They're Back! The Alex Meixner Band
Must see!
Have you ever heard Ozzy Osbourne's Crazy Train played on an accordion?
Coming together from across the country, this band led by the one-and-only Alex Meixner, brings a contagious, high-energy, cross-pollination of exuberant Central European party music, letting die-hard polka fans enjoy and embrace evolution, and hipsters discover all there is to love in the underappreciated, innately fun genre.
Make Some Noise!
Nationally acclaimed, recently inducted into the International Polka Hall of Fame, Grammy-nominated musician and producer, Alex Meixner will have you screaming, "now that was FUN!".
Shout out to one of the greatest AMB photographers of all time, Jennifer Kopp!
Two Shows Only!
Headlining The Oktoberfest Tent:
Saturday 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Sunday 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.
From a first time Das Fest guest:
"I thought it was going to be background music, but this was a show. It was so entertaining, I came back to see it again the next day!"
Alphorngruppe Alpine Echoes
Alphorngruppe Alpine Echoes
Alphorngruppe Alpine Echoes
ALL 3 DAYS!
Practice your "Ricola" and get your cameras ready, Alphorngruppe Alpine Echoes will be strolling the fest grounds all weekend.
In Switzerland and the German Alpines, the sweetest grass for cows is high in the Alpine Meadows. 200+ years ago, the Alphorn provided a way for shepherds to communicate with their family in the Valley below, and believe it or not, the sound would soothe the cows. Mozart even wrote a symphony incorporating the Alphorn.
BB & the Honey
Alphorngruppe Alpine Echoes
Alphorngruppe Alpine Echoes
FRIDAY
The American Bier Hall
6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Have some serious fun on Friday night in the American Bier Hall with BB and the Honey!
Are you in the mood for jazz, blues, classic rock, old school country or something contemporary? They have you covered. BB's soulful voice and emotional interpretations of your favorites are complimented by the extremely talented players around her.
Copper Box
Alphorngruppe Alpine Echoes
Ed Wagner's Brass Band
SUNDAY
The American Bier Hall
1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Familiar songs with a Copper Box twist in a multi-genre accord (polka-rock-blues), as well as their own originals. Go on a fun, one-of-a-kind musical journey with Wisconsin's very own, award-winning Copper Box Band!
Ed Wagner's Brass Band
Ed Wagner's Brass Band
FRIDAY
The Oktoberfest Tent
3:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Opening the fest on Friday! Get ready to raise those steins!
An authentic Chicago area German Brass Band started by "Bro" Wagner in 1945. Now, over 75 years since it all began, the band is still playing throughout Chicagoland and the Midwest at numerous German, Austrian, and Czech cultural events as well as countless Oktoberfeste. The band is comprised of second and third generation musicians, most of which are descendants of the original members.
The Freistadt Alte Kameraden Band
The Freistadt Alte Kameraden Band
SUNDAY
The Oktoberfest Tent
11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Opening Sunday Funday with a nondenominational worship service followed by an ALTEmate performance. Whether you listen to their rendition of the Armed Forces Medley, polka to traditional tunes, or stuff a dollar bill in their Loferl (sock) while they play Gloria from atop the tables (all of the money goes to charity), you're sure to revel in their authentic, lively entertainment.
The Gebel Girls
The Gebel Girls
SUNDAY
The American Bier Hall
11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Gebel Girls is a local sister duo singing pop, country, rock, alternative, and many more genres of music. Their powerhouse vocals will fill the bier hall with famous covers from artists such as, Heart, Amy Winehouse, Paramore, Billy Joel, Alicia Keys, Miranda Lambert, and many more!
The Jimmys
The Gebel Girls
SUNDAY
The American Bier Hall
5:00 to 8:00 p.m.
An award-winning, high energy, 7-piece funky blues band with touring experience throughout the United States, the Caribbean, and Europe.
“The Jimmys are excellent musicians, wildly fun entertainers, and perform a slew of strong, original songs. They’re a treat for any fans of roots rock, old school R&B, and straight-up blues. every performance is like a party!” - Bruce Iglauer, Alligator Records
Pieptone!
SUNDAY
The Oktoberfest Tent
2:30 to 4:30 p.m.
From Chicago, Illinois, Pieptone! plays German Schlager and European chart hits, rarities and oddities of the 50s, 60s and beyond.
