Rebranded and improved, Generac Power Stage ready for Summerfest

Generac has officially joined the club of Milwaukee-area companies with Summerfest stages bearing their names.

Leaders of the Town of Genesee-based generator maker and Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. offered a sneak peak on Wednesday of the new Generac Power Stage in advance of the music festival’s opening day.

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Following Generac’s announcement last November that it would sponsor the former Harley-Davidson stage at Henry Maier Festival Park, work began on several upgrades to the stage.

In addition to the new Generac sign, improvements include increased rigging capacity to support theatrical stage lights, new structural steel to support additional video components, a hospitality building, and a new pylon sign on the main walkway featuring a large-scale digital message center. The seating was also reconfigured to accommodate improved ADA accessibility.

Aaron Jagdfeld, president and chief executive officer of Generac, said the company is proud to join the company of brands that have had a presence at Summerfest, such as its predecessor Harley, but it also considers itself part of the “new guard” of sponsors, such as Uline and American Family Insurance.

Jagdfeld said the company is optimistic that its prominent presence at the festival grounds will aid in efforts to recruit for the roughly 400 open positions it is looking to fill in Wisconsin.

“We’ve kept a fairly low profile for much of our history, and we just can’t do that anymore, because we’re hiring like crazy,” he said. “And in order to grow, we just have to keep bringing people in.”

The Generac Power Stage lineup for Summerfest includes:

• Sept. 2: KennyHoopla – 4 p.m.; Almost Monday – 6 p.m.; Cold War Kids – 10 p.m.
• Sept. 3: Better Than Ezra – 4 p.m.; Spiritbox – 8 p.m.; Falling In Reverse – 10 p.m.
• Sept. 4: Eve 6 – 2 p.m.; Spanish Love Songs – 8 p.m.; Rise Against – 10 p.m.
• Sept. 9: DJ Jazzy Jeff – 4 p.m.; Niko Rubio – 5:30 p.m.; Tai Verdes – 6:45 p.m.; Alexander 23 – 8 p.m.; Quinn XCII – 10 p.m.
• Sept. 10: CalenRaps – 4 p.m.; Sophia Messa – 6 p.m.; JAHMED – 8 p.m.
• Sept. 11: Iration – 4 p.m.; Iya Terra – 6 p.m.; 311 – 9:45 p.m.
• Sept. 16: Masked Wolf – 4 p.m.; Diplo – 9:45 p.m.
• Sept. 17: Blue DeTiger – 4 p.m.; Ekoh – 6 p.m.; KidCutUp – 8 p.m.; Run The Jewels – 10:15 p.m.
• Sept. 18: JEFF the Brotherhood – 6 p.m.; Thurston Moore – 8 p.m.; The Flaming Lips 9:45 p.m.