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One of the youngest performers of Summerfest, David Kushner took the stage Thursday night during the opening day of Summerfest.
A singer-songwriter from Chicago, Kushner rose to fame with his 2022 EP featuring songs like "Miserable Man." His 2023 single "Daylight" went mega-viral on TikTok, amassing over a billion streams and achieving platinum status within months of release.
Given his viral success, surpassing the streams of other Summerfest performers that day such as Grammy-nominated The War and Treaty, you would expect an equally impressive performance. If this was your expectation, you would have been greatly disappointed.
Kushner began his Summerfest performance with his 2023 single "Dead Man," playing an acoustic guitar. His voice skillfully navigated the highs and lows of his vocal range, capturing the audience's attention.
This was the only moment during his short 48-minute show that felt captivating.
Just three songs in, Kushner's vocal and performance immaturity became evident. He struggled to deliver the powerful crescendos that made his songs popular on TikTok, and the overall performance began to feel amateurish. He lacked stage presence, often staring at the ground or avoiding eye contact with the crowd. The dynamic, energetic performance typical of a Summerfest performance was missing.
Kushner's attempts to engage with the crowd felt awkward and disingenuous. At one point, he asked, "You guys got a lot of cheese here, right? I like cheese, all assortments," before moving on to the next song. The crowd, unimpressed, seemed puzzled by this attempt at local humor.
At another point, Kushner admitted to the crowd with a strained voice that "singing is hard" and that he was "putting the reps in." This admission left me conflicted. On one hand, I was disappointed to have spent money and time to see him perform. On the other hand, it was perhaps exciting to see a young talent acknowledge his need for improvement.
Kushner does have a good voice, as demonstrated in his first song before his voice gave out, and he is capable of creating catchy tunes. If he continues to grow as a singer and improve his stage presence, he has the potential to break through the glass ceiling of being just another "one-hit wonder."
Despite these shortcomings, Kushner delighted fans with a handful of new songs from his debut album, set to be released the next day, giving Milwaukee a first look at what is next for David Kushner. While his new songs sounded similar to his previous work, he performed them with more enthusiasm than his already released work.
The show concluded with his most famous song, "Daylight," the viral TikTok sensation. The crowd, mostly adolescent girls, erupted in cheers. However, by this time, Kushner's voice was so strained that he couldn't hit the song's signature notes. During the more challenging parts, he turned the microphone over to the crowd.
After "Daylight," Kushner thanked Milwaukee and left the stage. The crowd, satisfied with hearing the one song they came for, largely cleared the area before Kushner returned for an encore that no one seemed to expect.
Rushing back, the audience heard him begin to play before he abruptly stopped, asking the crowd for the lyrics to his own song because he had forgotten them. During the second and final encore song, he messed up the guitar chords and had to start over.
For an artist with only singles and an EP released, you would expect a minimum level of professionalism, such as knowing the lyrics to his own songs. A veteran security guard I had befriended mentioned she had never seen an artist forget their own songs. Honestly, I’ve never seen that either.
This performance left me questioning if Kushner's rapid rise to fame through TikTok had propelled a mediocre talent into stardom, resulting in a lackluster show, minimal stage presence and a strained voice that couldn't endure a 48-minute performance. Time and experience will be crucial in determining the future of David Kushner as a singer.
