Wausau Music Icon Trying to Bring New Concert Venue in the City

Thursday, June 1st, 2023 -- 11:05 AM

(Mike Leischner, WSAU) A Wausau music icon is trying to bring a new concert venue to the city.

According to Mike Leischner with WSAU, Joe Ellis and Anna Herman are proposing a new standing-room concert venue designed to hold 3 thousand, five hundred people. Ellis says it could mean bigger names stopping to play in town instead of just passing through between Chicago and the Twin Cities.

“Bands that use to play arenas and maybe are just under arenas, like think Lady A in the country world, Jason Marz or some of the big blues artists. We could have them play here. We will cover virtually any genre. What the people want to see. I think country is going to be popular around our area. We’ll do rock, pop.”

He says the venue will include elements above the stage that would allow them to get some of the big-name acts as well. “The structure is going to be modeled, as far as what’s on and above the stage, after what is rigged in those arenas.”

He says the venue will allow the area to bring in shows that would otherwise be unreachable. “Particularly, where we live, in Central and North-Central Wisconsin, people are driving two, three, four, plus hours to go see these artists.”

He says they don’t have a parcel of land to build on just yet. “We would love for it to go right down on the river, in the river district, people love to live, work, and play in the same area. And that’s kind of the format we’re trying to follow and model.”

He says he wants to hear from the people right now to get an idea of who to book. “Stop by and tell us who you’d like to see in Wausau. As soon as we start turning that dirt, the booking process will begin and we really want to go after the artists that people in the area want to see.”

Ellis and Herman will meet with the city’s economic development committee next Tuesday to discuss the proposal. Ideally, he says they’d like to begin construction this year and hold their first concert at the venue in the fall of 20-24.

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