WORTH THE DRIVE: A Few Out-of-the-Area Fests to Remember

get some tickets and gas up the car: it’s road-trip time

Parker Reed

Summerfest

WHEN: June 23-25, June 30-July 2, July 7-9
WHERE: Henry Maier Festival Park, Milwaukee

Billed as the “World’s Largest Music Festival,” the iconic Summerfest boasts an incredible lineup of top-notch headliners featuring Jason Aldean, Justin Bieber, Machine Gun Kelly, Disturbed, and many, many more. 

For more information, visit summerfest.com


Rock the Garden

WHEN: June 11
WHERE: Walker Arts Center, Minneapolis

Held at the beautiful and newly renovated Walker Arts Center, this one-day festival has a killer lineup with performances by Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats and Sleater-Kinney.

For more information, visit walkerart.org.


Pitchfork

WHEN: July 15-17
WHERE: Union Park, Chicago

A music festival in Chicago hosted by the Pitchfork music publication. Includes performances by The National, Mitski, Japanese Breakfast, The Roots, and many more. 

For more information, visit pitchforkmusicfestival.com.


Mile of Music

WHEN: Aug. 4-7
WHERE: Appleton

Appleton’s downtown music festival includes 900 live musical sets, 70 venues, all in one mile of great music. There’s a whole mile of safe, walkable, no-cover charge events to explore. All original music from various genres like indie rock, country, soul, R&B, jazz, folk, and more. Plus check out craft shops, restaurants, and cafes.

For more information, visit mileofmusic.com


Lollapalooza

WHEN: July 28-31
WHERE: Grant Park, Chicago

One of the country’s biggest music festivals, Lollapalooza has been serving up great talent since ’91. Performances by Metallica, Dua Lipa, Machine Gun Kelly, J. Cole, Big Sean, Green Day, Doja Cat, Jazmine Sullivan, Glass Animals, The Kid Laroi, Charli XCX, Royal Blood, Willow, Coin, Jane’s Addiction, and dozens more. 

For more information, visit lollapalooza.com.


To see daily music events throughout the Chippewa Valley, as well as more in-depth festival descriptions, visit the Summer Music Preview page on volumeone.org.