Summerfest 2019 started with some old friends, shiny visuals and technical difficulties. Here’s what we heard on the festival’s ground stages Wednesday night.
Hanson
Trivia question: What is Hanson’s most recent release?
Give up? It’s called … “MMMBop.” That’s right, a four-track EP of remixes of the only song you know by the late-’90s adolescent heartthrobs, compiled just this year. Not that they’ve been idle all this time, but it does all boil down, doesn’t it?
Brothers Isaac, Taylor, and Zac have held fast to a pact: Their selves must forever be this. No matter what more reputable or lucrative avenues may be available to three so talented, photogenic lads, they’ll be Hanson forever.
The crowd at the U.S. Cellular Connection Stage was modest but mighty, unabashed, emanating joy. For 90 minutes, in 2019, irony did not exist. Such is the magic and/or tragedy of Summerfest.
— Cal Roach, Special to the Journal Sentinel