While Gogi represents a new generation of Summerfest attendees who are making fresh memo- ries, older couples like Debbie and Gary White rep- resent the old-school gener- ation that has been coming for decades. Debbie White has attended the festival for 40 years. "When I started coming down here, there was only like the one big-name stage, and I remember seeing all this music for free," said Debbie White. Both Debbie and Gary White are Milwaukee natives. They actually met each other at Summerfest back in September of 2000. They describe Summerfest as the place to be and hang out with your friends back in the day. Now, they come to relive their memories and have a beer by the lake. "My friends and I came down here almost every sin- gle day when I was in high school, in the late '70s," said Debbie White. "I remember there being just a long dirt road, and none of these lit- tle stages were here." She said she does recog- nize some of the bands that returned to Summerfest this year for Throwback Thursday. She remembers Foghat and Toto, as well as the band Fishbone. She said just being at Summerfest makes the beginning of summer real for her and she looks forward to return- ing for many more years to come. Email: ahaynes@conleynet.com Ashley Haynes/Conley News Service A large parade makes its way through the Summerfest grounds June 29 as onlookers gathered to watch. Everything from a marching band to stilt walkers provided a spectacle. Ashley Haynes/Conley News Service There were artists performing every genre of music at small stages all over the Summerfest grounds on Throwback Thursday. Ashley Haynes/Conley News Service Groups representing all kinds of causes marched during the Summerfest parade on June 29. The Beevangelists are on a mission to save the bee population. Bands, musicians return for tuneful Throwback Memories jogged — from bands to rougher facilities

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