Nine months ago, history was made on the banks of the Mahoning when country superstar Luke Bryan performed before an awesome record-setting audience of 20,000 fans in downtown Youngstown.

Now, all systems are go for Youngstown entertainment history to repeat itself when Y-Live presents an even bigger and more diverse mega concert in Wean Park downtown July 29.

JAC Live, part of the Mahoning Valley’s premiere entertainment promoter and management group, has announced the fifth Y-Live concert will feature the triple bill of Kid Rock, Lee Brice and Buckcherry. The 2023 concert singles itself from its first four go-rounds not only by its dynamic triple-star attraction but also for the diversity of its content.

The concert promises generous helpings of country, rock and most everything in between. As Ken Bigley, vice president of JAC Live, put it, “We never intended for Y-Live to be just country. Our intentions were always to get the best available artists that fit the region. That’s always what we were looking for.”

Credit Bigley, JAC Management President Eric Ryan and their peers for their keen ability to keep their pulse on fusion tastes and trends in music and for their ability to think outside the box — an increasingly big box — to achieve success for their company, their audiences and the economic vitality of their Mahoning Valley communities.

JAC Live owes its roots to a small rock ‘n’ roll nightclub in Struthers. Its growth spurt has taken it to manage operations at the Covelli Centre, the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre, W.D. Packard Music Hall in Warren and, most recently, Wean Park.

That meteoric growth has enabled Valley concert goers to travel minutes, rather than hours, to see some of the biggest A-list attractions on the globe.

What’s more, one cannot argue that the opening of the downtown Youngstown venues and the revival of Warren’s once sleepy Packard Music Hall have not had a significant impact on the overall economic vitality of the cities and particularly their showcase downtowns.

It wasn’t all that terribly long ago, after all, that downtown Youngstown was a veritable ghost town on weekend evenings. Now, however, thousands of people routinely flock to myriad downtown bars, nightclubs, restaurants, theaters or even a deluxe hotel on any given weekend. Thank JAC for much of that boom.

To be sure, successful concert arenas, halls and amphitheaters contribute significantly to the cultural landscape of a city. But never forget their impact on the overall economic health of a community or a downtown area. In fact, for every $100 spent on a concert ticket by an out-of-town visitor, a local economy benefits by an additional $334 in spending, according to a 2021 Oxford Economics study of the impact of concerts on municipal economies. All of that spending adds up fast.

Indeed that same study found the concert and live entertainment industry in Ohio generated 22,467 jobs, $170 million in annual state and local tax revenue and an overall economic impact of $2.9 billion. In our little corner of the state JAC Management and JAC Live have raked in our fair share of that bounty. This summer, with a capacity audience increasing from 20,000 to 23,000-plus, that impact will be greater yet.

Concertgoers not only will have three major acts to cheer on, but getting in and out of the venue should be significantly easier. Work directly in front of the park has been completed, including smooth clear roads and attractive tree-lined walkways to the venue.

While some work continues in other sections of downtown, free shuttles from the mammoth YSU Parking Deck on Wick Avenue should alleviate parking problems and insane traffic hassles.

With so much going for it already, a hearty round of preshow applause is in order for Y-Live’s organizers and for what we’re almost certain will be a new record-setting throng of more than 23,000 rocking and rollicking fans.

editorial@vindy.com