I cannot believe that Summerfest is over already! We talked about it for so long, and now.... it's onto the countdown for next year!
First of all, THANK YOU to everyone who came to the shows at our brand spankin' new US Cellular Connection Stage! We had some amazing country acts come through this year, and the crowds were just absolutely insane!
Night one was Kane Brown and Walker Hayes. It was a little bit of an emotional night for Walker since it was his first show back since the terrible passing of his & his wife's 7th child. However, he was still incredibly nice to everyone he came into contact with, and he was fantastic on stage. I especially loved when he covered TLC's "No Scrubs" (my go to karaoke song!).
The area around our US Cell Stage was completely packed for Kane Brown.... you could not see an open spot from the stage! We got to chat with him for a little backstage before he went on, and he was much taller than I anticipated!
Day 2 of Summerfest for me (June 29th) was fantastic from the jump ... because during the day I got to go on the Sky Glider with Molly from OnMilwaukee! It was such a cool view of the whole place, and I highly recommend doing it next year so you can see everything that this amazing festival has to offer. Thank you again to Molly for having me!
Night 2 of country at our US Cellular Connection Stage was Billy Currington! I was over the moon excited to meet him and tell him how my mom & I love the song "Party For Two". Did I fan girl during this interview? Yes. Do I care? No. Thank goodness Shannen was there to help me keep it together. Also, could we be getting a collab with him and Colbie Caillat soon? We shall see!!!!
The next night at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater, it was a freaking PARTY! I've never seen Florida Georgia Line live, and they did not disappoint. It was the kind of show where if you weren't having a good time, then that was your own fault. They were also very nice backstage, and I asked them about how I heard they want to do a song with Rihanna next. They got a little quiet when I asked, which leads me to believe (HOPEFULLY) that it's already in the works.
Unfortunately Bebe cancelled because she was sick, but I heard Rachel Platten was wonderful!
Fast forward to Thursday, July 5th.... the most BANANAS day of all. Jimmie Allen, Devin Dawson, and Brett Young were all set to play at our US Cell Stage.
Before any of that went down though, Shannen and I got to hang with Jimmie and do a little Facebook Live interview. He was extremely laid back, and very likable.
After that, we got to take Jimmie out on a Mercury Marine Pontoon Boat with some awesome listeners! It was so much fun, and Jimmie even got behind the wheel afterwards which was pretty funny.
Next up was the same deal with Devin Dawson ... and I couldn't get over the fact that he had black jeans on.... IT WAS SO FLIPPING HOT OUT. Dude looked fresh though, and is a very friendly guy. He even recorded a quick video for me to send to one of my girlfriends who is a super fan.... so I will forever love him for that!
After we watched Jimmie and Devin on stage, we got to hang out with Brett Young backstage ... and my heart burst when Gavin DeGraw stopped by. He always makes me think of simpler times with "One Tree Hill". Sophia Bush is goals. He has a crazy amount of energy, and is sometimes hard to keep up with, but it's all part of his silly charm. Brett was very kind, and his fiance is like ... alien pretty. I mean that in the nicest way possible (Jennifer Aniston is also in this category). They're such a cute couple, and he was AMAZING on stage! His surprise performance with Gavin was very well received too.
On the 6th, it was back to the Amphitheater for Luke Combs & Blake Shelton! Unfortunately, I couldn't make it to the show, but my broadcast before it was so much fun! We gave out a ton of meet & greets for both acts, and everyone had fun at the end when we were pulling out the names of the winners.
I didn't get the chance to meet this winner below with the corn on the cob... but she's legit my favorite of all. Girlfriend was not putting down her grub, and I love her for it.
Hannah (who you hear on Sundays on our station) & I did get the chance to sneak over to see our girl Shannen O from the Morning Show perform with our friend KB from our sister station The Big 920! They were at the Uline Stage, and girlfriend killed it!
To close out my broadcasts for this Summerfest run, it was another crazy day with Kip Moore! Kip fans do NOT mess around ... nor should they. Dude rocked it live, and his arms are the 8th wonder of the world. The crowd was electric, and everyone around me was having the time of their lives (including my muffins from our iHeartMedia Midwest and Madison clusters below).
He also announced in an interview with Ridder & Shannen that he will be returning to the Riverside Theater this fall! You can get details here.
I was a little sad that I didn't get to see Hunter Hayes' surprise performance during Blake Shelton's set the night before, BUT... I was pretty happy to meet him before his show at the BMO Harris Pavilion. We talked about the last time I saw him in concert (in 2013 when he opened for Carrie Underwood in my hometown, Buffalo, NY), and how he was so sick that night. He only performed 3 songs at that concert, but he still powered through like a champ, and that's where my respect for him started. What you think Hunter Hayes would be like is exactly who he is ... sweet and super passionate about his craft.
Overall ... not too shabby for my first official Summerfest experience! I had to pinch myself at times because it was even more amazing than I could have ever imagined.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by our multiple set ups on the grounds, and especially to those who were so so so nice during my broadcasts at our Rolling Radio next to our US Cellular Connection Stage. It was so great getting to chat with you all, and I look forward to doing it all again in a couple of weeks at the Wisconsin State Fair!
Oh and last but not least ... this half bag of donuts with cinnamon sugar and powdered sugar was top notch and only $3. Diets shmiets at Summerfest.