The 20 best, and 8 worst, Summerfest shows we saw at the 2023 Milwaukee festival

Working overtime to stress that this year was Summerfest’s 55^th anniversary, fest officials desperately wanted people to remember the good old days.

It’s been a bumpy few years for one of America’s largest and longest-running music festivals, from the cancellation in 2020 from COVID-19 to the low attendance (and high COVID numbers) that clouded the September edition in 2021. Daily average attendance still didn’t reach pre-pandemic levels last year, and attendance figures were already sliding in the two years before 2020.

This year’s festival still had some turbulence that, while not COVID-related, was reminiscent of the unsettling unpredictability that fest officials and fans have dealt with in recent years. There were late cancellations again, including Cheap Trick, Jimmy Buffett and AJR, but at least the American Family Insurance Amphitheater didn’t have a dark night like in 2019 or 2022, with University of Wisconsin-Madison grad Yung Gravy saving the day with a second Summerfest set.

And by the last day, with the grounds probably the most packed they’ve been since before the pandemic, it really felt like Summerfest had gotten its mojo back. There was no shortage of great performances, including some novel bookings that suggest the festival is continuing to evolve.

Out of more than 100 sets (from a huge lineup of some 800 performances) that our seven reviewers caught across nine days, these were our favorite and least favorite. They’re listed below in order of occurrence.

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Our 20 favorite Summerfest 2023 performances

Eric Church

The country star hit a milestone in Milwaukee last year, headlining a stadium for only the second time of his career at American Family Field. But Church has never coasted; at Summerfest, he reimagined his catalog with the most versatile backing band he’s ever had, further cementing his standing as the Bruce Springsteen of country music.

Zac Brown Band

Naturally, Summerfest’s most frequent amphitheater headliners had to be part of the 55th celebration, but even Zac Brown Band regulars were treated to some surprises, Catherine Jozwik wrote in her review, including fun covers and collaborations with Breland (for Stevie Wonder’s ”Superstition”) and Marcus King (for the Allman Brothers Band’s ”Whipping Post”).

Fitz and The Tantrums

“Stage presence is an understatement when it comes to Fitz and the Tantrums,” Damon Joy wrote in his review. Coming in with low expectations, Joy was floored by singers Michael Fitzpatrick and Noelle Scaggs, who ”bounced around the stage like teenagers while still managing to belt out every note flawlessly.”

Willy Porter

The veteran Milwaukee singer-songwriter and his band showcased “dynamic new material from his forthcoming new album while dusting off and shining up some of his old classics,” Cal Roach said.

James Taylor

The 75-year-old returned to the stage at Summerfest after postponing three shows due to laryngitis ”in fine voice and even better spirits,” Erik Ernst wrote in his review. “Like he had merely invited this large crowd into his living room, Taylor was a gregarious and witty host.”

Elvis Costello & The Imposters

Despite huge turnouts for several acts on Summerfest’s first Saturday, including possibly one of the largest grounds stage gatherings ever for Noah Kahan, the bleachers were half-empty for Costello's show at the BMO Pavilion. To his credit, he still gave his all. “Much like his signature howl, Costello’s guitar skills haven’t aged a day since ‘My Aim Is True’ debuted in 1977,” reviewer Lauren Keene wrote.

Santa Fe Klan

One of the world’s most diverse music festivals desperately needs more diversity, especially when it comes to Spanish-language bookings. I’m hoping Santa Fe Klan’s booking marks a new chapter, with the Mexican rapper and singer, whose sound also incorporates gorgeous cumbia melodies (and live accordion played by Klan himself), drawing a huge crowd to the Miller Lite Oasis on a night off from his first arena headlining tour.

Cypress Hill

The veteran rap act’s “ballads to herbal remedies,” as reviewer Joy put it, gave fans a real contact high, with B-Real’s nasally voice floating through the cloud of smoke (which he contributed to with a joint of his own) and Cypress Hill creatively splicing “Pigs” with KRS-One’s “Sound of Da Police.”

Lord Huron

Given the hazy air from the Canadian wildfires, Lord Huron frontman Ben Schneider likened their Summerfest set to playing a Milwaukee club in 1996, reviewer Jozwik reported. They drew an overflowing crowd anyway, “fixated on the stage with its nostalgic, melancholy tunes, which wouldn't have seemed out of place in a '60s Western film or a deserted saloon,” Jozwik wrote. One couple even got engaged.

Thaikkudam Bridge

Bravo to Summerfest for again booking this one-of-kind Indian band (and the only band from India to ever play the festival), who merge the sounds of folk music from their homeland with jaw-dropping metal and prog rock wallop.

Kia Rap Princess

The veteran Milwaukee rapper made the most of her deserved spot at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater, complementing her magnetic delivery with guest rappers, dancers, some splashy videos, and a hell of DJ in local spinner Moses. Her set was more personal, and ultimately entertaining and impressive, than the headlining performances in the amp she preceded, from City Girls, Trippie Redd and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie.

Gego y Nony

A late addition to the Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard lineup, the local reggaeton duo “brought out a full band, a troupe of dancers, and won over a seemingly skeptical Sean Paul crowd in about 30 seconds flat,” Roach said.

