It looks like the heat wave is coming for Summerfest’s final days in 2026.
But when it comes to the performances, its already here.
Weekend two June 25 to 27 of one of America’s largest and longest-running music festivals featured such superstars as Ed Sheeran, Post Malone, Cody Johnson and more.
Here are some takeaways.
Our favorite performances
Ed Sheeran is a one-of-a-kind performer, able to captivate full stadiums as a one-man band equipped with passion, sweet vocals, a knockout pop songbook, and a knack for looping pedals. Except his Milwaukee stop of his North America “Loop” stadium tour was in the much smaller American Family Insurance Amphitheater for a sold-out crowd of 23,000 people, about half the capacity compared with the other tour stops. Sheeran was clearly thrilled with the change of scenery, and his Milwaukee fans were lucky to see Sheeran play the most intimate venue this summer.
Writers Damon Joy and Cal Roach both picked the same performance as one of their favorites from week two: Sudan Archives at Aurora Pavilion June 26, “a performance that felt as much like art as it did a concert,” Joy wrote in his review. “She danced like she was classically trained, bounced between a myriad of samplers and electronic drums, and, best of all, absolutely shredded on the violin.”
Catherine Jozwik praised The Mountain Goats June 25 at Aurora Pavilion, who drew a “loud and contagious” response for frontman John Darnielle’s “mordant, confessional lyrics and unique vocals.”
Joey Schamber determined from The Revivalists’ Uline Warehouse headlining set June 26 that the eight-piece “sound far better on the stage than in the studio.” Goldfinger gave fans a “wild ride” at the Miller Lite Oasis June 26. “Goldfinger proved that while we all might be getting older, the spirit of ska-punk keeps everyone feeling younger in their minds,” Tedd Lookatch wrote in his rave review.
And Tamia Fowlkes said “KPop Demon Hunters” star Audrey Nuna’s T-Mobile Stage performance June 27 was “worthy of healing the Honmoon,” she wrote in her review. “Every hair flip and pop-and-lock felt euphoric and explosive.”
The most disappointing performances
Post Malone indisputably offered a passionate performance at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater June 27, supported by a powerhouse band, that culminated with Malone generously mingling with several fans in the pit for about 10 minutes. The problem was Malone himself stopped singing a scant 66 minutes after taking the stage, offering up just 16 songs. That’s quite inconsiderate for a prolific hitmaker with 14 top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits alone, much less one where the cheapest tickets were starting at about $120 earlier this month (with the best available seats costing nearly $800).
There’s no disputing the versatility and talent of Marcus King and his band, Summerfest’s T-Mobile Stage headliner June 26, but Cal Roach argued in his review that when it came jamming, the band played it safe, and didn’t do much to “freshen up” it’s “Allman Brothers-lite” sound. And Catherine Jozwik felt The Movement frontman Joshua Swain was “too stiff and rehearsed at times” at the Miller Lite Oasis June 27, although she concedes the mellow fans were having a good time.
And after Tedd Lookatch caught Halestorm’s Uline Warehouse headlining set June 25, he gave the rock group a not-so-affectionate nickname: Stalestorm. “Playing to a large, hopeful crowd at the Uline stage, the band coasted through a performance so painfully uninspired it felt less like a rock concert and more like a time capsule,” Lookatch wrote.
Most magical finale
Getting to see Sheeran in the smallest venue he’s playing this summer was in itself a special treat. But making an exhilarating underplay even more enthralling for fans, Sheeran closed the performance with a powerful cover of the traditional Irish folk song “The Parting Glass,” something he hasn’t done all year. I don’t think the sold-out Summerfest amphitheater has ever been quieter.
