Lee Brice, Phil Vassar booked for Grafton drive-in concerts
Kapco’s Live at the Lot series introduced drive-in concerts to Wisconsin in June, hosting about 2,500 people in 800 cars for 13 shows, largely with outof-work local bands.
The metal stamping business is doing it again this month, and bringing bigger names to its mobile stage at a company lot in Grafton.
Current country radio chart-topper Lee Brice, Summerfest favorite Phil Vassar and ’90s alternative rock act Blessid Union of Souls are some of the acts playing the latest run of Live at the Lot, running July 17 to 26.
Seven shows have been announced with the possibility of more being added. They include nationally touring tribute acts Beatlemania Now, yacht rock cover band the Docksiders and Gabriel Sanchez’s The Prince Experience, the latter two based in Milwaukee. Local country band Bella Cain, one of the acts that played Live at the Lot’s first run, is also returning.
Live at the Lot booked Plain White T’s frontman Tom Higgenson and married country duo Thompson Square for shows in June, bringing the biggest name acts to the market since mid-March, when the live music industry shut down because of the coronavirus crisis.
Turner Hall Ballroom and Shank Hall have announced modest reopening plans for reduced-capacity shows, but most of the larger venues in Milwaukee, and across the country, remain closed.
“We had hundreds and hundreds of emails asking, ‘Will there be more than this?’ We know there’s an appetite for live music done carefully and safely with COVID on the top of people’s minds,” said Kapco President Jim Kacmarcik, who also runs a couple of other music-related businesses, K-Nation Entertainment and Given Music Publishing.
“We had the ability to reach out broader and grab some bigger bands. We have a slightly bigger budget than we did the first time.”
The new Live at the Lot events will be expanded to a 100-car limit, with two LED screens added to the site. Tickets are only available in advance at
beginning at noon Friday, with prices per car ranging per show. For instance, general admission per car is $80 for Bella Cain, the Prince Experience and the Docksiders, and $150 for Lee Brice. Each car is permitted to bring the same number of people as there are seat belts in the vehicle, with a maximum capacity of six people in a car.
Beer will be sold for the first time at Live at the Lot for these shows, in addition to food and other concessions available through a cashless curbside delivery service. Guests can also bring their own food and non-alcoholic drinks.
Vehicles must arrive at least 20 minutes before showtime to avoid traffic issues. Each vehicle will be assigned a spot, where people can watch the show from inside their car or outside their vehicle within a designated space. Guests can bring lawn chairs, and are asked to only leave their reserved spot to use a port-a-potty in the back of the lot.
The first run for Live at the Lot raised about $10,000 for Kacmarcik’s Hometown Heroes nonprofit organization, benefiting Camp Hometown Heroes, for children and siblings of fallen U.S. service members; Camp Reunite,
Phil Vassar plays Summerfest nearly every summer, but with the Big Gig canceled, he’s opting instead for a drive-in concert at Kapco’s Live at the Lot series in Grafton on July 23. LARRY MCCORMACK / TENNESSEAN.COM
for children of an incarcerated parent; and Turning Rivers, a camp for children who have experienced trauma. All remaining proceeds will again benefit the three charities.
Since the first Live at the Lot, more drive-in concerts have been popping up around the country and the state, including in the Milwaukee area.
Local artists agency ACA Music and Entertainment is hosting drive-in concerts at 6 and 8 p.m. Saturday at the North Coast Center for the Arts in Waukesha, with both shows featuring Cameron Webb’s Soul Revue and Jonny T-Bird & the MPs. Admission per car is $25 to $50 at
Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.
Piet also talks concerts, local music and more on “TAP’d In” with Jordan
Live at the Lot schedule
July 17:
Lee Brice with Conner Sweet (7 p.m.; price per car starts at $150)
July 21:
Blessid Union of Souls (7 p.m.; price per car starts at $100)
July 22:
The Prince Experience (6:30 p.m.; price per car starts at $80)
July 23:
Bella Cain (6:30 p.m.; price per car starts at $80)
July 24:
Phil Vassar with Matt Wynn (6:30 p.m., price per car starts at $80)
July 25:
The Docksiders (7:30 p.m., price per car starts at $80)
Beatlemania Now (7:30 p.m., price per car starts at $100)
Lee. Hear it at 8 a.m. Thursdays on WYMS-FM (88.9), or wherever you get your podcasts.