By Matt Mueller Culture Editor Published Jun 04, 2024 at 5:01 PM

The Great Milwaukee Summer is HERE! Your guide to what you'll be doing, where you'll be drinking, who you'll be hearing and how you'll be getting a sweet tan this summer is on OnMilwaukee. The Great Milwaukee Summer guide is brought to you by Geis Garage Doors and Peoples State Bank

In case it wasn't already an awesomely jam-packed summer of big events and fun in Milwaukee, here's one more to add to the list: the brand new Summer of Soul free outdoor summer marketplace and concert series, tuning up for its debut season starting Wednesday, July 10. 

Hosted from 5-10 p.m. every other Wednesday on the Marcus Performing Arts Center grounds, the Summer of Soul concert series will bring a diverse lineup of both local and national music acts to the Downtown hub – including the likes of The Robert Randolph Band, Talib Kweli, Growing Nation and more – all for free. While the concerts jam out at the Peck Pavilion, the Marcus Center's outdoors green space, found on the corner of Water Street and Kilbourn Avenue, will host a local marketplace featuring more than 50 vendors of all varieties – food, art, crafts and beyond. 

“Summer of Soul is a unique opportunity for our community to come together and enjoy world-class entertainment at no cost, breaking barriers and fostering a strong sense of belonging," said Geraud Blanks, managing director of Culture x Design, a local engagement marketing firm as well as the curator and organizer behind the new concert series. "It’s a tribute to Milwaukee’s rich culture, creativity and community, where diversity thrives and individuals from all walks of life immerse themselves in limitless artistic expressions. And the best part? It's free!"

Here's the musical lineup for the first-ever Summer of Soul outdoor summer concert series:

  • Wednesday, July 10 – Growing Nation
  • Wednesday, July 24 – The Robert Randolph Band
  • Wednesday, Aug. 7 – Moonchild
  • Wednesday, Aug. 21 – Talib Kweli
  • Wednesday, Sept. 4 – Brew City Soul
  • Wednesday, Sept. 18 – De La Buena

For more information about the new Wednesday night summer concert series, visit Culture x Design's website or the Marcus Center's website. And for even more free live music and Brew City gatherings, check out both OnMilwaukee's guide to all things outdoor summer concerts as well as our festival guide

Matt Mueller Culture Editor

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.