Normally humid weather and bugs would be a good reason to high-tail it to the nearest air-conditioned establishment, hide behind a cold beer and pray for a reprieve to the sticky onslaught. Today, however, my fellow OnMilwaukee.com interns and myself had a higher calling: experience our first River Rhythms festival (and the kick off to the River Rhythms season). As a self proclaimed weather-wuss, I can gladly say that the slight discomfort was well worth the experience.

Taking the stage tonight was an extremely talented band comprised completely of attractive Navy boys playing everything from Johnny Cash and old school hits to '90s jams; essentially, everything to get your feet tapping and hips swaying. From behind our OMC booth, we swayed, chatted, played a few rounds of ball toss and generally soaked up the life and culture of Milwaukee summer to the sweet sounds and even sweeter smells - the latter being provided by the amazingly tantalizing Satellite Crepes stand. We saw everyone: young, old and everyone in between, enjoying the atmosphere, music and terrific view of the river and some of the most beautiful buildings in Milwaukee.

The biggest regrets of the evening are that we didn't think to pack a picnic lunch (or bring cash for the awesome food vendors nearby) to enjoy on the grass, and that inclement weather cut short the second set of the band. We sipped on a refreshing end-of-night beer - shout out to Ian and Jimmy for providing - as the lightning rolled in from the north and we remembered that at least we would have more opportunities to make River Rhythms perfect - it runs every Wednesday until Aug. 31, after all. One of those nights we're guaranteed perfect weather; now we just have to hope we remember lunch.

For those of you who played Bag Toss with us, we'll see you at many more Wednesdays! Feel free to stop by the OMC booth at other upcoming events, such as the Gathering Waters Festival this Saturday. We can get you signed up to win free Summerfest tickets, and we've been told that we're pretty interesting to talk to, too.

Here's to a great summer, Milwaukee.

(Also a big shout out for the picture that we lifted from the Westown Association facebook. Thanks for picture and the great event, guys!)