I like Summerfest as much -- or maybe more than -- the average Milwaukeean. Even before we started OnMilwaukee.com in 1998, and in the company's early years when we didn't cover it like we do now, I made a point to go several times each year and bring in friends from out of town to experience this uniquely Milwaukee event.
If I had my druthers, though, I'd probably visit two or three times, opting for quality over quantity. This year, I went six days, and each was for work.
I'm not exactly complaining, but Summerfest burned me out this year. Our small editorial staff wrote exactly 90 Summerfest previews, reviews, feature articles and blogs in 2009 -- which is not a small number over the course of an 11-day festival. Each of us turned in some crazy hours -- it's a mandate of mine that Summerfest reviews must go up the night of the show, not the morning after -- while still doing our normal 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. duties. Like every year, the World's Largest Musical Festival became a labor of love.
It's not to say that I didn't enjoy being at Summerfest this year, because I did. I had a good time reviewing Huey Lewis, Kid Rock and Some Hear Explosions. I really enjoyed our two live blogs, and I learned a lot during my "walk along" with the Milwaukee Police Department. Writing preview stories and uploading daily schedules are always a bit of a grind, but it all comes with the job.
I guess I am complaining a little. But, really, I'm just saying that two days after it ended, I'm still feeling the Summerfest hangover. I'd imagine lots of Milwaukeeans are similarly pooped right now.
On Monday, which was the official OnMilwaukee.com day off for the holiday, I caught up on the stuff that didn't get done for the previous two weeks: mowing the lawn, pulling weeds and eating breakfast. Yesterday, I took one more day off, and today, I'm just about ready to rock.
But it's worth it. Summerfest is typically the best time of the year for OnMilwaukee.com in terms of visibility and traffic to the site. This year, we saw an almost 5 percent increase in visits from the previous 30 days. That, of course, translates to more page impressions, which gives our sales staff the inventory to sell more ads. And in this interesting economic climate, any increase is helpful.
More than that, we take pride in comprehensively covering Summerfest. As Milwaukee's only independent, daily magazine, this is what we do. Even if we're frazzled by the end of it, it's a worthy mission.
Just because Summerfest is over doesn't mean our festival season coverage will take a breather, however. We have a lot more planned for all the other great festivals this summer. But this week, we're all taking it a little easier, getting back into the swing of normal schedules and work loads. Kudos to our staff for another bang-up job covering the Big Gig. As for me, I plan on drinking another cup of coffee and getting back to work.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
