Summerfest is known as the world’s largest music festival. Complete with 11 stages, over 800 acts, over a time span of 11 days, Summerfest attracts around a million fans per year. And what is the world’s largest music festival without Steve Aoki? On June 29th, we traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to experience the 39 year-old’s explosive show. And that’s exactly what the show was; explosive and a whole lot of fun.
Each ground stage hosts a series of main acts throughout the day, the bigger names in the business being the last ones to play that night. Aoki went on at 10:00 PM and was headlining the largest ground stage at the festival, the Miller Lite Oasis.
Fans waited hours upon hours just to get front row for one of the biggest DJ’s in the world. The crowd was packed with teenagers, college kids, and even much older adults, just proving Steve Aoki’s timeless status. We got to the venue almost two hours early and the bleachers were packed front to back. By the time the show started, you could barely see an inch of pavement.
The crowd is already waiting for @steveaoki! pic.twitter.com/Jvd6ajvCZL
— KISS FM ? (@KISS_FM_LIVE) June 30, 2017
As far as music selection, Aoki played the perfect blend of his hit songs and remixes of other popular music. We were definitely rapping all the words to his remix of “HUMBLE.” and we were swaying along to his remix of, to our surprise, “My Heart Will Go On”. He even played a couple songs off of his upcoming album, Steve Aoki Presents Kolony, including “How Else” featuring Rich The Kid and iLoveMakonnen, “Without U” featuring 2 Chainz, and “Night Call” featuring Lil Yachty and Migos.
I fucking love milwaukee https://t.co/jyNjUn2jxr
— Steve Aoki (@steveaoki) June 30, 2017
We were especially excited to hear his collaboration with Louis Tomlinson, “Just Hold On”. That specific song changed the whole atmosphere of the concert because instead of people taking videos and snap-chatting the stage, they were singing along with their friends and really embracing the music. We also loved hearing his older hits such as “Boneless”, “A LIGHT THAT NEVER COMES” featuring LINKIN PARK, and “I Love It When You Cry” featuring Moxoki.
@steveaoki Hands down the best concert I've ever been to #Summerfest50 pic.twitter.com/ncXMBvzQHn
— Brandon Urbaniak (@Brandon_U2) June 30, 2017
Steve Aoki did not fail to make sure every fan was screaming the lyrics and dancing the whole night. Since his table and background was completely a digital screen, he projected the lyrics to each song, so people could sing along, or if there were no lyrics, he projected arty, kaleidoscope like, images to keep the crowd interested.
We were also liking the very interactive aspects of his show. There were multiple times that Aoki brought fans onstage to dance and sing with him. He actually brought up the three girls who he replied to below on Twitter! He also made sure the let the crowd know a picture was going on Instagram or that his videographer was filming footage for his next music video for “How Else”.
If I see u I'll bring u up to sing the song with me https://t.co/vT5VhRgkWS
— Steve Aoki (@steveaoki) June 29, 2017
And of course, who wouldn’t love being caked by Steve Aoki? The electro musician ended up throwing ten cakes at various fans who were celebrating their birthdays or anniversaries or fans who frankly just wanted to be smeared in blue frosting.
The show was an overall hit. Not only was the music great, Aoki’s genuine care for the crowd is what had us hooked. Front to back, every single person left that concert with a bunch of unforgettable, new memories. Steve Aoki was just the beginning of the Summeriest lineup and we can not wait to enjoy the upcoming days full of spectacular music.
I fucking love milwaukee https://t.co/jyNjUn2jxr
— Steve Aoki (@steveaoki) June 30, 2017