This year's festival is 50 years in the making. TosaFest is celebrating a half century of music, food and fun with a return to Wauwatosa Village this weekend, starting at 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11.
The music starts again at noon on Saturday, Sept. 12, and runs until 11 p.m. both days on three stages spanning the heart of the village. The streets through the village, including State Street, closed early for the festival, starting at 8 a.m. Sept. 11.
The event is organized by the Wauwatosa Village Business Improvement District. In addition to the music, the village is promoting several beer gardens, dozens of food trucks and marketplace vendors and VIP dining and art experiences across the two days.
“TosaFest is woven into the fabric of this community,” Maria Panno, the BID's executive director, said in a news release. “This year’s TosaFest is more than a milestone anniversary — it’s an opportunity to showcase the very best of Wauwatosa to the entire Milwaukee area and beyond. We invite everyone to come experience what makes this community so vibrant, welcoming, and special.”
When and where to go
The festival's advertised times are 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12. Interior village roads are closed, so plan accordingly. Parking is available at most of the normal public parking lots and on residential side streets.
Music will be featured on three stages, the State Street Stage near the Wauwatosa Avenue intersection, the Underwood Stage near the Harmonee Avenue intersection and the Root Common Stage in the park of the same name on Harwood Avenue. Food and vendors will be spread throughout the festival grounds.
Music lineups
State Street Stage
- Friday, 5 p.m., Circa 79
- 8:30 p.m., Rat River Boys
- Saturday, noon, Brett & The Dandys
- 2:30 p.m., Shattered
- 5 p.m., The Taxmen
- 8 p.m., The Spazmatics
Underwood Stage
- Friday, 6 p.m., Fauré
- 7:30 p.m. Alley Eyes
- 9 p.m., Trapper Schoepp
- Saturday, 2:30 p.m., Matty Timmons
- 4 p.m., Would You Kindly?
- 6:30 p.m., Wildered
- 9 p.m., Social Cig
Root Common Stage
- Friday, 5:30 p.m., Louie & The Flashbombs
- 8 p.m., Indigo Canyon
- Saturday, 3 p.m., Kirk Tatnall Trio
- 5:30 p.m., Andrew Gelles Band
- 8:30 p.m., The Terry Sims Band
Festival 'Experiences'
In addition to the music that is TosaFest's central draw, organizers have lined up numerous ticketed "experiences" and adjacent activities, from a Friday Night Pinot and Pork with Le Rêve and The Ruby Tap to a pickleball tournament Saturday sponsored by The Pickler. Some events have limited tickets or are already sold out, so check online in advance.
Kid Zone
TosaFest is designed to be fun for the whole family. The central attraction for younger attendees is Kids Zone, sponsored by Elite Sports Clubs, from 11 to 7 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot on Wauwatosa Avenue near the Harmonee Avenue intersection. Admission is free. Attractions include inflatables, carnival games, activity stations and a a face-painting station.
