A new edition to the Milwaukee area’s festival lineup seemed to have a recipe for success when it debuted in mid-September:
- Make tacos
- Pour tequila
- Add several established hip-hop stars
- Serve to thousands of people in Franklin
As often happens when you make a meal for the first time, things didn’t turn out quite right for the inaugural Tacos and Tequila Festival. Neighbors of Franklin Field complained of window-rattling volume that an eventual study revealed violated Franklin’s noise ordinances. Parking was a pain. Lines were too long. Perhaps most egregiously, there weren’t enough tacos or tequilas to go around.
The situation was a little ridiculous. When the festival returns next year on June 22 — going up against the first weekend of Summerfest, by the way — it’ll be downright Ludacris.
Hopefully, that descriptor will be limited to the person headlining the festival and not the fan experience. At the very least, the event has snagged itself a lead artist who’s very familiar with the area. Ludacris was here first at the end of May in support of Janet Jackson and looped back less than three months later to play the State Fair’s Main Stage. For Tacos and Tequila, he’ll have plenty of help shouldering the entertainment load with a lineup that includes:
- Ashanti
- Chamillionaire
- David Banner
- Trick Daddy
- Yung Joc
- Bubba Sparxxx
- DJ Ashton Martin
On the non-music side, the event page lists a new tequila tasting lounge and shot bar, tacos from some of Milwaukee’s top chefs in the medium, hand-crafted margaritas, a chihuahua beauty pageant, exotic-car showcase, queso and salsa competition, and lucha libre wrestling.
If you’re feeling confident about the festival ironing out the wrinkles from its first go-around, early bird tickets are available right now for the 2024 edition. General admission is $49, and VIP will run you $129, with parking passes adding an extra $25 or $50. At some point in the future, those ticket prices will jump to $99 and $199. For more information, visit the Tacos and Tequila Festival website.
