Is there shade at Somerset Amphitheater?

Somerset Amphitheater: sorting shade from sun in western Wisconsin

Western Wisconsin gives you long, bright summer evenings, and Somerset Amphitheater sits right in them. Across a typical 7:00 PM show our model puts about 71 percent of the seating in shade, but the average is worth breaking apart, because the covered sections and the lawn have distinctly different nights.

Where the shade holds

The pavilion and pit are the dependable choice. Sections 213, 111 and 212 lead at roughly 93 percent shaded across the show, with Pit 3 just behind near 92 percent and sections 110 and 211 close by. That block behind and beside the stage is where the sun mostly stays off you.

The lawn takes the brunt. Lawn 5 is the sunniest patch at about 53 percent shaded over the event, with Lawns 2, 3 and 4 all around 50 percent. That is a real coin-flip between sun and shade on the grass, and from 6:00 PM only about 48 percent of the venue is shaded before the sun works lower.

Timing the long evening

The amphitheater opens toward the southwest, and by a 7:00 PM start the sun over Somerset sits about 18 degrees up in the west-northwest, with sunset not until around 8:54 PM. That late sunset means the low western light rakes the lawn well into the show before the grounds finally fall into full shade.

Wisconsin summer heat is moderate, so the main thing to manage is that low, direct evening sun rather than a heat wave. On the lawn, bring sunglasses, a hat and sunscreen for the opening hours, and a light layer for after dark, when the temperature drops off. For your exact date and section, the interactive shade map will show you exactly where the shadows fall.