Regional Music Festivals Attract Milwaukee Acts

Our city’s hotbed of talent is in high regional demand, and a handful of recurring festivals across Wisconsin and beyond welcome Milwaukee acts to come perform year after year.

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Milwaukee is hailed as the “City of Festivals.” Wisconsinites and visitors from across the world flock here annually for massive events like Summerfest, PrideFest, Bastille Days, Harley Fest and many others, and that does not even get into the myriad neighborhood street festivals. Such festivals serve as robust showcases for local creative talent including musicians, artisans, vendors, businesses and organizations.

When it comes to music, the day a local festival announces its lineup always comes with anticipation. That said, our city’s hotbed of talent is in high regional demand, and a handful of recurring festivals across Wisconsin and beyond welcome Milwaukee acts to come perform year after year.

Wisconsin Hip Hop Festival

There is Wisconsin Hip Hop Fest held at Madison’s High Noon Saloon, which heats up the cold January stage with some of the state’s most seasoned hip hop and rap artists and DJs. It is part of the broader Wisconsin Fest series, which started in 2013 at the Majestic Theatre as a way to curate themed showcases with regional lineups during a quieter time for Madison venues. 

“We usually mix up the themes a bit, but Hip Hop Fest has been a mainstay annually for at least the last five years or so,” talent buyer Joe Burbach says. “It’s grown to become a favorite show for a lot of people.”

Hosted by local promoter Gary Knowledge, the Hip Hop Fest blends up and coming artists with veterans of the Wisconsin hip hop scene. “The thing that sets it apart from other fests is the ability to see a few artists you’ve heard and find a few artists that are just starting to build a following,” Burbach explains. 

High Noon Saloon does not have a date for Wisconsin Hip Hop Fest 2026 locked in yet but they expect to start planning over the summer. Burbach mentions, "Wave Chapelle and NilexNile were on for 2025 and both crushed their sets. We got a lot of great feedback from Madison fans on both of them and even our partnering promoter is now looking to bring them for more events. It's truly exciting watching them grow their fanbase in Madison."

Glacier Valley Music Fest

Glacier Valley Music Fest, hosted every June at the Glacier Valley Campground in Cambria, Wisconsin, has been curated since 2016 by Marty “Party Marty” Morgan, whose family owns the campground.

“I casually said to my uncle that he should let me throw a music fest, and I was given the go-ahead,” Morgan recalls. “That year, we had five solo acts and used a golf cart to carry one small sound system from one stage to another.”

The following year, Glacier Valley Music Fest grew to 20 bands and sold out every site on the campground. It has since grown to over 40 acts on three stages, featuring rock, folk, country, jam bands and lots more, complete with a roster of food, drink and art vendors. Morgan estimates that over 600 attendees attended last year.

“It has an entire community of “seasonals” who camp there all summer long,” Morgan says about Glacier Valley. “It creates a unique mix of families, musicians and music lovers of all ages.”

2025 will be the tenth edition of Glacier Valley Music Fest and takes place June 5-7. Tickets include primitive camping and carry-ins are allowed. Bands are coming from seven different states this year. “It’s going to be the best one yet,” Morgan reckons.

Mile of Music

In Appleton, Mile of Music has been electrifying the city’s downtown district every summer for the past decade. The free, all-original music festival runs the first weekend of August, hosting over 200 bands and artists across more than 30 venues, with dozens of local businesses and community sponsors involved as well.

Fox Valley marketing firm Willems Marketing & Events launched Mile of Music in 2013, spearheaded by executives Dave and Paul Willems. “Numerous community partners and strategic contractors like singer-songwriter Cory Chisel helped shape the event from the very beginning,” promotions manager Kim Mauthe explains.

The fest welcomes many returning artists while always keeping the door open for new ones, bringing in vibrations of indie rock, country, folk, hip hop, soul and more. “The music scene and artist community in Milwaukee brings us a lot of artists who we’ve grown to know, love and befriend over the years,” Mauthe affirms. “We have a fun year-round music scene in the Fox Cities as well, so it’s nice to be able to invite them for other shows too.”

Mile of Music will return for its 12th year in 2025, bringing their popular music education team hosting workshops for all ages. “Of course, we’re hoping for four days of beautiful sunshine,” Mauthe remarks.

GBUFO Invasion Fest

Just northeast of Appleton, GBUFO Invasion Fest is an explosive summer gathering in Green Bay. It began in 2023 when curator “Timebomb” Tom Smith’s planned birthday party was postponed due to Covid concerns. He ultimately decided to morph it into a three-day fest, promoting the newly-opened Green Bay UFO Museum & Records. 

“I had finally gone to Memphis for my first Gonerfest, and it was a life-changing experience,” Smith remembers. “The community and camaraderie was amazing, and the greatest I have ever encountered in my 40 years immersed in the underground community. I wanted to bring some of this energy and magic to Green Bay.”

Smith and Pierre Jacque curate the UFO Invasion Fest lineup, featuring rock, punk and electronic acts that they have existing relationships with as well as fresh, new ones. “Our goal is to quench the thirst of those whose thirst for new music is unquenchable,” Smith describes. “Bands we couldn’t fit in 2024 are on 2025’s festival.”

Milwaukee music has a special place in Smith’s heart, and he credits seeing seminal ‘80s hardcore punk band Die Kreuzen at his first hardcore show as a major influence on his involvement in the Wisconsin music scene. “Milwaukee musically has always brought a lot to the table,” he affirms. “We put Delicious Monsters on last year, and we were all so blown away that we instantly made the decision that they would be on the fest in 2025, right before the headliner.”

GBUFO Invasion Fest 2025 will be held July 25 at Badger State Brewing Company and July 26 at Riverside Ballroom. Sixteen bands play both days, each featuring a half-hour of comedy curated by Kristin Laurie. “We anticipate two days of cool folks watching great bands and hopefully people adding new members to their musical families,” Smith says.

YOOP! Fest

Far up north, Michigan’s beautiful Upper Peninsula is home to YOOP! Fest, put together every September by Chris Judy since 2021. After previously throwing Kitschy Fest in Madison for many years, Judy and his partner moved up to the Keweenaw Peninsula in 2020. Friends from Milwaukee and Minneapolis started hitting him up to come play the U.P., so Judy decided to debut a new fest.

“You have to be adventurous enough of a band to even make the trip up here,” Judy notes. “I wanted to book bands that might not be natural fits or be considered for other local festivals, which ends up working out just fine because I’ve always been into the punk/heavier/weirdo scene anyways.”

As such, YOOP! Fest attracts local and regional bands that bring  envelope-pushing experiences spanning punk, indie, electronic, psychedelic and experimental music.

“Milwaukee bands are usually very adaptable and easy to communicate with,” Judy attests. “Many of the punk bands have been playing together in different forms for many years, so they already know what to expect and are always jumping in and offering helping hands for me as an organizer.

“That’s what makes DIY music so special to me; you say you’re going to do this big thing in an off-the-beaten-path place that maybe doesn’t really make sense on paper, but people all come together to make it happen,” he continues. “We had a delivery of Liquid Mike records, and Milwaukee bands helped me assemble like 300 LPs in the lobby of the Kitschy Spirit Records shop right before the fest.”

YOOP! Fest 2025 will be held at the Orpheum Theater in Hancock, Michigan. Judy looks forward to utilizing the historic space for a memorable live music experience.