By Matt Mueller Culture Editor Published Jun 15, 2024 at 8:56 AM

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

It wouldn't be summer in Milwaukee without Summer Soulstice, a day-long celebration of music as well as the sun-soaked season, all found in the heart of the East Side. 

The buoyant annual music festival will kick off the summer on Saturday, June 15, beginning at noon and running all the way until midnight around the main hub of the East Side. Throughout the block party's increasingly sprawling footprint, attendees will find all sorts of vendors, food and drink, local businesses, artists and artisans. The biggest draw, though, is the plethora of live local music throughout the day – a plethora that's somehow even bigger this year with two new stages on Murray Avenue and at Kind Oasis joining the usual three at Kenilworth, Ivanhoe and Farwell, as well as the DJ showcase spinning once again in Black Cat Alley. 

Here's the lineup of local musical talent hitting Summer Soulstice's expanded number of stages this weekend:

Kenilworth Stage

  • 1 p.m. – Ricky Thump
  • 3 p.m. – Force
  • 5 p.m. – Rat Bath
  • 7 p.m. – Gold Steps
  • 9 p.m. – Twan Mack and Swadetrackz

Ivanhoe Stage 

  • 1 p.m. – School of Rock
  • 3 p.m. – Decoteau Black
  • 5 p.m. – Modern Joey
  • 7 p.m. – Dak Dubois
  • 9 p.m. – Wonderful Bluffer

Black Cat Alley

  • Noon – Asher Gray and Greyhound
  • 1:30 p.m. – San Berto
  • 3 p.m. – Andrew Optimist
  • 4:30 p.m. – Don Black
  • 6 p.m. – Dataexit
  • 8:30 p.m. – Digital Maddie
  • 10 p.m. – Asher Gray and Greyhound

Farwell Stage 

  • Noon – Ms. Kaprice
  • 2 p.m. – Elephonic
  • 4 p.m. – Pink Halo
  • 6 p.m. – Emmitt James
  • 8 p.m. – Wire & Nail
  • 10 p.m. – Goran & Morgan of The Gufs

Murray Stage

  • 3 p.m. – Next Paperback Hero
  • 5 p.m. – Ben Mulwana
  • 7 p.m. – Allison Mahal
  • 9 p.m. – Mark Waldoch

Kind Oasis Stage

  • 3 p.m. – The Urbanites with JD Rankin and Guests
  • 5 p.m. – Jack Reed's Still Alive: Celebrating the Music & Ethos of the Grateful Dead
  • 7:30 p.m. – Chicken Wire Empire

Of course, the Milwaukee music rocking out throughout the day is just a part of Summer Soulstice's appeal, filling the East Side streets and sidewalks with all sorts of vendors, arts, crafts, food, beverage, interactive activities, local businesses and more. For instance, to snag a little exercise during all the entertainment, Murray Avenue will host an Adventure Rock climbing wall from 1-5 p.m. – and to give your brain a little exercise too, Quizmaster will host trivia at 2 p.m. and again at 4 p.m., plus bingo at 6 p.m. 

Here's the slate of special vendors showing up and showing out at Summer Soulstice on Saturday:

  • 414 Milwaukee
  • AFMG Cafe
  • Africa Alive LLC
  • Ally Paige Originals
  • Anna Ellie Art
  • April Elizabeth Art
  • Archimedes Azure Creations
  • BB Cakes
  • Big City Tees
  • Birdsong's "The Oil People"
  • Birrieria La Tiajuana
  • Blackrose391
  • Blu Mountain Co.
  • Boho Designs by Katya
  • Cha Cha's Mad Nails
  • Chik'n'Dip
  • Chillwaukee
  • East Side Jawnz
  • Elegant Henna Tattoo
  • Floral Prisms
  • Floremar LLC
  • Frank & Bella
  • Frankie's Restaurant and Catering
  • Fresh to Death Vintage
  • Fuecha Cafe
  • Fundacion Jovenes Con Talento Inc.
  • Gruber
  • Happy Buddha
  • Honeycomb Collective LLC
  • Immy's African Cuisine
  • Imperial 3D Printing & Design
  • Isa's Ice Cream
  • Jameelah Jewelry LLC
  • James Steeno Gallery LLC
  • Jetlagged LLC
  • Juan Roasting Corn
  • Jungle Gems
  • Junior's Smoked BBQ
  • Juze Thrift
  • Kalina Co. Jewelry
  • Kids of the Kingdom
  • Kitten Crochet 'n Such
  • KNL Jewelry Shop
  • Kristalyzed Kreations Co.
  • Leafescape
  • Lemonadelab
  • Linny's Artsy Fingers LLC
  • Manohra
  • Mica Mica
  • Midwest Shores
  • Milwaukee Hurling Club
  • Milwokee
  • MissMashedUp
  • Orange Pops
  • Paloma Wilder Studio
  • The Peanut Butter Pig
  • Ready to Roll
  • Refresh Vintage
  • School of Rock Shorewood
  • Soap & Dagger LLC
  • Static Cat Studio
  • Thom J. Ertl Designs
  • Thumbprint Press & Design
  • Tie Dye by Papes
  • Tsaocaa + Korean Fried Chicken
  • Uyghur Grill LLC
  • Virginia Day Studio
  • Visette LLC
  • Wander & Co.
  • WI Fried Cheese Curds
  • WMSE

For more information about all of the vendors and performers hitting Summer Soulstice this weekend, check out the music festival's official website. And to help make the most out of your East Side spotlight on Saturday, here's our East Side bar guide and dining guide as well.

And here's to another sunnily spectacular Summer Soulstice!

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.