The Goo Goo Dolls, Black Pumas and the best and worst of Summerfest 2024's first Saturday

On what might have been the busiest day of music in Milwaukee history, Summerfest had another rival to contend with Saturday: the weather.

With a massive thunderstorm — and the threat of potentially worse weather — heading for the lakefront, performances were paused for more than 90 minutes across Maier Festival Park Saturday night, after several brief cloudbursts earlier in the day. (Elsewhere, the Tacos and Tequila Festival was canceled during the beginnings of headliner Ludacris' set, while Alpine Valley Music Theatre was evacuated during the Dave Matthews Band's concert, which was ultimately postponed.)

Here are the best and the worst of what we saw and heard on the final day of the first weekend of Summerfest 2024, before and after the rain.

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Goo Goo Dolls

At 9:30 p.m. Saturday, a roar went through the crowd at the BMO Pavilion. Was it the emergence of Gen-X heartthrob (and Goo Goo Dolls frontman) John Rzeznik? No, it was the disappearance of the severe thunderstorm warning alert on the venue's LED screens.

Summerfest was back on.

Shortly after 10, the Goo Goo Dolls did come onstage, busting into “Dizzy” before a packed and ecstatic crowd; few of them had fled the grounds during the brief storm.

The expected parade of hits ensued. “Black Balloon” featured a visual aid: a smattering of, well, black balloons, floating amongst the crowd.

“This is the best music festival in the entire world,” Rzeznik said as an introduction to “So Alive.” The band continues to release new material but wisely stuck mostly to the oldies Saturday, although last year’s “Going Crazy” single made it into the setlist — another in a long line of almost indistinguishably bland pop-rock songs. On the plus side for Summerfest attendees, Goo Goo Dolls do still feature two founding members.

— Cal Roach, Special to the Journal Sentinel

Black Pumas

Had it not been for the weather, the crowd at the UScellular Connection Stage easily would have spilled over into the walkways around the stage. Lead singer Eric Burton repeatedly thanked the audience that was there for the show, which started after the lengthy storm-related delay: “I expected 10 people to be here.”

Black Pumas may be the perfect band. They seamlessly blended elements of funk, soul and rock, which makes their sound so distinct. The heavy yet soulful guitar riffs by Adrian Quesada mixed with Burton's seemingly impossible vocal range were mind-blowing. The band leaders did all this while still talking directly to the fans like they were in a living room together.

It was a flawless performance. If not for the rain, so many more people would have heard Burton sing “Hello” with so much power and emotion that it brought some to tears.

— Damon Joy, Special to the Journal Sentinel

Umphrey's McGee

“It’s about to get hot up here,” singer-guitarist Brendan Bayliss said from the Miller Lite Oasis stage. Umphrey’s McGee then proceeded to welcome guests from opening acts Little Stranger and Doom Flamingo onstage for a crowd-pleasing rendition of The Fugees’ “Fu-Gee-La,” Kanika Moore slaying Lauryn Hill's parts. It was simultaneously faithful and tongue-in-cheek — the natural Umphrey’s mode.

An R&B band? No, Umphrey’s McGee progressed through a myriad of psych-rock and funk textures through “Attachments” and “Bad Friday” for a good half-hour after this, blending songs together as effortlessly as genres. It all came to an intense climax with the band’s thrash-metal favorite “Wizard Burial Ground,” somewhat more extreme music than one can normally get away with at Summerfest unless one is considered a “jam band.”

The set had everything, wrapping up with a cheese-rock jam out of “Hiccup” and then the epic “The Triple Wide,” featuring a “Stairway to Heaven” tease as a final sendoff. Nothing fancy, but the set showcased everything fans have come to love over the group’s nearly three-decade history.

— Cal Roach

Thompson Twins' Tom Bailey

After the slightly terrifying storm, about a third of the seats at the Uline Warehouse were refilled by people looking to get a fix of '80s New Wave, from the Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey.

Bailey came out to a warm welcome, with an all-female band dressed in white. Vocally, he isn’t very strong, but he made up for it being a multi-instrumentalist. Jumping between percussion, electro doodads and guitar kept it semi-interesting. He gave the aura of a science teacher as he pranced across the stage grabbing “light sticks” as if they were some type of foreign object. He would all-too-often yell “whoooo” and point at the audience like Ric Flair while continuing with his soft-spoken lyrics.

