SZA, storms, Kardashian and Motley Crue: The best and worst of Summerfest 2024, Weekend 1

Well, that happened.

As I was gathering my thoughts Saturday morning for this recap of Summerfest's first weekend of 2024, my plan was to write about how smoothly everything was going, without the major headliner cancellations that had become a recurring challenge in recent years.

But Saturday night turned out to be anything but smooth. In my 11 years covering the festival as a full-time music writer, it was the wildest Summerfest night I have ever experienced, from those major storms that temporarily shut down the festival (and forced Dave Matthews Band at Alpine Valley to be postponed and Tacos and Tequila Festival at Franklin Field to end early), to a surprise appearance from one of the planet's biggest celebrities.

Here's the best, the worst and the wildest things we experienced during the first three days of the nine-day Milwaukee music festival.

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Best performances

SZA's long-awaited Milwaukee debut nearly didn't happen — and not just because of the storms. The R&B superstar told a capacity crowd at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater Saturday that she was recovering from a bad cold and had contemplated canceling the show, worried her singing voice wouldn't be good enough. Her worries were for naught: SZA sounded exceptional with her cool cutdowns and crushing confessions, and she was also well enough to frequently match her five dancers' sharp choreography and to even ride a wrecking ball and drop into the splits.

Reviewer Erik Ernst was impressed by the interactivity of rapper and singer Toosii, who had a lot of fun hopping down into the crowd within the first few songs. The 75-year-old Jeffrey Osborne did the same thing, Catherine Jozwik noted in her positive review, while Jane Park and Jessica Rodriguez also enjoyed the two artists they reviewed, Kevin Kaarl and Luis Figueroa, respectively (even if the latter's set was delayed by technical issues then was shut down due to the impending storm).

Reviewer Damon Joy praised En Vogue for their "flawless vocals and dynamic stage presence," and suggested Black Pumas "may be the perfect band … The heavy yet soulful guitar riffs by Adrian Quesada mixed with (Eric) Burton's seemingly impossible vocal range were mind-blowing." And reviewer Cal Roach suspects Brittany Howard blew some minds, too, with her "potent" voice and "musical vision."

Most disappointing performances

Howard may have been incredible, but Roach was disappointed that one of Summerfest's most talented performers, touring behind one of the year's most acclaimed albums, played for such a small audience.

Joy seconds that notion, but in terms of disappointing performances, "melodramatic crooner" David Kushner was the dullest, the gift of his smooth baritone squandered by songs that had a "CW teen-drama vibe" — although Kushner's screaming fans might disagree.

And Buckcherry was so painful during its (too-long) half-hour opening for M?tley Crüe that a flying bug on stage made the ultimate sacrifice, dive-bombing frontman Josh Todd, who swallowed the critter and coughed through “Gluttony.” Sadly for the rest of us, he quickly recovered and finished the set.

Biggest surprise appearance

Just when SZA fans thought her storm-delayed Milwaukee debut couldn't get wilder, about 20 minutes before the rescheduled showtime, none other than Kim Kardashian strolled through the walkway between the amphitheater's 100 and 200 sections, surrounded by an army of Summerfest staff and her very intense and intimidating security guard. But even his screams and expletives couldn't keep huge swarms of excited fans from rushing toward Kardashian's sequestered seat by the sound board with camera phones out. Kardashian ended up posting her own videos on Instagram Stories, including a singalong selfie with longtime friend Tracy Romulus, and a guy proposing marriage in the crowd via a written message he waved on his phone. Kardashian's daughter North West was there, too — except she wasn't with mom. She watched the show from the front row.

Craziest fake-out

There were a few white-knuckle minutes at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater Saturday. With the storms approaching, SZA's opener, Aminé, paused his set after about 10 minutes, at 8:22 p.m., because of lightning, only to never return. At 8:25, a message flashed on the amphitheater screens that Summerfest was being evacuated, leading to boos, deafening chants for SZA and general pandemonium. But a few minutes after that, a loud beep echoed throughout the amphitheater, silencing the 20,000-plus yelling and talking fans. When an announcer clarified there was not an evacuation order (it was issued in error), that crowd collectively unleashed what possibly was the loudest scream ever heard at Maier Festival Park.

