Keith Urban Summerfest 2015 | Dan and Shay Open The Show

Summerfest announced the third headliner for the Marcus Amphitheater over the weekend. Country mega-star Keith Urban will perform with special guests Phillip Phillips and Dan and Shay at the annual festival on Friday, June 26. It will be Urban's second appearance at Summerfest, the first coming in 2009, when he performed alongside fellow country act Counting Crows. Keith Urban Summerfest tickets are on sale now. 

The only other headliners announced thus far for the 2015 Marcus Amphitheater line-up are Florida Georgia Line and Linkin Park. Florida Georgia Line will open the event on June 24, while Linkin Park will perform on June 30.

Urban is one of the most accomplished country artists of all-time, earning over 15 individual awards, including four GRAMMY Awards. Since 2000, he has managed the most songs on the Billboard top 10 country charts, and is a judge on the popular reality TV show American Idol.

Another veteran of the pop-country music scene and a formerAmerican Idol winner, Phillips has cemented his place as a staple of the touring circuit. He has released two full-length albums since his season 11 win on American Idol, promoting them with a number of North American tours and a world tour in 2014.

Dan and Shay are one of the newest faces in contemporary country. The male duo released their debut single in late 2013, completing their first album in April, 2014 to wide acclaim. Hunter Hayes and Blake Shelton both had Dan + Shay open for them on respective tours last year, and they hosted an American tour of their own in October. 

Kelly Clarkson Summerfest Show on June 29

Kelly Clarkson is coming to Summerfest 2012 on June 29, at the Marcus Amphitheater.  This books the last open spot for headline acts.  Clarkson made a name for herself when she won the first season of American Idol.  Since then, she has appeared in a number of television shows, and toured the world three times.

Her 2004 album titled Breakaway was certainly her most popular effort.  That disk went "multi-platinum" in nine countries.  Since then, her third and fourth albums had respectable sales numbers, but her current popularity is more limited to the United States and Britain.  That's not to say that she's no longer popular in other countries.  She is. Her single, titled Mr. Know it All sold two million copies in Australia last year.

Lady Antebellum Summerfest Show

Lady Antebellum will be the headline Summerfest show at the Marcus Amphitheater on June 30. Darius Rucker will open the show. The band has been around since 2006, and their popularity is certainly rising. I Run to You is probably their most popular song, as it peaked at the top of the country charts in '09.

The awards came fast and furious for Lady Antebellum that same year. They won Single of the Year, Vocal Group, and Best Song by a Duo in 2009. Since 2008, the group has won thirty-two awards. Their albums have sold in the low millions.

As of now, the band is promoting their Own the Night disk. It came out in fall of 2011, and the band has been on tour since that time. Stops on this current tour included American Idol, and SNL. Their record label (Capitol Records,) couldn't be happier. The band is glad to be in the spotlight, and willing to do the hard work of playing in medium to large venues. Most times, you will find them playing places like the Marcus Amphitheater, the Palace of Auburn Hills. At times, you will find them playing livestock and rodeo shows.

Summerfest 2012 Headline Act Lady Antebellum June 30

I overheard a coworker say "Can you believe that we already know who is going to play Summerfest 2012 on June 30th?" This was certainly an early announcement for Marcus Amphitheater headline act number one. It's not unheard of to have one of the ten nights booked before the new year, but I think that this Lady Antebellum booking is the earliest on record. In fact, it's such an early that you can actually see the band in La Crosse in the coming weeks, then eight months later at Summerfest.

Summerfest Milwaukee Books Country Music at the Marcus Amphitheater

This show is probably one of three country music acts that will be booked for the Marcus Amphitheater next year. The eleven day festival bring all sorts of music fans down the the lakefront. The acts that are booked range from rock, to pop, to country. Still there is a definite pattern now. Three country acts have been booked each year for at least the past five seasons. This does not include the side stages.

I doubt that we will hear of another Summerfest booking until next year. Most of these announcements come in early spring. Sometimes there can be a late scratch from the program, like there was in 2011. Brooks and Dunn had to cancel their Summerfest booking last year. It doesn't happen often, but you never know. For now, we'll await the next announcement from the folks at Summerfest.

Summerfest Milwaukee 2010 Milwaukee's Gem

I'm stoked that Summerfest Milwaukee 2010 starts this week. I have tickets to the Tom Petty Show at the Marcus Amphitheater. I'm going to show number two. My wife is a big ZZ Top fan, and I think I am too. I don't know if I'll stay for the encore for Petty. Better to get my butt out of the venue before it's too late.

The other night that I'm certainly going to hit the lakefront is July 4. DEVO is performing at one of the free stages. So far, we have a group of eight for that night. The 40 somethings will be there in big numbers. That's the last night of Summerfest, so hopefully, it will be less crowded. DEVO released their new album last week. Well, they "released" it to an exclusive group of cats and we humans got to watch and listen via webcast.

Summerfest Milwaukee 2010 Bands at Classic Rock Stage

The M&I Classic Rock stage has announced the Summerfest Milwaukee Bands for 2010. The list below threw me for a loop. Are these Summerfest headliners cover bands or for real? The M&I rock stage is so huge, that I can certainly see Yes and the B52's playing there. The Moody Blues have played the Marcus Amphitheater before, and their fans will crowd the current venue for sure.

June 24 Night Ranger

June 25 Think Floyd

June 26 Uriah Heap

June 27 B.B. King

June 28 Blue Oyster Cult

June 29 Weird Al Yankovic

June 30 Moody Blues

July 1 B52's

July 2 Yes (No Jon Anderson)

July 3 Peter Frampton

July 4 Average White Band

Summerfest Milwaukee 2010 Shows

Since my last Summerfest Milwaukee 2010 shows post, all but one date for the Milwaukee Marcus Amphitheater has been booked. Here is the list as of today.

• June 24 Tim Mcgraw with Lady Antebellum & Love and Theft
• June 25 Tom Petty with ZZ Top
• June 26 Tom Petty with ZZ Top
• June 27 Justin Bieber and Sean Kingston
• June 28 Eric Clapton and Roger Daltry
• June 29 Brooks & Dunn with Gary Allen and Keelie Pickler
• June 30 Usher
• July 1 Santana with Steve Winwoood
• July 2 TBA
• July 3 Rush
• July 4 Carrie Underwood
• As you can see, we have one more open date for Summerfest 2010. Who will it be?