Lineup for Draft City Music Fest Announced

GREEN BAY, WI- (WGBW) – The long-anticipated announcement of the music lineup for Draft City Music Fest is official and was announced Wednesday at a Green Bay City Hall press conference.

The WPS Foundation Draft Kickoff and 8th Round Downtown events are part of Draft City Music Fest, which will take place in Leicht Park, downtown Green Bay, on April 23rd and 26th. The City of Green Bay, in partnership with On Broadway, Inc., is hosting the events.

The Concert Lineup

The WPS Foundation Draft Kickoff is on Wednesday, April 23, from 4 to 11 pm. The music acts announced at a press conference held today are as follows:

9 pm De La Soul

7:30 pm Riverboat Gamblers

6 pm Luke Combs UK

5 pm Grupo Kn Zavor (Group-o Cone Sa-boar)

4 pm The Chocolateers

8th Round Downtown will be held Saturday, April 26, from 5 pm to midnight. The music acts announced for that evening are as follows:

10 pm Less Than Jake

8:30 pm GZA (of WuTang Clan) with the Phunky Nomads

7 pm J Roddy Walston

6 pm Rebelmatic

5 pm Hang Ten

Excitement Ramps Up

“Just a quick high level overview,” On Broadway Inc Vice President of Marketing and Communications Mary Rhode said in a press conference. “The Draft City Music Fest is part of Touchdown Downtown, which is a four-day list of activities happening in downtown Green Bay.”

“Draft City Music Fest is truly one of the coolest things the City of Green Bay has ever done,” said Tom Johnson, Draft City Music Fest entertainment booking agent said in a press release. “We have artists coming to our city who headline major festivals across the globe. We’re covering all kinds of genres from Hip Hop and Indie to Punk Rock and Country. There’s something for everyone, and the best part is it’s all free to attend which is rare for an event like this.”

“I’m incredibly excited about everything that is planned,” Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich said. “This is going to be something that is free and family-friendly. A lot of live local but also national talent is going to be in town. We’re going to have a taste of Green Bay, food court to a lot of local vendors, able to be serving our visitors here and showing off what they do best from a culinary point of view. And then, as you all know, we also have this great beer collaboration with nine of our local craft brewers collaborating on the eighth round downtown pale ale, which is going to be exclusively available at the event.”

Free Event

Green Bay, President & CEO of On Broadway, Inc. Brian Johnson later continued the mayor’s sentiments. “While we want visitors to come down here. We also recognize that there are over a hundred thousand people that live in the city of Green Bay and of course even more regionally that are looking for something to do during draft week and we haven’t forgotten about those people. 

“And I think that’s really important to recognize because while we are doing this event in conjunction with the draft on the shoulder ends of the draft period this was an opportunity for us to leverage that national event and how do we elevate an experience for the people that live here every single day.”

The many activities happening at Draft City Music Fest are free, but for those looking to make their Draft week in downtown Green Bay extra special, VIP Tickets are available. VIP tickets are sold at $35 per day or $60 for both days. Amenities include an up-close concert-viewing location, access to beverage sales, and conveniently located port-o-potties.

“I think the really exciting, I feel like, about this event is we’re combining, like, this really cool music fest with a lot of artists that maybe Green Bay hasn’t seen and a lot of music that is really exciting and fun and we’re combining it with a festival,” Deputy Director of the Green Bay Parks, Recreation, and Forestry James Andersen said. “Both of these nights are family-friendly. Wednesday is very family-friendly focused.”

Additional Draft City Music Fest Information

Draft City Music Fest – Wednesday, April 23 and Saturday, April 26

WPS Foundation Draft Kickoff

Wednesday, April 23 | 4 pm – 11 pm (gates open at 3 pm)

Leicht Park, downtown Green Bay

• Kids Zone to include bounce houses, Mischief & Magic with face painting, balloon animals, and plenty of magical fun
• Glow Zone presented by TDS
• Fireworks presented by Festival Foods: approximately 8:30 pm
• Container Bar/Beer Garden presented by USA Today/Green Bay Press Gazette featuring the 8th Round pale ale, a tasty collaboration from 9 local breweries
• 15 food trucks/food vendors
• Alternative Zone, including GBASO mobile skate park set up
• Packers drum line

8th Round Downtown

Saturday, April 26 | 5 pm – 11 pm (gates open at 4 pm)

Leicht Park, downtown Green Bay

• Container Bar/Beer Garden presented by USA Today/Green Bay Press Gazette featuring the 8th Round pale ale, a tasty collaboration from 9 local breweries
• Kids Zone

Find details for Draft City Music Fest here and also on this Facebook event page. Find details online for all downtown Draft week events, part of the multi-day Touchdown Downtown event.