The Sipos Young Band
The Steve Schultz Band
SATURDAY
The American Bier Hall
11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
A local favorite, their urbane Americana style pulls in the listener with intelligent song and verse that celebrates life’s spirited highs and acknowledges its undertows in a beguiling presentation unheard on everyday airwaves. This band is going to get your Saturday off to a fantastic start!
Sons of Leroy
The Steve Schultz Band
The Steve Schultz Band
SATURDAY
The American Bier Hall
6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Get ready to fall head over heels for this local quartet of insanely talented and fun musicians. Americana, country, and rock music. Covering CCR, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Grateful Dead, The Doors, and mixing in some originals.
The Steve Schultz Band
The Steve Schultz Band
The Steve Schultz Band
SATURDAY
The Barrel Room
Spend time with family and friends while enjoying the traditional sounds of polkas and waltzes. Accordion to our sources, you're going to love this up and coming German band!
The Swing Crew
SATURDAY
The Oktoberfest Tent
4:00 to 6:30 p.m.
It's Toasting Time!
FUN is the bottom line with this interactive, acoustic band. The show features a wide variety of music, audience participation, jokes, stunts, cornball humor and toasts. They play classic rock, country, pop, swing, "island beat", and about any other genre you could possibly come up with. The Swing Crew is the perfect segway to the evening's headliner, The Alex Meixner Band.
More announcements soon!
Entertainment around every corner!
D'Oberlandlers
D'Holzhacker Buam
D'Holzhacker Buam
German Dance Performances
Founded in 1928, SVEV D'Oberlandler Milwaukee uphold traditional dances, music, costumes, and customs of Bavaria.
D'Holzhacker Buam
D'Holzhacker Buam
D'Holzhacker Buam
German Dance Performances
On April 16, 1935, a group of German Americans met at Stadt München, a Gasthaus in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, expressing a heartfelt desire to uphold and carry on the customs, music and dance of Bavaria. The Bayrische Gebirgs Trachten Erhaltungs Verein (BGTEV) D’Holzhacker Buam was established, and its members continue to maintain these traditions to the present day.
Luke's Lost Arts
D'Holzhacker Buam
Luke's Lost Arts
SATURDAY 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM
SUNDAY 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Demonstrations of carving techniques used for centuries in the Netherlands and across Europe. Learn the history of the klompen (wooden shoe).
Mack Glass Art
The Muller Fasching Verein Nordamerika
Luke's Lost Arts
ALL 3 DAYS!
The creators and skilled glassblowers of the World's Tallest Glass Tree perform LIVE. The team will create beautiful glass pickles and beverage vessels live in person with liquid hot glass.
NEW!
GLASSBLOWING EXPERIENCE
FRIDAY 3:00 - 8:00 PM
SATURDAY & SUNDAY 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM
You know you've always wanted to try it!
Here's your chance!
Learn the art of glassmaking from the creators of the World's Tallest Glass Tree, Mack Glass. 20-30 minute workshops are available all weekend. Participants will select, make, and take home their own piece! Space is limited!
Ages 7+. Registration link coming soon.
The Muller Fasching Verein Nordamerika
The Muller Fasching Verein Nordamerika
The Muller Fasching Verein Nordamerika
Founded on January 23, 1996, in Germantown, Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Mullers perform Tyrolean (Austrian) folk customs. This group is the first of its kind in North America.
Spielmannzug Milwaukee
The Muller Fasching Verein Nordamerika
The Muller Fasching Verein Nordamerika
The Spielmannszug Milwaukee Drum and Bugle Corps was founded in 1957 by a group of dedicated people who wanted to maintain the German culture and music in the United States. 60+ years later, the Spielmannszug is still going strong with Fanfaren, Fifes, Drums, Lyres, Hunting Horns and Cymbals.
United Donauschwaben of Milwaukee
United Donauschwaben of Milwaukee
United Donauschwaben of Milwaukee
German Dance Performances
The Donauschwaben are ethnic Germans that lived outside of Germany in the Slavic regions of Eastern Europe predominately along the Danube River. Since 1945, the purpose of the United Donauschwaben of Milwaukee is to keep the Donauschwaben heritage alive while promoting the language, foods and customs to the public at large.