Rain Soaked Summerfest Sees Attendance Drop

Fans of The Hold Steady at the Miller Stage at 2024 Summerfest. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Summerfest attendance dipped to 555,925 in 2024, a 10% decrease from the year prior.

In a now time-honored tradition, as soon as figures began circulating on social media virtually everyone had an answer as to why. It was the lineup, the sustained switch to a three-weekend format, the price increases, the fact that Bo Black was let go two decades ago, fear of crime. The list goes on.

But host Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. had a simple answer: rain.

The organization said rain impacted six of the nine days. That included multiple days where headliners found themselves playing as or just after rain fell on fans at Henry Maier Festival Park.

“Summerfest once again hosted one of the most unique music festival lineups available anywhere,” said Sarah Pancheri, President and CEO, Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. “While the frequency of the rain was a challenge, our team appreciates the support of our sponsors, artists, vendors, and fans as we absolutely found the Summerfest spirit throughout the run in 2024.”

MWF, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, reported that one in five (21%) of attendees got in free using one of 14 admissions promotions.

“Summerfest also celebrated a record number of sponsorships in 2024, with 64 total sponsors, including 14 new sponsors, over 33 additional exhibitors, and 87 marketplace vendors that filled 132 vendor spaces,” said the organization. Consistent with the year prior, more than 600 artists performed.

An updated stage, with new sponsor, debuted for 2024: the Aurora Pavilion. The covered stage gained a host of enhancements, including a new video screen, as part of the sponsorship agreement. Johnson Controls was the last corporate sponsor of the stage.

Attendance has yet to reach pre-pandemic levels, though an apples-to-apples comparison is difficult due to the festival pivoting from a Wednesday through two following Sundays 11-day format (with one off day in the middle) to a nine-day, three-weekend Thursday, Friday, Saturday format.

The 2023 festival saw 624,407 fans, up from 445,611 in the year prior, but below 2019’s 718,144.

The 2024 festival included the addition of Yield, an immersive light and sound exhibit of LED corn stalks from Milwaukee-based FuzzPop workshop. A new cashless point-of-sale system, Clover from Fiserv, was also introduced.

Dates for the 2025 festival are expected to be announced “soon” said the organization.