Photo by Bob Jadloski A crowd of 20,000-plus fills Wean Park in downtown Youngstown for Y-Live 2023.

YOUNGSTOWN — When her husband died in 2019, Karen McCollum of Middlefield had a Kid Rock song played at his funeral.

That song has a title that can’t be printed in the newspaper, but essentially it’s “Never Met a (Guy) Quite Like Me.”

“That was his song,” she said. “That and ‘Blue Jeans and a Rosary,’ because he was bad and I was not. We would play pool and he had a playlist, and 90 percent of it was Kid Rock songs.”

McCollum and Amanda Trendle of Southington got in line about 75 minutes before the gates opened to get a spot at the front of the general admission lawn area for Y-Live featuring Kid Rock at Wean Park downtown.

More than 20,000 people filled the park for the concert, the fifth Y-Live event and the second one at the park after being held the first three times at Youngstown State University’s Stambaugh Stadium.

Phoebe Breckenridge, director of marketing for concert promoter JAC Live, said a heavy rainstorm early Saturday slowed, but did not stop, setup for the event, and there was a brief shower early in the afternoon, but concertgoers were able to stay dry.

For Trendle, the lure was nostalgia.

“When Kid Rock first came out, I was in middle school,” she said “It’s nice to see he’s still performing. His music makes me feel young again.”

Many concertgoers filled downtown restaurants and bars before the show.

Andy and Heather Rankin, Karen Walsh and John Ergos, all of Struthers, were enjoying dinner at V2 before the concert.

They had all gone to past Y-Live concerts at the stadium, but this was their first time at the park.

Andy Rankin said he missed being able to tailgate, but the move downtown, “Is more conducive to what Youngstown is trying to achieve.”

Ergos agreed.

“I want Youngstown to be what it used to be,” he said.

Kid Rock was the headliner, but Heather Rankin was one of the fans who was going for Lee Brice, who has played several shows in the Mahoning Valley. His wife is Poland native Sara Reeveley.

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Downtown business owners have been complaining for weeks about road work that has affected parking and access to their establishments. Those who talked Saturday were happy concertgoers found a way to get to their businesses.

Ed Moses, co-owner of V2, said, “We’re happy today. It’s great to see people walking around downtown. It should be like this all the time.”

Matt Wilson and Adam Divelbiss, co-owners of Whistle & Keg, had an overflowing crowd about three hours before Buckcherry was scheduled to open the show.

Divelbiss estimated they would do 10 times the business of a normal Saturday because of Y-Live.

“Events like this are make or break for us,” Divelbiss said. “The city is not doing us any favors.”

Among those at Whistle & Keg was J.T. Brown, who drove nine hours from Cicero, Ind., to see Kid Rock.

“I’ve met nothing but the kindest people,” Brown said. “I feel truly blessed to be in Youngstown. It’s an area I could see myself living in.”

While Kid Rock is known for his sometimes controversial behavior, he also was supporting Shriner’s Hospitals with Saturday’s show. Volunteers from the Shriners were selling Kid Rock’s latest CD and a lanyard for $20. Those who purchased the package were entered into a drawing to win an electric guitar autographed by Kid Rock at the end of the night, and the Shriners got to keep all of the $20 price.

“He’s very supportive of the hospitals,” said C. Michael Davison, past potenate of the Al Koran Shriners, and Kid Rock isn’t the only artist who does this. “I did Motley Crue last year, and we made $29,000. My ears hurt for three days afterward.”

Kid Rock is a bigger fan of the Shriners than he is of the press. He did not allow photo passes for the news media for Saturday’s performance.

agray@tribtoday.com