By Matt Mueller Culture Editor Published Jun 08, 2023 at 9:31 AM

Festival City is hopping this summer! OnMilwaukee's Festival Guide is brought to you by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. Escape the heat and step inside! 

UScellular, a cell phone company, wants you to stop using your cell phone so much. Ooook then – but at least the company's current campaign comes with a nifty new Summerfest experience: the US Mode Lounge. 

Found near the UScellular Connection Stage throughout the Big Gig, the US Mode Lounge is a new space designed to help attendees relax, recharge and reconnect with people while disconnecting from their mobile devices and picking up healthier tech habits. 

To do so, the new US Mode Lounge features a "selfie-less station," where attendees can enter a dressed-up photo pod and have a UScellular photographer snap a photo – no iPhone necessary – as well as a relaxation zone complete with sunny and shaded seating to take a break from the bombast of the Big Gig and hopefully from your phones as well. The new lounge will also showcase a digital pledge board where attendees can sign their name in committing to both healthier cell phone use and more in-person engagement, as well as UScellular employees demonstrating how to activate "US Mode" on your device and engaging attendees in interactive games and activities. 

Attendees can come away with more than just a slightly altered outlook on tech, too. Those who enter the US Mode Lounge will be entered into a dream vacation giveaway valued at $20,000. 

"We are excited for Summerfest 55 where we have the opportunity to inspire festivalgoers to embrace the magic of the moment and forge real-life connections by putting their phones down," said Marlon Bailey, director of sales for UScellular in Wisconsin, in a release. "In a world that is increasingly interconnected through technology, we believe in the power of disconnecting to truly connect. By encouraging attendees to put down their phones and immerse themselves in the music and the vibrant festival atmosphere, we hope to create an environment where meaningful connections are formed and cherished memories are made."

When you do need to use your phones down at the Summerfest grounds, UScellular does offer several charging stations throughout the Big Gig – including a charging garden near the UScellular Connection Stage. For a map of charging stations at Summerfest and more, click here

As for the main attraction, the UScellular Connection Stage will host genre-hopping performances from the likes of Noah Kahan, Tyler Hubbard, Coi Leray, Scotty McCreery, Three 6 Mafia, Wang Chung, Smash Mouth and many more. For the entire lineup – at the UScellular Connection Stage and throughout the rest of Summerfest – check out our day-to-day guide

And for more Big Gig news, updates and beyond, stay tuned to OnMilwaukee. 

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.