They're back! The Alex Meixner Band.
Das Fest Wisconsin Headliner
Have you ever heard Ozzy Osbourne's Crazy Train played on an accordion? 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.
As a leader in the polka music cultural renaissance, Alex Meixner performs fluidly in styles hailing from Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Spain, Poland, and America/Cleveland. Nationally acclaimed, recently inducted into the International Polka Hall of Fame, Grammy-nominated musician and producer, Alex can play over 12 instruments, and sing in 11 languages.
Oh! And Alex recorded with comedy phenomenon, Jack Black, for the major motion picture, The Polka King.
Don't miss Das Grand Finale in the Fest Hall Sunday at 6:00 PM!
DON'T MISS! The Red Hot Chilli Pipers.
Das Fest Wisconsin Must See!
The most famous bagpipe band on the planet.
Bagpipes with attitude. Drums with a Scottish accent. A blazing rock band and show so hot, it carries its own health warning! It’s Bagpipes. It’s Rock. It’s Bagrock. AC/DC meets the poet Robert Burns. Where rock anthems sit comfortably alongside the great tunes from the glens and the mountains of Scotland.
It’s The Red Hot Chilli PIPERS – (NOT the Peppers!), a 9-piece ensemble consisting of pipers, guitarists, keyboards, and drummers who have been rocking the world from New York to Beijing to Melbourne and everywhere in between with musicianship of the highest order and a passion for pipes that will leave you breathless. The band has four music degrees from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and all the pipers and drummers have played at the top level in bagpiping.
This is their first time appearing at the Bavarian Bierhaus, and the only place you can catch them in the Milwaukee/Chicago area this summer!
3 stages of music!
Team Relay
Alpensterne
Alpensterne
Roll, Prost, Eat, Repeat
Team Relay
Costumes encouraged.
FRIDAY 7:00 p.m.
SATURDAY 5:00 p.m.
SUNDAY 4:00 p.m.
In relay style, teams of 4 will each roll an empty half barrel 55 feet, return carrying a stein of bier (without spilling), and eat half of a bratwurst.
Every participant will receive a coveted commemorative pint glass and bier ticket, plus complimentary festival admission for two.
The winning team will receive an extra prize package and bragging rights.
Space is limited. Advance registration is required.
$20.00 per person
Profits from PROST! Das Fest Wisconsin support multiple nonprofit organizations in Kenosha, Racine, and Walworth counties.
Alpensterne
Alpensterne
Alpensterne
Bier Hall Stage
FRI. 3:30 - 7:30 PM
SAT. 3:30 - 6:30 PM
These upbeat Minnesota musicians play all the polka greats. You'll dance along, you'll drink along, you'll sing along, you'll maybe even yodel along. Fun side note: band leader Jim Strehlke mastered the art of European jodeling (yodeling) from one of Germany’s greatest, Sepp Diepolder. Jim was hired by Walt Disney to jodel "The Silly Song" from Snow White featured on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Ride at Walt Disney World in Orlando.
Alpensterne
Alpensterne
Alphorngruppe Alpine Echoes
Spanning the 50's through the 90's
Like magic, this local rock 'n' roll band will have you on your feet singing and dancing to all the classic hits.
Alphorngruppe Alpine Echoes
Alphorngruppe Alpine Echoes
Alphorngruppe Alpine Echoes
FRIDAY, SATURDAY, and SUNDAY!
Opening Das Fest daily by the front gate and strolling the grounds all weekend, catch this entertaining group of alphorn players and listen to the beautiful sounds of their instruments.
Copper Box
Alphorngruppe Alpine Echoes
Ed Wagner's Brass Band
Americana Tent Stage
SAT. 7:00 - 10:00 PM
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 Copper Box Band!
Ed Wagner's Brass Band
Alphorngruppe Alpine Echoes
Ed Wagner's Brass Band
Bier Hall Stage
SUN. 12:30 - 2:30 PM
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
The Freistadt Alte Kameraden Band
Fest Hall Stage
FRI. 3:00 - 6:00 PM
SUN. 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
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 are sure to revel in their authentic, lively entertainment.
