Milwaukee Irish Fest

Milwaukee is known as the city of cheese and beer, but one other defining feature should be added- festivals. The Milwaukee Irish Fest is possibly the biggest Irish fest in the country and one of the most impressive. Representatives of ICONS attended this year's festival that took place from Aug 14-17th (including myself) and witnessed the magic of Milwaukee's festival grounds. The fest is on the same grounds as Summerfest and the many other festivals that take place in the summertime. The grounds are about a mile long and stages appear around every corner. More than 100,000 people attend the festival and I have never seen so many people in green and Irish paraphernalia.

The lineup at Milwaukee was diverse and featured some amazing talents. The Scottish Arts Council helped sponsor the festival and brought Lau, Jenna Reid, The Anna Massie Band, Bodega, and The Peatbog Faeries over to perform. Each band delivered fantastic shows, but I think my favorite was Anna Massie's show on Friday night. Check out their album 'The Missing Gift.'

(Photos top to bottom: Lau, Jenna Reid, Anna Massie Band, Bodega, Peatbog Faeries)

Other highlights of the weekend were Solas with their new singer Mairead Phelan (who will also be at ICONS), John Skelton with Kieran O'Hare and Liz Knowles, and Troy MacGillivray with Allan Dewar and Brent Chiasson. Troy had the whole crowd on their feet with his fiddle (and dancing!) skills. On Saturday night, he brought Liz Knowles up to play with him and they played one of the longest sets I have ever heard. I lost track after 30 minutes.

(Photos top to bottom: Solas, Troy MacGillivray)

Each night ended with roof-top tunes and to top it all off, it was perfect weather. Couldn't have asked for better!