Page 57 - ION Indie Magazine SeptOct 2023

Woot, woot! What an honor it has been to be back
this year pounding the seventy-five acres of
pavement and slinging the cameras from stage to
stage for the Summerfest 55th anniversary
coverage for ION Indie Magazine.

The weather was absolutely beautiful this year
along Milwaukee’s shoreline of Lake Michigan --
with some hazy morning and afternoon skies from
the Canadian forest fires being brought down from
the jet stream. It was pretty warm and sunny
otherwise, with just an occasional drizzle.
Prayers for Canada!

Attendance for the 2023 55th anniversary year
was 624,407 -- 40% higher than 2022. I suppose
we're still recovering from the COVID years.
Plus, now the fest is being held on Thursday,
Friday, and Saturday for three weeks, making it
9 days instead of 11 days consecutive for the
third year.

But now onto the juicy stuff -- the artists! This
year was especially exciting for me, with more
entertainers checked off the “bucket list,” like
Flyleaf featuring Lacey Sturm, which could be
their last tour with this line up for some
time. Another bucket-lister was the legendary
Smokey Robinson. Heck, yeah! He is getting up
there in age, but his voice remains timeless.
Another incredible band I was able to photograph
was The Pretty Reckless. It’s been 9 years since
I’ve had them in front of my lens. The Pretty
Reckless is just freaking awesome!

Summerfest offers up so much entertainment it

sometimes is difficult to decide who to cover.
So, I set my sights on my “must haves” first and
then I would catch various acts as those
opportunities presented. With so many iconic
acts on the Summerfest 2023 roster, I hope you
enjoy my view from behind the lens!