By Matt Mueller Culture Editor Published Jun 16, 2023 at 5:01 PM

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

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, July 17, beginning at noon and running all the way until midnight around the main hub of the East Side, in between Ivanhoe and Kenilworth Place as well as Farwell and Prospect Avenues. Throughout the block party's 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 musical performances, found on three main street stages along with a DJ showcase spinning in Black Cat Alley's art walk. 

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

Kenilworth Stage (at Kenilworth and Prospect)

  • 12:30 p.m. – Bug Moment
  • 2 p.m. – Robot Witch
  • 3:30 p.m. – Lake Drive
  • 5 p.m. – Spider Creek
  • 6:30 p.m. – Rx Drugs
  • 8 p.m. – Mark Waldoch and the Hallelujah Ward
  • 9:30 p.m. – NilexNile

Ivanhoe Stage (at Ivanhoe and Prospect)

  • Noon – School of Rock
  • 1:30 p.m. – Fellow Kinsman
  • 3 p.m. – Hanna Simone
  • 4:30 p.m. – Holy Pinto
  • 6 p.m. – Julien Kozak
  • 7:30 p.m. – Wave Chapelle
  • 9 p.m. – Wire & Nail

Black Cat Alley

  • Noon – DJ Why B
  • 1:30 p.m. – DJ Mia
  • 3 p.m. – Will Mitchell
  • 4:30 p.m. – Delilac
  • 6 p.m. – Don Black
  • 7:30 p.m. – Greyhound
  • 9 p.m. – Asher Gray

Farwell Stage (on Farwell in between North and Kenilworth) 

  • 1 p.m. – BD Greer and the Gents
  • 2:30 p.m. – The Kal Bergendahl Project
  • 4 p.m. – Allison Mahal
  • 5:30 p.m. – Tigera
  • 7 p.m. – Astral Hand
  • 8:30 p.m. – Strangelander
  • 10 p.m. – Collections of Colonies of Bees

Of course, the Milwaukee music rocking out throughout the day is just a part of Summer Soulstice's appeal. In addition to enlivening the East Side block with terrific tunes, the one-day celebration also fills the streets and sidewalks with all sorts of vendors, arts, crafts, food, beverage, interactive activities, local businesses and more. Here's the slate of special vendors showing up and showing out at Summer Soulstice on Saturday:

  • Abbey Bell Does
  • Africa Alive
  • Amoura Candle
  • Barefoot Fox Designs
  • BB Cakes
  • Beard MKE
  • Birdsongs
  • Boho Designs by Katya
  • Chillwaukee
  • Clay Creations by Kayla
  • Empress Roots
  • For the Love of Drax
  • Frankie's Restaurant and Catering
  • Funky Fly Flowerchild
  • Hands of Henna by Anita
  • Happy Buddha Boutique
  • Immaculate Kaggwa
  • Imperial 3D Printing & Design
  • Ina Maka
  • James Steeno Gallery
  • Jennifer Froh Jewelry
  • Jovenes Con Talento Inc.
  • Jungle Gems Vintage Co.
  • Junior's BBQ
  • Kristalyzed Kreations
  • Ladi Nayaase
  • Legacy Creative Solutions
  • Linny's Artsy Fingers
  • Midwest Shores
  • Mil-Wok-ee LLC
  • My Sistuhs Trunk
  • Nobody's Bizznis
  • Paloma Wilder Studio
  • Papyrus & Charms
  • Pop's Market Place
  • Soap & Dagger
  • T. Best Kettle Korn
  • Third Eye Fern
  • Thom J. Ertl Designs
  • Too Much Metal
  • Uyghur Grill
  • Vadose Orchid
  • WI Fried Cheese Curds
  • Wiskullsin
  • Xeroine Illustration
  • Yadeem's On the Go

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.