Advertisement

T-Pain is bringing 'Wiscansin Fest' back to Milwaukee, with co-headliner Chance the Rapper

1
Piet Levy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·2 min read
T-Pain headlined and curated his own festival, Wiscansin Fest, at the Rave in Milwaukee June 11. The festival featured 18 acts and spanned nearly nine hours. He'll do it again June 11 with "Escape from Wiscansin Fest" at the Rave.
T-Pain headlined and curated his own festival, Wiscansin Fest, at the Rave in Milwaukee June 11. The festival featured 18 acts and spanned nearly nine hours. He'll do it again June 11 with "Escape from Wiscansin Fest" at the Rave.

Last June, Grammy winner (and ”Masked Singer”winner) T-Pain curated his first festival at the Rave. Dubbed “Wiscansin Fest,” it featured nearly 20 acts (including fellow hip-hop veterans Lil Jon and Juvenile), and Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson marked the occasion by proclaiming “T-Pain Day” in the city. The performance made the Journal Sentinel’s list of the best concerts of 2022.

Now T-Pain is ready to do it again, curating his second festival at the Rave, called ”Escape From Wiscansin Fest,” on June 10.

Chance The Rapper, who last played Summerfest in 2021 in his only headlining concert of that year, will co-headline T-Pain’s festival. Rising Nigerian rapper Tobi Lou is also on the bill. According to a festival poster, 19 more acts are to be announced.

ADVERTISEMENT

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at the box office (2401 W. Wisconsin Ave.) and therave.com. Presales begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Prices have yet to be announced.

Chance The Rapper headlines at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater during Summerfest on Sept. 3, 2021, his only headlining performance that year. Chance will once again do a special Milwaukee show June 10 at the Rave, as the co-headliner of T-Pain's "Escape From Wiscansin Fest."
Chance The Rapper headlines at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater during Summerfest on Sept. 3, 2021, his only headlining performance that year. Chance will once again do a special Milwaukee show June 10 at the Rave, as the co-headliner of T-Pain's "Escape From Wiscansin Fest."

While ”Wiscansin Fest” was the final date of a T-Pain tour last year, this year, the festival will be the tour kickoff. ”Escape From Wiscansin” will hit seven other cities through July 14, including Detroit, Chicago, Denver, Washington, New York, Boston and Atlanta. And why exactly is a Florida native curating his festivals in Milwaukee and calling them ”Wiscansin Fest?” It relates to one of T-Pain’s biggest hits, ”Can’t Believe It” from 2008, where seemingly on a whim he pronounced Wisconsin “Wiscansin” to make it rhyme with ”mansion.” It’s a favorite lyric among fans, to the point that T-Pain launched a Wiscansin University merchandise line, complete with an elaborate, funny website for a fake university, in 2018.

Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: T-Pain plans new 'Wiscansin Fest' in Milwaukee, with Chance the Rapper