The highlight of the show was really the compact crowd. They came for some '80s nostalgia and got it. Although I’m sure many were wishing he’d just get to “Hold Me Now”.

— Damon Joy

Allen Stone

Soul singer Allen Stone made his limitations clear at his early evening UScellular Connection Stage set Saturday.

“I can’t stop the rain,” he sang at the start of “Give You Blue.” True enough, but at the moment Mother Nature was obliging on Stone (and Summerfest’s) behalf.

Stone’s ensemble — bright light blue polo, beach-ready shades — certainly didn’t match the day’s weather. But his disposition matched his bright attire, and his lush, radiant voice was nothing short of sublime.

“When your sky is gray, I’ll give you blue,” he sang sweetly during “Blue.” And with fans actually surrounded by gray skies, Stone was true to his word.

— Piet Levy, [email protected]

Luis Figueroa

Summerfest was tricky for Luis Figueroa.

The Puerto Rican salsa artist was set to start his set at the Aurora Pavilion at 7:15 p.m. After a few delays and technical difficulties, Figueroa was asked to leave the stage because of the impending thunderstorm, which closed all of the stages at Summerfest grounds for more than two hours.

Figueroa was back on stage after the weather delay around 10 p.m. With only a couple of dozen people there to hear him, he did what he does best. His tropical sounds almost made you forget about the inclement weather that blew through just a couple of hours before.

Figueroa had a full band behind him, including two backing vocalists and two percussionists. Although the crowd that stuck around was small, it was dynamic, energetic and eager to give salsa dancing a shot.

And while he wasn't working under the best conditions, Figueroa still delivered a zestful set that let anyone know salsa music is still alive and young.

— Jessica Rodriguez, [email protected]

Shovels & Rope

The Black Keys recently went through an embarrassing ordeal when they tried to quietly cancel their planned fall arena tour, the news went viral, fans noticed ticket sales were abysmal and the band essentially confirmed that in a statement, saying they’ll pivot to smaller venues.

Huge early-aughts hits got them to those bigger rooms, but the initial appeal of the Black Keys was the chemistry between the two players and their ability to still conjure a big sound in small numbers.

It’s the same selling point for married Americana rock duo Shovels & Rope, who took to the Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard a half-hour late early Saturday evening, possibly due to afternoon showers. Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent never aspired to arenas, but they still conjured an expansive, inviting sonic tapestry. (For “Johnny Come Outside,” Trent did vocals, guitar and harmonica while Hearst also sang, played drums with her right hand and keys with her left).

But the couple’s camaraderie was as appealing as anything they played. Maybe when the Black Keys do their more intimate tour, they can ditch the backing band, at least for a few songs.

— Piet Levy

Diet Lite

“It’s a beautiful day,” Diet Lite singer and guitarist Max Niemann said from the Generac Power Stage early in their late afternoon set Saturday.

I don’t think Niemann got the memo, but it most definitely was not a beautiful day. By then, there had already been some downpours on the grounds, with gray clouds and scattered rainfall remaining during their set.

But watching Niemann play, there’s no doubt he truly thought it was a beautiful day, with pajama-clad bassist Kelson Kuzdas and shirtless drummer Evan Marsalli matching his unflappable, fun-loving freak. Watching the trio you got the sense that they all let their hair get long for the sole purpose of looking really cool rocking out on stage.

And it felt really good watching them having so much fun, bringing an epic garage-rock nail-biter like “Madison City Parking Ticket Groove” to the brink of chaos, or seeing Niemann drop onto his back onstage and crawl around as he shredded for “Stuck Again.”

The Milwaukee trio also honored hometown heroes Violent Femmes with a cover of “Add It Up” that equaled the frenetic energy of the original. Are they the local music scene’s version of the Femmes in 2024? We’ll see, but sets like this one make Diet Lite a band to watch.

— Piet Levy

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The best and worst of Summerfest 2024's first Saturday in Milwaukee