When is Summerfest 2021?
Eight Summerfest 2020 headliners are confirmed for next year. Now, when will the 2021 festival be?
As of Wednesday, eight Summerfest 2020 headliners have been rescheduled for next year.
So the next logical question is, when will Summerfest 2021 actually take place?
Officials with the Big Gig’s parent company Milwaukee World Festival Inc. haven’t announced the dates for next year, but it’s already clear Summerfest’s run in 2021 will be unlike any other.
Established in 1968, Summerfest has long had an 11-day format. Since 2011, the festival has kicked off on the last Wednesday of June and concluded 12 days later, and closed on the Monday during that stretch.
But Summerfest next year will run from at least June 24 — when Khalid is committed to perform at the upgraded American Family Insurance Amphitheater — to July 10, when Guns N’ Roses will kick off its North American summer stadium tour.
That’s a 17-day window, and while festival officials have talked about making Summerfest bigger and better in 2021 to compensate for the first cancellation in its 53-year history, it’s unlikely it will be open during that entire stretch.
As of now, the Summerfest 2021 schedule is shaping up to resemble the format that was proposed when the festival was first moved to September this year, spanning Thursdays through Saturdays over three weeks.
Following Khalid June 24, Luke Bryan will be the amphitheater headliner June 25, followed by Justin Bieber June 26.
Then from July 1 to 3, the amphitheater will host Dave Matthews Band, Blink-182 and Halsey.
Chris Stapleton and guest Sheryl Crow are scheduled for July 8, with an open date July 9, and GNR on the 10th.
(Another 2020 headliner, Sam Hunt, has confirmed he won’t play next year’s fest, as have seven other BMO Harris Pavilion headliners.)
It’s possible Milwaukee World Festival will tack on an extra day or three during that time frame.
And while all the previously announced amphitheater shows for 2020 are accounted for, a statement from Milwaukee World Festival issued to the Journal Sentinel Wednesday suggests the festival had shows booked for this year that still need to be rescheduled.
“With the cancellation of Summerfest 2020, Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. is doing everything possible to reschedule American Family Insurance Amphitheater headliners previously scheduled during the 2020 festival for late June/early July 2021,” reads the statement. “The dates for Summerfest 2021 will be confirmed in the months to come.”