MILWAUKEE — Warren Wiegratz has performed on stage at Summerfest every single year since the festival started in 1968. The iconic Milwaukee musician has been a part of many well-known bands over the years, including Streetlife, which was the house band for the Milwaukee Bucks for over two decades.
Wiegratz, who can play multiple instruments, is most known for playing the Saxophone. He said when Summerfest started, it wasn’t the spectacle it is today.
He remembers playing on a makeshift stage on dirt and grass. But he said the audiences still get just as excited today as they did back then.
“When they were dancing and having a great time (in the early years of Summerfest), they were just kicking up this dust. This big cloud of dust would be happening, and then you are trying to play saxophone, you get the dust in your eye. It was terrible,” Wiegratz said, laughing at the memory.
This year, he’s playing Summerfest with a group of other respected local musicians who call themselves “The Group.” It includes Wiegratz, Dwayne Williams, Eddie Butts, Mike DeRose and Jerry Weitzer.
The Group plays at the Johnsonville Stage at Summerfest on Thursday, June 20 at 7:30 p.m.
“It’s really a fun band, because when I play saxophone in that band, and I’ve played the melody and I played my solo, and then it’s time for other people to do their solos, I just sit there and go like, ‘My God, is this a great group!’ I almost forget that I have to play again because I’m having so much fun,” he said.
Wiegratz said he has many powerful memories from years past. He said one of his favorite moments was in 1969. After his band finished playing at Summerfest, they took a break and looked up to the sky where American history was being made.
“It was a full moon out and it was that day that men were walking on the moon,” he said. “Just to be there, and just look at that bright full moon, clear sky, and know that humans were on — Americans, in particular — were on moon, that was quite exciting,” said Wiegratz.
Peter Jest, the owner of Shank Hall, a live music venue in Milwaukee, used to help book bands for Summerfest.
Jest said it’s unique to have a musician like Wiegratz who has evolved over 50 years with new sounds and bands, and continues to play every year at Summerfest.
“Most local bands, they might take a break after two or three years, but Warren is so iconic in the community that he’s part of the fabric of the city, and probably the fabric of Summerfest,” said Jest.
Wiegratz said it has been an honor to be part of a festival that strives to have something for every musical taste imaginable.
“I mean, if you can’t find something you like at Summerfest, you don’t like anything,” said Wiegratz.