Peter Gabriel Added to the Summerfest 2011 Lineup

Peter Gabriel has been added to the Summerfest 2011 lineup. Ever since this announcement was made, I cannot get "In Your Eyes" out of my head. Peter Gabriel will headline the Marcus Amphitheater on the opening night of Summerfest. This year, the opening night of Summerfest will be a Wednesday instead of a Thursday. The powers-that-be at Summerfest decided to make a change this year and for the first time ever, Summerfest will be closed on July 4th. But I digress. Peter Gabriel, known from his Genesis fame, will perform at the Marcus Amphitheater on Wednesday, June 29th with the New Blood Orchestra which will include members of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. That sounds really cool. I really enjoy it when the Symphony teams up with pop singers for performances. I definitely want to get my hands on a pair of Peter Gabriel Summerfest tickets.

Kanye West Headlines Marcus Amphitheater Opening Night of Summerfest

Hip-hop artist Kanye West will headline the Marcus Amphitheater on June 30th, the opening night of Summerfest with opening act Kid Cudi. This will be an exciting show because Kanye West has never performed in Milwaukee before. I can see this show being one of the hottest tickets of the summer, in part because I think it will draw a lot of people from around the Midwest. West first appeared on the music scene in 1996 as a producer and made his big break when he began producing for the Jay-Z's label. West's latest album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, came out at the end of 2010. He's scheduled to drop another album with Jay-Z sometime this year. West first appeared on the music scene in 1996 as a producer and made his big break when he began producing for the Jay-Z's label. Kanye West has been the source of controversy several times over the past years and has kept a low profile for a little while. It seems like he's back in full force with a new album and a concert at Summerfest. Kanye puts out great music and this is definitely one show I don't want to miss.

Jason Aldean at Marcus Amphitheater July 8th

Country singer Jason Aldean will headline the Marcus Amphitheater on July 8th. Aldean is the latest headliner to be added to the 2011 Summerfest lineup. He joins the ranks of Katy Perry, Toby Keith, Def Leppard w/ Heart, Black Keys w/ Florence + the Machine, and Sugarland. Aldean has been touring the country with his latest album, "My Kinda Party." When Aldean first came onto the music scene in the late '90s/early '00s, he was initially dropped by his label for his inability to produce records fast enough for their liking. Now, Aldean belongs to an independent label, something you don't see too often with larger acts. It seems that this year's Summerfest Marcus Ampitheater shows will be a big hit for country music fans as Aldean is the 3rd country act to be added to the lineup. Tickets for Jason Aldean at the Marcus Amphitheater go on sale next Saturday.

The National at the Riverside Theater 4/26

The Riverside Theater just announced that The National will play a show with the Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Twin Shadow on 4/26. Originally, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Twin Shadow were going to play at Turner Hall, but now that show will be combined with The National at the Riverside. Tickets for Turner Hall will be honored for the general admission show at the Riverside. I'm super excited for this show because I'm going to see The National open for Arcade Fire in Chicago a few days earlier. The Arcade Fire/The National tour is not making a stop in Milwaukee, but I'm so glad that The National is going to make a Milwaukee stop. They played in Milwaukee in August and sadly I couldn't make it to their show. They have been rocking the success of their latest album, High Violet, which was listed as one of the top albums of the year.