Humans of Summerfest

Summerfest is full of characters and personalities, and not just up on stage. The Big Gig has some of the best people-watching anywhere.

We set out to capture some of those personalities for our “Humans of Summerfest” series, which you’ll be seeing throughout the 11 days of the World’s Largest Music Festival.

See them all here!

HUMANS OF SUMMERFEST Megan, Maggie and Mary were at Summerfest volunteering with Life Navigators. Here they are posing in Visit Milwaukee’s #MeInMKE statue! Photo by Rebecca Kames. #humansofsummerfest #summerfest #milwaukee #mke #lakefront #photo #festival #milwaukeemag #goodtimes

A photo posted by Milwaukee Magazine (@milwaukeemag) on Jul 12, 2016 at 1:39pm PDT

HUMANS OF SUMMERFEST We met Officer John and his partner patrolling the Summerfest grounds. “I like working the Summerfest grounds because it’s something different than we usually do,” he says. “It’s nice to get out—see the people, interact with the people and be in a different element than we’re used to. The craziest thing I’ve seen at Summerfest thus far is someone drinking out of a Porta Potty.” Photo by Rebecca Kames. #humansofsummerfest #summerfest #biggig #mke #milwaukeemag #lakefront #festival

A photo posted by Milwaukee Magazine (@milwaukeemag) on Jul 11, 2016 at 1:17pm PDT

HUMANS OF SUMMERFEST Tiffany from Milwaukee is a keyboard player who was performing at a small stage along the lakefront. “My favorite experience performing is the opportunity for people to see what you’re really about. See what you can do – if it’s solo or with a group. Express yourself through your music,” she says. Photo by Meghan Quadracci. #Summerfest #milwaukee #livemusic #mke #livemusic #biggig #summerfest16 #music #peoplewatching #humansofsummerfest

A photo posted by Milwaukee Magazine (@milwaukeemag) on Jul 8, 2016 at 1:32pm PDT

HUMANS OF SUMMERFEST We met Peggy from Milwaukee selling cigars near the Briggs & Stratton stage. Her first Summerfest concert was Sly and the Family Stone and Humble Pie in the late 60s and she’s only missed two Big Gigs since. “In ’68 it was just gravel and it was just a mess, and they had some rides down here. There weren’t stages like this; speakers were on scaffolding and kids were climbing up the scaffolding. We burnt chairs. They had chairs to sit on that were in a series of five—we would burn them to keep warm. I didn’t start the fire but… you know. We were just big music fans and we had a blast.” Photo by Rebecca Kames. #humansofsummerfest #summerfest #milwaukee #lakefront #livemusic #peoplewatching #music #summerfest16 #biggig #mke

A photo posted by Milwaukee Magazine (@milwaukeemag) on Jul 8, 2016 at 11:26am PDT

HUMANS OF SUMMERFEST David drove to Milwaukee from Scottsdale, Arizona just to go to Summerfest. “I’ve never been to Wisconsin, never been north of Chicago but we have so many transplants there from the Midwest that I’ve been hearing about this gig for about ten years. They told me about this and the brewers and the beer and meat on a stick—so it was time for me to come check it out. I have two days to do this and then I’m hooking up with a lady friend. So I’ve got two days of Summerfest and two days of Snugglefest. We’re planning to do a fish fry Friday night—hit the hot spots.” Photo by Rebecca Kames. #summerfest #festival #summer #milwaukee #mke #summerfest16 #travel #milwaukeemag #music #beer #lakefront #fun

A photo posted by Milwaukee Magazine (@milwaukeemag) on Jul 8, 2016 at 8:22am PDT

HUMANS OF SUMMERFEST We met Glorias from Milwaukee performing with Northcott Neighborhood House by the lake. “My favorite part about performing here is the energy and the crowd,” she says. “So many people stop and watch and actually listen. I think it’s a really friendly crowd and they’re interacting with us, so that’s cool.” Photo by Meghan Quadracci. #Summerfest #lakefront #mymkesummer #milwaukee #mke #summerfest16 #livemusic #festival #photography

A photo posted by Milwaukee Magazine (@milwaukeemag) on Jul 6, 2016 at 10:02am PDT

HUMANS OF SUMMERFEST Mike and Denise from Hartland were hanging out on the picnic tables, enjoying some beverages. Thinking back to his first Summerfest, Mike said “I think they had the chairlift, but that was about it.” Photo by Meghan Quadracci. #Summerfest #humansofsummerfest #festival #music #milwaukee #mke #milwaukeemag #summerfest16

