The 15 biggest musicians who have played in Wisconsin

Wisconsin has hosted many performances by legendary musical acts, from classic rock groups in their heydays to the most successful pop stars of the modern era. Here are 15 of the biggest musicians who have performed in the Badger State.

1) The Beatles

The Beatles made their only appearance in Wisconsin on September 4, 1964 at the Milwaukee Arena, now known at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. Tickets went for as low as $2.50, and the show sold out with an audience of 12,000. With Beatlemania in full effect, the band was swarmed by an estimated 700 fans the moment that they landed in the city – and reportedly became upset with local police who attempted to restrain the crowd. Dozens of Red Cross responders were present in the arena for the show itself, armed with inhalants to treat fainting fans.

2) Elvis Presley

Elvis’ first performance in Wisconsin was at the now-defunct Mary E. Sawyer Auditorium in La Crosse on May 14, 1956. The singer’s on-stage antics were so blasphemous at the time that the editor of the town’s newspaper filed a complaint with the director of the FBI. The King would go on to play the Milwaukee Arena three times, in 1972, 1974, and 1977. During his final 1977 run, he also played in Green Bay and Madison – the latter would end up becoming the third-to-last show that he would ever play before his death later that year. His final show in Madison is also storied for another reason – the night before he took the stage, he allegedly broke up a fight between three teenagers at a gas station on the city’s East Side.

3) Elton John

Elton John has performed in Wisconsin numerous times, his first being on August 30, 1971 at the Milwaukee Auditorium (now known as the Miller High Life Theatre). A surprise free show that the singer headlined at Milwaukee’s Veterans Park in 2003 for Harley-Davidson’s 100th anniversary broke local attendance records, with an estimated 150,000 concertgoers packing in. He brought his career full-circle by returning to the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee for his last tour on April 2, 2022.

4) Madonna

The pop icon has only ever made one stop in Wisconsin, on August 2, 1987 at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy. An estimated 22,000 were in attendance, as she performed songs from her soundtrack for the film “Who’s That Girl.” A review in the Green Bay Press-Gazette from the night hesitantly praised the performance, reading “clearly, there’s a lot more to Madonna’s chemistry than peroxide and hype.”

5) Queen

Another legendary act who made their Wisconsin debut in La Crosse, Queen graced the Mary E. Sawyer Auditorium on March 5, 1975 before playing Madison and Milwaukee in the following days. The fabled English rock group would make several trips through Wisconsin in the ’70s, including a raved-about Madison performance in 1977. “Shorter tunes tended to simple turnaround melodies. Ballads had all the earmarks of a Sammy Davis Jr. special. Big tunes had all the compressed bombast and gleeful sound effects of mini-comic operas,” read a glowing review in the Wisconsin State Journal. The group’s last show in the state would be on September 10, 1980 at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, then known as the MECCA Arena. 

6) Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin’s first Wisconsin performance was on July 25, 1969 at the infamous Midwest Rock Festival, held at the State Fair Park in West Allis. The festival was planned in less than a month by a first-time event promoter, and downpours and issues with counterfeit tickets plagued the festivities. However, the group’s performance was a smashing success, impressing the festival crowd on the heels of their debut album. The band would go on to perform at the Milwaukee Arena in both 1970 and 1973, selling out the latter and playing to a crowd of 11,000.

7) Rihanna

Rihanna has performed exactly once in Wisconsin, on August 13, 2006 at The Rave in Milwaukee. Very little has been documented of the performance, but it took place as a part of her debut full-length tour promoting her first two albums “Music of the Sun” and “A Girl Like Me.” Additionally, two songs from her 2010 album “Loud” were recorded in Wauwatosa at Burst HQ, now known as Wire & Vice. “California King Bed” and “Cheers (Drink to That)” were both recorded at the studio, with the latter reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.

8) Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd made their Wisconsin debut on March 4, 1973 at the Dane County Coliseum in Madison, now known as the Alliant Energy Center. The performance came only days after the release of their legendary album “The Dark Side of the Moon,” and marked their first performance in the United States after the album’s release. They would later play at the defunct Milwaukee County Stadium in 1975, 1977, and 1987, and Madison’s Camp Randall Stadium in 1988 and 1994. Their last two shows in Milwaukee would attract 60,000 attendees each.

9) The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones didn’t make the best first impression at their debut Wisconsin show, underselling the Milwaukee Auditorium on November 11, 1964 and only packing it to one-fifth of its capacity. By their third appearance in the city on June 8, 1975, things were much different. Milwaukee County Stadium was filled with 54,000 fans, making it one of the most attended gigs in the city’s history. Their most recent show in the state was a headlining slot at Summerfest 2015 – tickets for the show were resold for as much as $10,000.

10) Eminem

The Detroit rapper only made a handful of Wisconsin appearances decades ago in Milwaukee, the first on May 19, 1999 at The Rave in support of his debut album “The Slim Shady LP.” He would return twice in 2000, to the now-demolished Bradley Center for two different co-headlining tours: one with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube, and another with Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, and Xzibit. 

11) Mariah Carey

The R&B superstar has only performed once in Wisconsin, and it was surprisingly late into her career – she played Milwaukee’s Miller High Life Theatre on March 15, 2019 as part of her Caution World Tour. Although it came nearly three decades after her star-making debut, fans were still excited to have Carey in the city – a review in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel praised the singer’s vocal range and magnetic stage presence.

12) Whitney Houston

The late legend performed in Milwaukee for the first time on July 24, 1985 at the Riverside Theatre, on her first U.S. tour in promotion of her debut album. This performance is barely documented anywhere on the internet, but one can imagine that it was one of her smaller crowds – the Riverside seats less than 2,500. She would go on to headline Summerfest twice in 1987 and 1991, both of which are considered some of the festival’s most memorable and iconic performances.

13) Taylor Swift

The global pop star’s first Wisconsin performance was on June 24, 2009 at the Country USA festival in Oshkosh, whilst on her debut national tour for her album “Fearless.” On the same tour, she would make stops at Cadott’s Country Fest and Twin Lakes’ Country Thunder Festival. She hasn’t performed in the state since 2011, when she played to a sold-out crowd of over 13,000 at Milwaukee’s Bradley Center on the Speak Now World Tour. It may be unlikely that she plays in the state anytime soon – in 2023, she sold out three dates at Chicago’s Soldier Field, which boasts a capacity of 63,500. American Family Field pales in comparison, with a capacity of 41,900.

14) Eagles

The best-selling California rock group has played a surprising number of shows in Wisconsin, their first being an opening slot for progressive rock band Yes at Milwaukee’s MECCA Arena on September 24, 1972. The band’s 2015 performance at Green Bay’s Resch Center was the venue’s highest-grossing show, with an attendance of 8,000. They’ve since headlined the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee twice, in both 2018 and 2022.

15) Celine Dion

The Canadian songstress’ first show in Wisconsin was on March 26, 1999 at Milwaukee’s Bradley Center, where over 18,000 were in attendance. She also stopped in Milwaukee on her most recent tour, headlining and selling out the Fiserv Forum in 2019 for her Courage World Tour. Critics praised the performance, with many making note of her soaring vocals and career-spanning setlist.