The Happy Players
The Freistadt Alte Kameraden Band
The Freistadt Alte Kameraden Band
Bier Hall Stage
SAT. 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM
SUN. 3:30 - 6:30 PM
Don't miss The Happy Players as they join the Alex Meixner Band on Sunday at 6:00 PM for the Grand Finale in the Fest Hall.
From Nebraska, these young, energetic musicians have won the hearts of many with their love of polka and charming smiles. It started with a 2013 Christmas gift and the Beer Barrel Polka on a cell phone, and they've quickly become one of the hottest young polka bands in the Midwest.
Madison Maennerchor
The Freistadt Alte Kameraden Band
Madison Maennerchor
Opening Celebration
Fest Hall Stage
FRI. 3:15 PM
The Madison Maennerchor was founded in 1852 by German immigrants. It is the oldest continuously operating German singing organization in Wisconsin and it is the second oldest in the United States!
They'll be kicking off our Opening Celebration & Keg Tapping this year.
Pieptone!
The Swing Crew
Madison Maennerchor
Americana Tent Stage
FRI. 3:30 - 6:30 PM
From Chicago, Illinois, Pieptone! plays German Schlager and European chart hits, rarities and oddities of the 50s, 60s and beyond.
The Swing Crew
The Swing Crew
The Swing Crew
The Americana Tent Stage
SAT. 3:30 - 6:30 PM
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.
If you want to hear something in particular just ask them, they most likely know it.
Entertainment around every corner!
Luke's Lost Arts
Luke's Lost Arts
Luke's Lost Arts
SATURDAY 11:00 AM - 7 PM
SUNDAY 11:00 AM - 6 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
Luke's Lost Arts
Luke's Lost Arts
SATURDAY 11:00 AM - 7 PM
SUNDAY 11:00 AM - 6 PM
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.
Organ Grinders
Luke's Lost Arts
Muller Fasching Verein Milwaukee
Beautiful street organs will be located throughout the grounds. Listen to the magical sounds, meet the owners, and learn more about the history of the happiest music on Earth.
Muller Fasching Verein Milwaukee
The Original Live D'HOLZHACKER BUAM
Muller Fasching Verein Milwaukee
The Muller Fasching Verein Milwaukee will be strolling the grounds in their colorful costumes and wooden masks showcasing Tyrolean (Austrian) folk customs.
The Original Live Glockenspiel
The Original Live D'HOLZHACKER BUAM
The Original Live D'HOLZHACKER BUAM
SHOWTIMES
FRIDAY 4:00, 6:00 PM
SATURDAY 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, 7:00 PM
SUNDAY 1:00, 3:00 PM
The Original Live Glockenspiel portrays a comedic snapshot of a day in the life of a Holzhacker, or Lumberjack. Watch as they chop wood, saw logs, and schuhplattler. All while staying hydrated with a stein or two.
The Original Live D'HOLZHACKER BUAM
The Original Live D'HOLZHACKER BUAM
The Original Live D'HOLZHACKER BUAM
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.
SVEV D'OBERLANDLER
MULLER FASCHING VEREIN
MULLER FASCHING VEREIN
Founded in 1928, SVEV D'Oberlandler Milwaukee uphold traditional dances, music, costumes, and customs of Bavaria.
MULLER FASCHING VEREIN
MULLER FASCHING VEREIN
MULLER FASCHING VEREIN
The Muller Fasching Verein Milwaukee will be strolling the grounds in their colorful costumes and wooden masks showcasing Tyrolean (Austrian) folk customs.
SPIELMANNZUG
MULLER FASCHING VEREIN
UNITED DONAUSCHWABEN
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
UNITED DONAUSCHWABEN
UNITED DONAUSCHWABEN
United Donauschwaben of Milwaukee 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.
WOODSTOCK PRETZEL
UNITED DONAUSCHWABEN
WOODSTOCK PRETZEL
A mobile bakery with all items mixed, twisted and baked on site. Hand Twisted Soft Pretzels, Pretzel Dogs, Pretzel Brats.