Biggest lineup bummer turned best last-minute addition
Summerfest saw a lot of top acts drop off of the 2026 lineup – including Pussycat Dolls (who canceled their tour) and Megadeth – but perhaps the biggest blow was The Roots canceling their appearance June 25 at the BMO Pavilion. Fest officials did manage to find a suitable fill-in with Common, but given he’s based in Chicago, he admittedly didn’t seem as special of a get. But in the end, Common put on what “may have been the best hip-hop show I’ve ever seen at Summerfest,” Damon Joy raved. “Common hit the stage like he was walking into an MMA fight and never let up,” Joy wrote – well except for when he serenaded a fan with a three-minute freestyle on stage followed by “Come Close.” “Needless to say, she wasn’t complaining,” Joy wrote.
Most promising undercard acts
Australia-born, Sweden-based singer-songwriter Hazlett “delivered soulful vocals and twangy guitar work that felt far too big for an opener slot,” Tedd Lookatch wrote of his opening set for Kaleo at Miller Lite Oasis June 25, predicting a Big Gig headlining set in his future. And Tamia Fowlkes seemed more enamored with The Aces than the big name they opened for at the BMO Pavilion June 26, Louis Tomlinson, suggesting the all-female pop rock band offered “energy as radiant as the golden sunset soaking the stage with light,” she wrote in her review.
Funniest wardrobe malfunction
He’d give you the shirt off his back, the saying goes. Well there was one Summerfest fan who literally gave someone the belt off his pants. Hip-hop veteran Big Daddy Kane had started his set at the BMO Pavilion June 25 when he realized he was really going to need a belt, Damon Joy reported. Kane called out from stage to see if anyone had one, one guy obliged, and Kane took it, put it on and resumed his performance. Rest assured Kane did give the belt back, and the fan was also invited to hang out backstage, Joy reported.
Best off-stage celeb spotting
Old Guard Games general manager Josh Lowerre got a call June 26 asking if they had a specific Magic: The Gathering product in store. They did, and shortly after, three Cadillac Escalades pulled up and Post Malone walked in, spending about 20 to 40 minutes in the shop, where he took a pic with Lowerre and signed a couple Magic cards for employees. “It’s refreshing to see somebody get that popular, that has that much money and still be that down to earth,” Lowerre told the Journal Sentinel’s Alec Johnson.
Best on-stage celeb spotting
Hank Azaria will always be best known as an actor, most famously for his work on “The Simpsons.” But at Summerfest, he took on the role of Bruce Springsteen, offering a solid impersonation of the Boss fronting the tribute act the EZ Street Band at Uline Warehouse June 26. Fingers crossed Summerfest can someday book the actual Bruce Springsteen, who’s been at the top of festival leaders’ wish list for decades.
Most unexpected Wisconsin shout out
Russell Dickerson fans know his wife Kailey is from Cedarburg, but who knew fast-rising Tucker Wetmore was such a big fan of Rhinelander? “I’ve spent a lot of time in Rhinelander, and I love your fishing and beer,” Wetmore told his packed crowd at the T-Mobile Stage June 25. He really, really does love fishing; Summerfest shared pictures on their social media channels showing Wetmore fishing in Lake Michigan next to Maier Festival Park while he was here.
Wildest fan-and-star interaction
Few artists operating in mainstream country are as bold as Jessie Murph, a surprising but welcome choice to open for the more traditional-leaning Cody Johnson at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater June 26. In a world where many country artists seem to follow a can and can’t do checklist, Murph is brazen enough to tear it to pieces, defying expectations, and creating a sound and style that’s all her own, with a blend of old-school raspy-voiced balladry, modern-day hip-hop bravado, and plenty of blunt sex talk and f-bombs. The big swings at Summerfest included a very brazen bit where a fan named Eddie was invited to sit on stage with his shirt off, while Murph painted his stomach and splattered his face with blue paint – culminating with Murph drawing something quite suggestive across his entire torso.
Most unexpected singalong
Waiting in line at the men’s restroom after Cody Johnson, a bunch of (possibly inebriated) bros randomly started belting out Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way.” Their sour, off-key rendition, though, was “nothin’ but a heartache.”
Contact Piet Levy at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him at facebook.com/PietLevyMJ
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ed Sheeran to Post Malone, the best & worst of Summerfest 2026 week 2
Reporting by Piet Levy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By Piet Levy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
