Kid Rock to Headline Y-Live Concert at Wean Park
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Kid Rock will be the headliner of this year’s Y-Live concert July 29 at Wean Park, downtown, with special guests Lee Brice and Buckcherry.
The annual concert, presented by Youngstown-based promoter JAC Live, is always the biggest of the year in the Mahoning Valley, attracting around 20,000 fans.
Landing Kid Rock for the concert was an easy decision, said Eric Ryan, president and CEO of JAC Live.
“Kid Rock was the most requested act for us to bring back,” Ryan said. The Detroit rocker played the area only one other time – a sold-out concert at Covelli Centre in 2013.
“Kid Rock’s reputation as one of the hardest working acts in rock ’n’ roll makes him a perfect fit for Y-Live,” Ryan said.
Kid Rock has sold almost 30 million records worldwide over a career that spans more than 30 years. He has always been known as a supreme showman who commands the stage, according to Ryan.
“Those who haven’t seen one of his live performances are in for a night to remember,” Ryan said.
Opening act Lee Brice solidified his place as a Valley favorite last September with his sold-out show at the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre. “We were looking to round out the lineup for Y-Live with something for everyone, and Lee Brice will incorporate that summer party atmosphere that makes the event so special,” Ryan said.
Opening the concert will be rock veterans Buckcherry, who have played the Valley multiple times over the past few decades.
“Every year we try to raise the bar with Y-Live, and we think this lineup will help us do just that,” said Ken Bigley, vice president of JAC Live. “This event was built to honor the hard-working people of this Valley, and these artists embody that notion.”
Bigley noted that all three artists stretch their music beyond the boundaries of any one genre.
Wean Park
This will be JAC’s second year using Wean Park as the site for its largest show of the year.
“Anyone who joined us last year saw how perfectly this space lent itself to the show,” said Jordan Ryan, executive director of Wean Park. “We look forward to using Wean Park once again with the city of Youngstown as our backdrop and the room to create this state-of-the-art concert setup.”
Like last year, the setup will include a massive stage and first-class production quality, Ryan said. The stage will be in the paved area of the parking lot behind Covelli Centre, facing the Market Street Bridge. There will be reserved seating in front of the stage, with general admission lawn seating on the grass.
An abundance of concession areas and restroom locations will be set up on the concert site, Ryan said.
Parking will be available at downtown garages and lots and the Wick parking deck on the Youngstown State University campus, with free shuttle service provided to the concert.
As the event has grown since 2017, so has its support from the community.
“Y-Live is more than a concert,” Eric Ryan said. “It has grown to be the party of the summer. We love seeing the familiar faces of our sponsors and the loyal fans that support us year-round at this event.”
Y-Live presenting sponsors include #1 Cochran Chevrolet Buick GMC, The DeBartolo Corp., Huntington Bank, Servpro and Southwoods Health.
The first three Y-Live concerts featured, respectively, Zac Brown Band, Florida Georgia Line and Blake Shelton. The concert was forced to skip two years because of the pandemic but returned last year with headliner Luke Bryan.
Tickets for the Y-Live concert, which will begin at 7 p.m., start at $55 and will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Friday, April 14, online only at ticketmaster.com. Tickets will not be sold at the Covelli Centre box office.
Parking passes can also be purchased in advance only at ticketmaster.com.
Group sales (16 or more tickets) are also available. For information, email [email protected].
About the Artists
The music of multiplatinum-selling artist Kid Rock has been described as a melting pot of genres, from rap-rock in the ’90s with singles “Bawitdaba” and “Cowboy,” to the 2001 hit collaboration with Sheryl Crow, “Picture,” to the 2007 global smash “All Summer Long.”
Kid Rock has sold almost 30 million records worldwide. His latest album, “Bad Reputation,” was released in early 2022.
Brice recently reached the top spot on the country radio charts with “Memory I Don’t Mess With.” The song follows three other No. 1 songs: “One of Them Girls,” “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” with Carly Pearce, and “Rumor,” which was nominated in the category Single of the Year at the 55th Annual ACM Awards.
Brice is also a Grammy nominee, a CMA and ACM award winner, and he’s taken nine radio singles to No. 1: “A Woman LikeYou,” “Hard to Love,” “I Drive Your Truck,” “I Don’t Dance,” “Drinking Class,” “Rumor,” “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” “One of Them Girls” and “Memory I Don’t Mess With.”
Brice’s latest album is 2020’s “Hey World.”
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
