Every summer up in Milwaukee there’s a festival for music fans of all genres. Summerfest runs the gamut from pop to folk, blues and jazz, techno to hip-hop and everything else in between. Over the course of 12 days the festival hosts something like a thousand sets of music. They feature headliners for people young and old with bands like Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, fun., The Eagles, LL Cool J, Styx, Rush, Violent Femmes, The Avett Brothers, John Mayer, and Pitbull. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

This is my first time covering the fest, and looking at the lineup was intimidating at first. Even breaking it down by day leaves you with so many options its hard to make a real decision about who to see. My plan for now is to head up opening day and catch a couple local bands before hitting the Yeah Yeah Yeahs headlining set at the Harley-Davidson Roadhouse.

I’ll stick around Thursday and catch some Chicago acts I’ve either never seen or would like to see again, like Blood Red Boots. The main attraction for me is Amadou & Miriam who headline the World Sound Stage. I’ve been trying to see them for a couple years, so I’m happy to have this opportunity.

I’ll be updating mainly via Twitter during the day, so if you’re looking for info about who to see or where the best food tent is, follow me @Music_Defined. Facebook will be a secondary update spot with full writeups coming at the end of each night that I’m there.

I’ve put together a 50 song Spotify playlist to let you see the kinds of acts playing the festival. Tons of good stuff to be heard here.

For more info including the full schedule and how to buy tickets, check out Summerfest’s website!