Jon Rouse’s dream of playing on a main stage at Summerfest has finally come to fruition after a decade long wait.
The journey began with Jon playing for fun in his parents’ basement. It slowly built from there where he would break out his acoustic and play at the end of college parties.
Slowly but surely, he began playing outside the gates at Summerfest. After doing that for three years he was then offered a spot inside the gates on a small, independently-run stage.
After performing on that stage for five years, he then went out and started his own independent stage called the Ground Floor.
After ten years of playing on side stages, his Summerfest experience this year will be vastly different as he gets ready to hit a main stage.
Because Rouse plays a lot of lead and rhythm, watching him perform can be described as a one-man acoustic jam show.
“I pretty much play an acoustic electric guitar, but I do a lot of classic rock songs as well as originals. Most of it is higher energy acoustic rock, and I always try to incorporate some showmanship into my performances to keep the audience engaged,” said Rouse.
To keep his fans entertained, Jon Rouse is planning on releasing an instrumental EP as well as an acoustic singer-songwriter EP by summers end.
Jon Rouse will be performing on June 29 at 12:00 PM at the Klement’s Sausage & Beer Garden Stage.