A photo posted by Milwaukee Magazine (@milwaukeemag) on Jul 5, 2016 at 2:42pm PDT

HUMANS OF SUMMERFEST Rodney (right) and Mike are both from Chicago and have their own business as bucket drummers. They play all over the country, and were even in Cleveland for the NBA Finals. Says Rodney: “We make this music to make other people happy. You know, they having crappy days, we make them music to make them dance and smile. Just trying to brighten their day.” Photo by Meghan Quadracci. #Summerfest #humansofsummerfest #summerfest16 #festival #bucketdrums #lakefront #music #goodtimes #milwaukee #mke #milwaukeemag

A photo posted by Milwaukee Magazine (@milwaukeemag) on Jul 5, 2016 at 1:11pm PDT

HUMANS OF SUMMERFEST Nick from Kenosha performs as a clown every year at the Big Gig. His best memory of being at Summerfest? “I had a little girl come up, and she was deaf, and I didn’t know that. To be able to see the communication between magic and twisting a balloon, you didn’t need to be able to talk. She didn’t need to be able to hear ‘ya. You could just see the connection. That was probably one of the biggest things to me. And when I knew how to say thank you back, her mom was very overwhelmed by that.” Photo by Meghan Quadracci. #summer #goodtimes #lakefront #mke #milwaukee #clown #humansofsummerfest #summerfest #summerfest16 #festival #keepmilwaukeeweird

A photo posted by Milwaukee Magazine (@milwaukeemag) on Jul 5, 2016 at 10:03am PDT

HUMANS OF SUMMERFEST Essie from Milwaukee was sitting by the lake on opening day. Her favorite time to attend the festival is during the day. “I always come in the day time. I just like to see what’s going on.” Photo by Rebecca Kames. #summerfest #humansofsummerfest #milwaukee #mke #lakefront #summer #goodtimes

A photo posted by Milwaukee Magazine (@milwaukeemag) on Jul 3, 2016 at 8:11am PDT

HUMANS OF SUMMERFEST Barry from Chicago came to Summerfest on opening day with his wife. It’s not their first time at the festival, and they are “coming back for Paul McCartney.” See more Humans of Summerfest on our website. Photo by Rebecca Kames. #humansofsummerfest #summerfest #summer #summerfest16 #milwaukee #mke #lakefront

A photo posted by Milwaukee Magazine (@milwaukeemag) on Jul 3, 2016 at 7:43am PDT

HUMANS OF SUMMERFEST Marc from Cedarburg brought his daughter Nova Lou Reed (yes, named after the singer) to her first Summerfest this year. His first Summerfest memory? “Taking the bus from Bayshore down here. And I saw Brain Ritchie from the Violent Femmes, the bass player from the Violent Femmes.” Photo by Rebecca Kames. #summerfest #biggig #lakefront #milwaukee #milwaukeemag #summerfest16 #mymkesummer #livemusic #mke

A photo posted by Milwaukee Magazine (@milwaukeemag) on Jul 1, 2016 at 8:58am PDT

HUMANS OF SUMMERFEST Gloria is from Milwaukee, and we found her enjoying the sounds of Derek Sallmann at Summerfest’s Tiki Hut Stage. Her favorite show? “Oh, this guy’s my favorite. I don’t know who it is!” Photo by Rebecca Kames #summerfest #humansofsummerfest #biggig #lakefront #livemusic #summerfest16 #milwaukee #mymkesummer #milwaukeemag

A photo posted by Milwaukee Magazine (@milwaukeemag) on Jun 30, 2016 at 2:07pm PDT

HUMANS OF SUMMERFEST Eoin McCarthy is from Dublin, Ireland, and his first memory of Summerfest is “Breaking in. We just kind of made a bunch of fake passes and brought a bunch of equipment in and started our own stage.” McCarthy will be performing with Whiskey of the Damned at The Rebel Music Stage. Photo by Rebecca Kames. #summerfest #humansofsummerfest #biggig #lakefront #livemusic #summerfest16 #milwaukee #mkesummer #milwaukeemag

A photo posted by Milwaukee Magazine (@milwaukeemag) on Jun 30, 2016 at 12:10pm PDT

Find us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.