Ava Max

Veteran Journal Sentinel music coverage reviewer Jon M. Gilbertson wasn’t at the Big Gig as much this year, instead covering Willie Nelson's Outlaw Music Festival at Alpine Valley and Sparks' Pabst Theater show during the festival's run. But he saw a great Summerfest set from Milwaukee native Ava Max. Comparing her voice to Lady Gaga and Christina Aguilera, Gilbertson said: "Max brought enough personality to suggest she could be a long-haul pop princess a la Robyn or Kylie Minogue. She could be a real diamond."

Flyleaf with Lacey Sturm

This review contained my favorite on-stage description this year, courtesy of Joy: "Guitarist Sameer Bhattacharya and bassist Pat Seals ran back and forth, leaping into the air like salmon out of a river." And Sturm, on hiatus from the band for a decade, fit right back in, dancing like a ballerina while belting "divine notes."

Sean Paul

The Jamaican rapper barely gave his fans any time to catch their breath between his hits, and defied expectations by performing a set-closing-worthy "Get Busy" early in his show, his commanding voice, backing dancers and band shredding the stage, Joy wrote in his review.

Zach Bryan

With some 800 performances a year at Summerfest, the memory of an elite few truly stand the test of time: the Rolling Stones, Prince, Billie Eilish. Zach Bryan's sold-out amphitheater show may join those ranks, a lightning-in-a-bottle moment when the overwhelming crowd reception was still very new and electric for the fast-rising alt-country star and his band of lifelong Oklahoma buddies. Considering he also played Summerfest last year, and judging by his reverence for the festival this year, I wouldn't be surprised if Bryan becomes the fest's new top regular, a la the late Tom Petty.

Collective Soul

Ed Roland's alt-rock band will forever be associated with the '90s, but they've remained creatively engaged with 10 studio albums since its 1993 debut, and plenty of vitality and passion at Summerfest's Uline Warehouse this year, Jozwik wrote.

Morgan Wade

Wade has suddenly become the subject of gossip fodder for her possible relationship with "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Kyle Richards. If the world is just, Wade will become even more famous for her exceptional music, offering a level of vulnerability rarely seen at Summerfest, and serving as a prime example of an artist making and performing "honest, self-revealing — real — country music," Ernst wrote in his review.

Smokey Robinson

A year after Robinson delivered a rare Milwaukee performance, and one of the absolute best of 2022, the now 83-year-old Motown legend came back to Milwaukee and was just as outstanding at Summerfest, grooving and swooning "with more energy than many of Summerfest’s performers a quarter of his age," Ernst wrote.

Ne-Yo

Ne-Yo wasn't going to let simultaneous competition from a true R&B legend like Robinson on Summerfest's final night steal any of his thunder. He, too, had a huge crowd Joy aptly described as "utter madness," with Joy likening Ne-Yo's performance to another legend who played Summerfest last year, Charlie Wilson, and summarizing his set with one word: "bananas."

The 8 most disappointing Summerfest 2023 performances

Destroy Lonely

Nothing kills buzz for a promising new artist like boredom, but that's exactly what Playboi Carti-endorsed rapper Destroy Lonely delivered with a deadly dull set surrounded by a huge, ultimately largely disinterested crowd. He didn't even bother saying goodbye when his time was up, perhaps sensing he blew it (or, worse, he didn't care to be there).

Vance Joy

The crowd was huge for the Australian singer-songwriter's Summerfest set, but Joy's set was perhaps too low-key, losing several fans to phone-scrolling and chatting with their friends, Jozwik wrote.

Nicky Youre

The emerging pop artist has had millions and millions of streams for his first songs, most notably "Sunroof," but his live show skills need a lot of polish, Joy wrote.

38 Special

There was nothing special about 38 Special's by-the-numbers Summerfest set. The band sounded polished but played the setlist like they could play the songs in their sleep, Jozwik wrote.

Brett Young

"A flat-out lack of stagecraft" doomed the country pop artist's Summerfest show, Roach wrote, the crowd only giving their undivided attention for three minutes for signature song "In Case You Didn't Know."

Trippie Redd

No artist in recent years has been so repeatedly horrible to their Milwaukee fans than Trippie Redd. For a 2018 Summerfest show, his DJ allegedly missed his flight, leading to a disastrous, messy set. For a show at the Rave in 2020, he was 80 minutes late, then left the show for 20 minutes after just a half-hour. And this year as an American Family Insurance Amphitheater headliner, he was 76 minutes late, suggested to the crowd he had been napping, and seemed bored for his 28 minutes on stage. As a word, appalling doesn't begin to describe Redd's level of disrespect.

The Pretty Reckless

Forced to cancel their planned Summerfest set last year due to COVID, former child actress Taylor Momsen's hard rock band made it to the Big Gig this year. Unfortunately, it was for the last night of their tour, and the band seemed spent, Joy suggested.

Buckcherry

OK, full transparency: writer Cal Roach didn't actually see Buckcherry perform at Summerfest. But their music was unavoidable from the media trailer directly behind the Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard where they performed on the last day. "The irregular bass drum from Buckcherry's set rattling the media trailer" was the worst, Roach said. "You should have to at least be good to be that loud."

Erik Ernst, Jon M. Gilbertson, Damon Joy, Catherine Jozwik, Lauren Keene and Cal Roach contributed to this report.

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Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The 20 best, 8 worst, Summerfest shows we saw at 2023 Milwaukee fest