Rucker, Lady Antebellum coming to town for Labor Day
Summerfest officials have booked another American Family Insurance Amphitheater show — but this one is happening more than a month after the Big Gig.
Country A-listers Lady Antebellum and Darius Rucker will co-headline the amphitheater on Sept. 1, with Russell Dickerson opening.
The next day, Summerfest will host the third annual Big Gig BBQ on the grounds, which will feature more than a dozen vendors, BBQ cooking demonstrations, and new this year, an amateur rib competition.
Both events are happening Labor Day weekend, coinciding with another big party in the city: the Harley-Davidson 115th Anniversary Celebration, taking place Aug. 29 to Sept. 2.
The Harley festivities will kick off with a “Welcome Home Party” at Veterans Park Aug. 29, and close with a parade on Sept. 2.
The celebration also will include destination rides, bike shows, demos at the Milwaukee Mile track, drag races, flat track racing, skill riding competitions, events at the Harley-Davidson Museum, street parties and more.
For the 110th Anniversary in 2013, Harley also hosted its own music festival on the Summerfest grounds that included Joan Jett, a pre-breakout Chance The Rapper and a surprise Dave Grohl appearance during a Chevy Metal set. Toby Keith, Aerosmith and Kid Rock also headlined separately-ticketed amphitheater shows; special guests for those shows included Cheap Trick and John Fogerty.
It’s not clear yet whether Harley will host any major concerts on the Summerfest grounds again this year, or elsewhere in the city. According to the anniversary site, “Event planning is underway and more details will be provided in early 2018.”
Tickets for the Lady Antebellum and Darius Rucker show go on sale at 10 a.m. Feb. 16 at the Summerfest box office (200 N. Harbor Drive), by calling (800) 745-3000 or (866) 448-7849, or visiting
ticketmaster.com. Pricing information has yet to be announced.
This is the second show booked outside of Summerfest that fest officials announced this week.
Big Sean will be at the 5,000seat BMO Harris Pavilion May 29. Tickets, priced between $74.44 to $98.09, go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday.
Summerfest itself runs June 27 to July 1 and July 3 to 8.
Five of the 11 amphitheater shows have been announced so far: James Taylor with Bonnie Raitt June 28; Halsey and Logic June 29; Florida Georgia Line with Bebe Rexha June 30; Dave Matthews Band July 1; and Def Leppard and Journey July 4. Tickets are on sale for all five shows.