The still-under-construction Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center continues to book premier acts ahead of its fall 2018 opening, and on Wednesday announced its biggest name yet: Elton John will play in Milwaukee at the new Bucks arena on Feb. 19, 2019, as part of his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour.
The world-class Downtown venue has already attracted high-profile shows such as Foo Fighters, Maroon 5 and Jim Gaffigan, but securing the five-time Grammy Award-winning superstar musician is, for now, a high-water mark. Tickets for the concert will go on sale to the general public on Friday, Feb. 2, at 10 a.m. and can be bought here. Prices have not yet been released.
"We’re really excited to welcome Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Elton John to our new venue, and are thrilled to host him next year in Milwaukee on his ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ tour," said WESC General Manager and Head of Programming Raj Saha in a statement.
"Farewell Yellow Brick Road" will be John’s final tour, concluding a half-century on the road for one of pop culture’s most famous and enduring performers. The three-year tour, which ends in 2021, will hit five continents and consist of more than 300 shows, with new stage production that, according to a press release, will take fans on a highly visual musical journey spanning John’s 50-year career of hits "like no one has ever seen before."
The last time Elton John played Milwaukee was a 2005 concert at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, and before that was his infamous 2003 Harley-Davidson Anniversary show, which we don't need to talk about that because ... Sir Elton! He's coming back!
"Performing live fuels me and I’m ecstatic and humbled to continue to play to audiences across the globe," John said in the release. "I plan to bring the passion and creativity that has entertained my fans for decades to my final tour. After the tour finishes, I’m very much looking forward to closing off that chapter of my life by saying farewell to life on the road. I need to dedicate more time to raising my children."
The $524 million Bucks arena, scheduled to open sometime this fall, will include 17,500 seats for basketball and up to 18,000 for concerts, offering an intimate atmosphere and excellent sightlines, amenities and customer service. Besides Bucks and Marquette men’s basketball, the WESC will host a diverse schedule of events, including major concerts, family shows and other sports and entertainment.
Born in Milwaukee but a product of Shorewood High School (go ‘Hounds!) and Northwestern University (go ‘Cats!), Jimmy never knew the schoolboy bliss of cheering for a winning football, basketball or baseball team. So he ditched being a fan in order to cover sports professionally - occasionally objectively, always passionately. He's lived in Chicago, New York and Dallas, but now resides again in his beloved Brew City and is an ardent attacker of the notorious Milwaukee Inferiority Complex.
After interning at print publications like Birds and Blooms (official motto: "America's #1 backyard birding and gardening magazine!"), Sports Illustrated (unofficial motto: "Subscribe and save up to 90% off the cover price!") and The Dallas Morning News (a newspaper!), Jimmy worked for web outlets like CBSSports.com, where he was a Packers beat reporter, and FOX Sports Wisconsin, where he managed digital content. He's a proponent and frequent user of em dashes, parenthetical asides, descriptive appositives and, really, anything that makes his sentences longer and more needlessly complex.
Jimmy appreciates references to late '90s Brewers and Bucks players and is the curator of the unofficial John Jaha Hall of Fame. He also enjoys running, biking and soccer, but isn't too annoying about them. He writes about sports - both mainstream and unconventional - and non-sports, including history, music, food, art and even golf (just kidding!), and welcomes reader suggestions for off-the-beaten-path story ideas.
