Summerfest has announced a drastic change to its familiar format for next year. 2021's festival will take place over three weekends, Thursday through Saturday, on June 24-26, July 1-3 and July 8-10. That's a total of nine days, down from the 11 the festival usually runs.
In a press release this morning, the festival touted the format change, saying it will provide more opportunities to feature national acts in daytime slots. It also promised to maintain a $23 general admission ticket price.
This year's installment of Summerfest was canceled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, though organizers had originally hoped to reschedule for three weekends this September.
“The pandemic, which resulted in the cancellation of the 2020 event season, profoundly impacted our non-profit organization," Don Smiley, President & CEO of Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. wrote in a statement. "In response, our leadership team analyzed available data, patron surveys and the event landscape and ultimately determined the best possible path forward for Summerfest was to transition to a new format. Our fans have been asking for a bigger experience, and we are excited to be able to bring more weekends and more national talent to the already blockbuster Summerfest lineup, while continuing to provide significant economic impact to our state and region.”
Summerfest already has most of its American Family Insurance Amphitheater headliners booked for next year:
| Khalid | June 24, 2021 |
| Luke Bryan | June 25, 2021 |
| Justin Bieber | June 26, 2021 |
| Dave Matthews Band | July 1, 2021 |
| Blink-182 | July 2, 2021 |
| Halsey | July 3, 2021 |
| Chris Stapleton | July 8, 2021 |
| Guns N’ Roses | July 10, 2021 |