Harley-Davidson takes over Milwaukee for star-studded birthday bash

Harley-Davidson brought its North American hometown of Milwaukee to a standstill as the famous motorcycle manufacturer celebrated its 120th anniversary.

Nearly 90,000 people packed into Veterans Park across two days for the Harley-Davidson Homecoming festival, which saw performances by rock icons Green Day, Foo Fighters, and The Cult, among many others. The second night was fully sold out, with an estimated 45,000 people filing through the gates.

Perhaps two of the most charismatic rock ’n’ roll front men of the last two decades, Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) and Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) got into the two-wheel spirit, recognizing Harley’s widespread influence.

“I rode my Harley here,” said Armstrong to the adoring Friday night crowd, before admitting that he actually “rode one of those electric scooters that you swipe your credit card on”.

“I am going to start a (scooter) gang,” he continued. “It will be called Hell’s Idiots.”

Grohl, who allegedly visited the secret Harley Product Development Centre in 2008, declared to the Saturday crowd that he was a Harley trike owner. “There are a lot of Tri Glide’s here,” he said. “Yeah, I own one too.”

The appearance of the Foo Fighters was also significant, as the band only recently returned to the stage following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in 2022. A visibly emotional Grohl dedicated the song Aurora to his late bandmate, while also praising new drummer Josh Freese, saying that “he is the reason we are able to be here tonight”.

The music festival was just one part of the celebrations, with an enormous number of Harley enthusiasts riding into the city from all parts of the globe. It is estimated there were over 100 countries represented over the weekend. Official numbers are yet to be revealed, but it is likely that the city’s population swelled by hundreds of thousands.

Events at the H-D Museum, the Powertrains Operations factory, and dealerships in the area were popular, as thousands of motorcycles lined the streets and traffic was brought to a standstill. Some streets were closed to cars to deal with the copious amounts of two-wheel traffic, while local businesses took full advantage of the large crowds.

Harley CEO Jochen Zeitz declared the event a huge success, so much so that he revealed the Homecoming festival will become an annual event as opposed to every five years.

“I am having so much fun that I decided I wanted this to be every year,” said Zeitz in an exclusive media appearance. “Why wait five years when we can do this every year?”

While the official anniversaries will still be held every five years, the Homecoming festival will return in 12 months’ time, with Zeitz announcing dates of July 25–28 for the 2024 festival. He also announced that the 2024 event would be dedicated to Harley-Davidson icon, Willie G. Davidson.

The celebrations in Milwaukee come as Harley-Davidson Australia gears up

Scheduled for September 22–24, the event will feature performances by The Angels and Richard Clapton, as well as drag racing, bagger racing, track sessions, and guided rides around the area.

Tickets for the 2023 National HOG Rally are on sale at www.hog120.com and start from $99.