Coolest unplanned gig

When the storms did hit Summerfest around 8:45 p.m. Saturday, the main drag of stages on the grounds turned into a ghost town. But the fewer than 100 people who stuck it out near the Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard were treated with an impromptu, unplugged performance by the Brothers Elsey, who sat at the edge of the stage and led a spirited singalong, a magical moment that never would have happened if all the stages hadn't shut down in the first place.

Coolest Milwaukee apparel cosign

On Friday, Milwaukee apparel company Unfinished Legacy is dropping a cool new butterfly-inspired button-up it's dubbing "Moonlight." But evidently, SZA got one early, because she wore it on stage at Summerfest.

Worst sound (in more ways than one)

I've been to countless shows at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater, spanning a wide variety of genres. I have never experienced such a horrible sound mix as what fans had to endure for M?tley Crüe, with a hideous, distorted low end nearly drowning out the rest of the band for a full seven songs and 35 minutes. The sound issues seemed to have been solved following a really great five-minute solo from new guitarist John 5 — just in time for Vince Neil to butcher the Beatles' "Helter Skelter" with his hideous wailing.

Best Milwaukee anthem

Wyatt Flores may be an Oklahoma native, but one of his newest singles “Milwaukee” — with its lyrics about frozen rain falling on our streets, chronicling the moment a relationship dies — has become a signature song, and was greeted with a hearty singalong from the rising Americana artist’s Milwaukee fans.

Best Wisconsin anthem

There were Wisconsin natives singing about their home state, too — including Milwaukee singer-songwriter Trapper Schoepp with his winning waltz “On, Wisconsin.” Except it also was initially written by someone who doesn’t hail from the state — Minnesota native Robert Zimmerman, aka Bob Dylan, who gave Schoepp permission to finish the song (Dylan started writing it back in 1961).

Best new food vendor

DanDan has been on my Milwaukee restaurant bucket list for years now, so opening day, and the day after co-owner Dan Jacobs was a finalist on “Top Chef,” you better believe that was my first bite at Summerfest. And despite my high expectations, the DanDan noodles were even better than I anticipated.

Wildest audience transition

Summerfest’s something-for-everyone approach can lead to some incongruous daily lineups on individual stages, but perhaps there’s never been a change of pace as wild as hard rockers Drowning Pool playing a pre-M?tley Crüe set at the BMO Pavilion, followed by the stage’s smooth pop headliners Gavin DeGraw and Hanson. Seeing the audience switch up between Pool and DeGraw’s sets was a show unto itself, writer Erik Ernst said.

Grossest artist giveaways

Both Flores and Kane Brown literally gave away the shirts off their backs Thursday. At least Flores had a Hawaiian shirt that seemed pretty dry — not the case for the sweat-soaked undershirt Brown threw into the pit. I guess some fans want these but, ew, why?

Best new concept

If you were lucky enough to have attended the artsy, boutique Eaux Claires festival, co-founded by Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, you might still remember the incredibly ambitious, immersive, interactive and inspiring art installations across the grounds. Art installations are an expectation these days at a lot of music festivals, so good for Summerfest to catch up to the trend and partner up with FuzzPop, the group behind Deep Lake Future. I was expecting Yield, the group's so-called "cosmic cornfield," to be larger and more engrossing, but I'm hoping the Big Gig will give them more space (and a bigger budget) to do something even grander in future years.

Most inopportune nap

Just a few songs into Crüe’s set, I spotted a woman a couple of rows ahead of me, sitting in her chair, head straight back, totally passed out. It was impressive considering how loud it was and how uncomfortable she looked, concerning since she probably paid a lot of money to nap through the band's show. To many around me, it appeared to be quite funny, with folks taking pictures and videos. Rest assured, she was back on her feet with three songs to spare, so there was no need to, umm, kickstart her heart.

Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or [email protected]. Follow him on X at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: SZA, Kardashian, Motley Crue: Best, worst of Summerfest 2024 Weekend 1