Summerfest may have ended, but that doesn't mean the Milwaukee festival summer – and the great music hitting the sunny open air – is over. There are still plenty of big, beautiful festivals set for the rest of the summer, including Black Arts Fest MKE, which announced more musical headliners for its inaugural edition on Saturday, Aug. 4.
Hometown favorites Naima Adedapo and The Prince Experience will headline the Johnson Controls World Sound Stage on the Summerfest grounds during the festival, going on at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., respectively.
Adedapo – raised in Milwaukee and the daughter of local jazz vocalist Adekola Adedapo – hit the mainstream spotlight during season 10 of "American Idol," placing in the top 11 on the hit reality show competition. Since then, she's continued charging forward in the music industry, releasing a seven-song EP "Beautifully Made" and becoming a regular face on stage at Summerfest – where she once worked as a groundskeeper.
Meanwhile, what started as a small local theater production has evolved into a beloved night of musical celebration with The Prince Experience, a pitch-perfect recreation of the iconic pop star's performance and stage presence compliments of star Gabriel Sanchez. With hits like "Purple Rain," "Let's Go Crazy" and many more, get ready to party like it's 1999.
Earlier in the day at the Johnson Controls World Sound Stage will be Groove Theory at 3:30 p.m. as well as Motown-influenced music act Christopher's Project at 6 p.m. The Black Arts Fest MKE will announce additional performances for the stage – scheduled for 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. – at a later date.
Adedapo, Sanchez and the rest of the Johnson Controls World Sound Stage performers join Bobby Rush, Tony! Toni! Tone! and MC Lyte as the previously announced headliners over at the Miller Lite Oasis. Opening up that stage will be Antoine Reynold and the Sound at 12:15 p.m., the festival's opening ceremonies at 2:15 p.m. and the Band Bizaar by Timothy Ricketts at 4 p.m.
As for the rest of Black Arts Fest MKE, the family-friendly festival – focused on African-American heritage, community and culture in Milwaukee, featuring music, art, dance and a spotlight on black-owned businesses in the area – will take place on Saturday, Aug. 4, from noon until midnight on the Summerfest grounds, the first event on the grounds focused on the African diaspora since African World Festival in 2013. OnMilwaukee is one of the event's sponsors.
Tickets and more information about the brand-new festival are available at Black Arts Fest MKE's official website. And stay tuned to OnMilwaukee for more updates and announcements.
As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.
When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.