Rising star David Kushner’s Summerfest debut struggles to live up to his online fame

David Kushner, one of Summerfest’s newest artists, took the stage on Thursday night on the opening day of Summerfest.

Kushner, a singer-songwriter from Chicago, rose to fame with his 2022 EP featuring songs like “Miserable Man.” His 2023 single “Daylight” went mega-viral on TikTok, garnering over a billion streams and reaching platinum status within months of its release.

Given his viral success, which surpassed the streams of other Summerfest artists that day, such as Grammy-nominated The War and Treaty, you would expect an equally impressive performance. If you were expecting that, you would have been very disappointed.

Kushner began his Summerfest performance with his 2023 single “Dead Man” while playing an acoustic guitar. His voice skillfully navigated the highs and lows of his vocal range, capturing the audience’s attention.

This was the only moment during his short 48-minute show that seemed captivating.

After just three songs, Kushner’s vocal and acting immaturity became apparent. He struggled to deliver the powerful crescendos that had made his songs popular on TikTok, and his overall performance began to feel amateurish. He lacked stage presence, often staring at the floor or avoiding eye contact with the crowd. The dynamic, high-energy delivery typical of a Summerfest performance was missing.

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Kushner’s attempts to connect with the audience seemed awkward and insincere. At one point he asked, “You have a lot of cheese here, don’t you? I like cheese, all kinds,” before moving on to the next song. The audience was unimpressed and seemed confused by this attempt at local humor.

At another point, Kushner admitted to the audience in a strained voice that “singing is hard” and that he “works hard.” This admission left me torn. On one hand, I was disappointed that I had spent money and time to see him perform. On the other hand, it was perhaps exciting to see a young talent admit that he still had room to improve.

Kushner has a good voice, as he demonstrated in his first song before losing his voice, and he can write catchy melodies. If he continues to grow as a singer and improves his stage presence, he has the potential to break the glass ceiling of being just another “one-hit wonder.”

Despite these shortcomings, Kushner delighted his fans with a handful of new songs from his debut album, due out the next day, giving Milwaukee a first taste of what’s next for David Kushner. Although his new songs sounded similar to his previous works, he performed them with more enthusiasm than his already released works.

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The show ended with his most famous song, “Daylight,” the viral TikTok sensation. The crowd, mostly adolescent girls, erupted in cheers. By this point, however, Kushner’s voice was so strained that he could no longer hit the song’s signature notes. During the more difficult parts, he handed the microphone over to the crowd.

After “Daylight,” Kushner thanked Milwaukee and left the stage. The crowd, satisfied to have heard the one song they came for, largely left the area before Kushner returned for an encore that no one seemed to be expecting.

When he returned, the audience heard him start to play before he stopped abruptly and asked the crowd for the lyrics to his own song because he had forgotten them. During the second and final encore song, he messed up the guitar chords and had to start over.

You expect a minimum level of professionalism from an artist who has only released singles and an EP, such as knowing the lyrics to their own songs. An experienced security guard I was friends with said she had never seen an artist forget their own songs. To be honest, I have never seen that happen either.

This performance made me wonder if Kushner’s rapid rise through TikTok turned a mediocre talent into a star, resulting in a lackluster show, minimal stage presence, and a strained voice that couldn’t sustain a 48-minute performance. Time and experience will be crucial in determining David Kushner’s future as a singer.