5. HEAR IT!

WHAT:

Retro Futura

WHERE AND WHEN:

Main Stage, Aug. 3, 7 p.m.

HOW MUCH:

Tickets start at $25 Singer Howard Jones got a taste of Milwaukee at last year’s Summerfest and couldn’t wait to get back.

“It was just amazing. I was blown away,” he says.

The synth wizard is making good on his promise to return, and he is bringing a slew of his New Wave compatriots with him when he headlines the 1980s pop extravaganza Retro Futura, alongside Paul Young, the English Beat, Men Without Hats and Modern English.

He’s already planning his dive into the fair’s food – but don’t expect to see him hovering near the barbecue stands. “I like the chargrilled corn on the cob, and cream puffs sound good,” the longtime vegetarian says.

Jones, now 62, enjoyed a string of mega hits – including “No One Is To Blame” and “Things Can Only Get Better” – in his native Britain before setting his sights on America at the end of the 1980s. Now in the midst of a 28-date U.S. tour with other ’80s acts, he bristles at the notion of nostalgia. “I can’t really think of it as a revival, as I have been doing it the whole time. I have never stopped,” he says.

Ask the father of three for his proudest career moment and he doesn’t hesitate. “It’s got to be 1985’s Live Aid. It was the biggest audience you could ever play – there were a billion people watching. That was a bit special,” he says. “I played with David Bowie and Paul McCartney. I met Princess Diana and Prince Charles. It was so great to be a part of that.”